The Importance of a Fire Risk Assessment
A fire risk assessment is a mandatory undertaking
that must be carried out in all places of work and in areas that are accessible
to the general public.
A fire risk assessment helps you identify all the
fire hazards and risks in your premises. You can then decide whether any risks
identified are acceptable or whether you need to do something to reduce or
control them.
A risk assessment should be carried out by someone
who has had sufficient training, and has good experience or knowledge of fire
safety.
For fire to occur there must be a source of
ignition, fuel and oxygen. If all three are present and in close proximity,
then the fire risk could increase as a result.
In the average premises fire hazards will fall into
the first two categories, while the oxygen will be present in the air in the
surrounding space. Occasionally oxygen can be found in chemical form (oxidising
agents) or as a gas in cylinders or piped systems.
If there is a fire, the greatest danger is the
spread of the fire, heat and smoke through the premises. If this happens, the
main risk to people is from the smoke and products of combustion, which can
very quickly incapacitate those escaping.
If a premises does not have adequate means of escape
or if a fire can grow to an appreciable size before it is noticed, then people
may become trapped or overcome by heat and smoke before they can evacuate.
If your premises are situated in a relatively
modern building, it should already incorporate important control measures, e.g.
fire escape staircases, fire lobbies, fire doors, emergency lighting etc.
Many of these measures will also be found in older
buildings. If your building was issued with a fire certificate under the Fire
Precautions Act, details of existing control measures will be detailed in that
document.
It is important to remember that fire risk
assessment is a continuous process and as such must be monitored and audited.
New and existing control measures should be maintained to make sure they are
still working effectively.
However, if you introduce changes into your
premises your original risk assessment may not address any new hazards or risk
arising from them. For this reason it is also important to review and revise
your assessment regularly.
This doesn’t mean it is necessary to amend your
assessment for every trivial change that occurs, but the impact of any
significant change should be considered.
For more information visit the Chapter Three
Consulting website at www.c3c.co.uk or call
us on 0300 004 0020