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You may already know that the responsibility for making fire risk assessments is that of the person who is in legal charge of a building; - the tenant in the case of a lease, the owner in the case of a freehold, the employer in the case of a company, and the local authority in the case of a public building. At Mobile Safety Solutions we've tried to mitigate the costs involved in these obligations by the use of information technology.
We have three levels of Fire Risk Assessment process available:
- A web based solution in which the controlling person answers questions on his PC, and where expert consulting help is available if a high level of compliance is not obtained, and where compliance data is stored on the web site. For instance this system is operated by the Residential Landlords Association on behalf of its clients.
- A Web / PDA based solution that uses fixed questions and predefined answers for use by general consultants to carry out site assessments for their clients.
- A Web / PDA based solution that uses definable questions for specific types of buildings and circumstances.
Notes on The Regulations
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 changes the emphasis in fire safety to the person who has some level of control in premises, who must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire. The order applies to virtually all premises and covers nearly every type of building, structure and open space, offices and shops, premises that provide care including care homes and hospitals, community halls, places of worship and other community premises, the shared areas of households, pubs, clubs and restaurants, schools and sports centres, tents and marquees, hotels and hostels, and factories and warehouses. It does not include people’s private homes, including individual flats, but does include the shared areas in residential buildings and multi-tenanted buildings.
The regulations insist that you must:
Carry out a risk assessment;
- Identifying any possible dangers and risks from fire as far as is reasonably po
ssible and provide general fire precautions to deal with any possible risk left
- Recording where flammable or explosive materials are used or stored or shared fire safety equipment such as fire-warning systems or sprinklers
- Making sure that there is a means of escape
In all cases, you must keep a record of your findings. Under the order, anyone who has control of premises or anyone who has a degree of control over certain areas or systems may be a ‘responsible person’. For example, it could be: organisations if they have any control; or of the premises. Although in many premises the responsible person will be obvious, there may be times when a number of people have some responsibility.
If you are the responsible person, you must make sure you carry out a fire-risk assessment although you can pass this task to some other competent person. However, you will still be responsible, in law, for meeting the order. The responsible person, either on their own or with any other responsible person, must as far as is reasonably practical make sure that everyone on the premises, or nearby, can escape safely if there is a fire. This is different from previous legislation in that you must consider everyone who might be on your premises, whether they are employees, visitors or members of the public, for example, at an open-air entertainment venue. You should pay particular attention to people who may have a disability or anyone who may need special help.
The order says that you must manage any fire-risk in your premises. Fire authorities no longer issue fire certificates and those previously in force will have no legal status. You must still carry out a fire-risk assessment but any fire certificates you have may be useful as a good starting point.
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