FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT

Where fire safety legislation applies, there is a legal requirement placed upon those in control of buildings to carry out a fire risk assessment. Regent Fire Consultants are fully qualified and members of relevant professional bodies, as such are perfectly placed to assist our clients.

WHAT IS A FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND WHY MUST ONE BE CARRIED OUT?

At its core a Fire Risk Assessment is a review of the potential risk of fire on your premises, the existing measures in place and identification of further measures to keep people safe. If you are the individual or company in control of a premises you have a duty to make sure a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment is carried out by a competent person.

A Fire Risk Assessment is a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales (and equivalent pieces of legislation in Northern Ireland and Scotland). The legislation applies to virtually all premises (other than a single private dwelling). Examples where the RR(FS)O applies include:

Shops and Offices;
Premises providing care including Care/Nursing homes and Hospitals;
Community Halls, Places of worship etc;
Common areas and the structure and external walls of multi-occupancy residential premises (housing laws may also apply);
Public Houses, Clubs and Restaurants;
Schools and Sports Centres;
Tents/Marquees;
Hotels and Hostels;
Factories, Warehouses and Car Parks;
Certain other structures and open spaces.

HOW WE CAN HELP

Regent Fire Consultants are third party certificated to the Life Safety Fire Risk Assessment Silver Scheme and BAFE SP205 Life Safety Fire Risk Assessment Scheme through the National Security Inspectorate (NSI).

Our highly trained fire risk assessors will carry out a methodical and organised inspection of your premises identifying hazards and determining the adequacy and effectiveness of your fire safety measures, providing a clear action plan to ensure that you comply with the legislation. What sets us apart from our competitors is our significant experience with enforcement and prosecution within UK Fire and Rescue Services, meaning that we can give you assurance that you are achieving the minimum standards required by legislation without over specifying. Where your organisation wishes to go over and above the minimum standards, then we can outline what additional measures are necessary to protect your property and maintain business continuity.

Link to NSI register

Link to BAFE register

EXTERNAL WALL FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT

The Fire Safety Act 2021 amends the RR(FS)O clarifying that it’s scope extends to the structure and external walls (including cladding, balconies and windows) of multi-occupied residential buildings that consist of two or more sets of domestic premises. Therefore, any fire risk assessment of a multi-occupied residential building must include consideration of the risk of fire spread via the external walls of a building.

PAS 9980:2022 Code of Practice for ‘Fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding of existing blocks of flats’ was published to support the changes to the RR(FS)O. It sets out a methodology using a five-step risk assessment process to assist in the identification of risk factors including the overall risk rating of a building, as well as mitigation steps that might improve the risk rating.

The purpose of a fire risk appraisal of external walls is to assess the risk to occupants from a fire spreading over (or within) the external walls of a building. The process allows a determination to be made as to whether, due to the specific circumstances of the building, remediation, or other mitigating measures to address the risk are necessary.