A commonly asked question by hotelkeepers, building owners and those responsible for managing fire safety is– can I do my own fire risk analysis?
In this blog post, we’re going to reveal why it is conceivable– but may not actually be the correct decision to make. Who are we? Fire Risk Assessment
The short answer is ‘Without a doubt – you can conduct your own fire risk analysis’, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from Googling an online template for a fire risk analysis and filling out the areas to describe your structure, what you do, and any risks you can identify from the limited knowledge you have. If in doubt get in touch Fire Risk Assessment
You might even do your own analysis, perhaps even go to a fire safety training course. This may have been reasonable prior to 2005, as the fire service used to check out your building and carry out an audit to deliver you with a fire certificate. But, since then, the requirements and law for fire safety became much more stringent and things changed noticeably.
The law for fire safety – The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which was really introduced in 2006– was developed to change fire safety in England & Wales, to bring in the requirement for a suitable and sufficient fire risk analysis to be carried out for all non-domestic premises.
The words ‘suitable and sufficient’ when used in law, were definitely brought under examination, but the interpretation has since been made very clear:
A suitable and sufficient fire risk analysis can only be carried out by a competent individual.
‘Competent’ can be defined as somebody with sufficient training, credentials, experience and attitude. A competent person needs to have obtained specific training in relation to fire risk assessments, they must have some form of qualification to back that up, experience in assessing your type of building, and the right approach to ensure they’re able to communicate the findings effectively. All of the above can be achieved for your fire risk analysis by using outside inspectors.
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