A regularly asked question by property managers, building owners and those responsible for dealing with fire safety is– can I do my own fire risk analysis?
In this article, we’re going to explain why it is possible– but may not necessarily be the appropriate conclusion to make. Who are we? Fire Risk Assessment
The short answer is ‘Of course – you can execute your own fire risk evaluation’, there is nothing stopping you from Googling an online template for a fire risk analysis and filling out the areas to define your property, what you do, and any risks you can identify from the limited understanding you have. If in doubt get in touch Fire Risk Assessment
You could possibly even do your own research, perhaps even enroll in a fire safety training course. This may have been appropriate prior to 2005, as the fire service used to visit your property and carry out an audit to provide you with a fire certificate. But, since then, the requirements and law for fire safety became much more stringent and things changed substantially.
The law for fire safety – The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which was actually introduced in 2006– was developed to change fire safety in England & Wales, to introduce the need for a suitable and adequate fire risk evaluation to be carried out for all non-domestic premises.
The words ‘suitable and sufficient’ when used in law, were certainly brought under scrutiny, but the meaning 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 someone with sufficient training, credentials, experience and attitude. A competent person must have obtained specific training in relation to fire risk analyses, they must have some form of qualification to back that up, experience in assessing your type of property, and the proper attitude to ensure they’re able to communicate the findings effectively. All of the above can be achieved for your fire risk evaluation by using external assessors.
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