What is a Fire Risk Assessment? | Miller Knight

What is Fire Risk Assessment?

A fire risk assessment (FRA) is a critical process for identifying and minimising fire risks in your building. It helps protect residents, employees, and property by evaluating the potential dangers of fire and recommending strategies to reduce these risks. Essentially, a fire risk assessment serves as the guidebook for implementing fire safety measures within your premises.

In this article, we’ll explain why conducting a fire risk assessment is vital, how to carry it out, and who is responsible for completing one.

Why Conduct a Fire Risk Assessment?

A fire risk assessment is required by law for most buildings in the UK and plays a pivotal role in fire safety. Here are some key reasons why conducting a fire risk assessment is so important:

• Legal Compliance: In the UK, fire risk assessments are mandated under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The responsible person must ensure that regular assessments are carried out and that the building complies with fire safety regulations.
• Fire Safety Protection: By identifying fire hazards, evaluating risks, and taking action to reduce those risks, a fire risk assessment helps protect residents, employees, and visitors.
• Preventing Damage: A comprehensive fire risk assessment can help prevent or mitigate the destruction that a fire can cause, ensuring that your property, assets, and infrastructure are better protected.
• Insurance Requirements: Many insurance policies for commercial or residential properties require an up-to-date fire risk assessment to ensure coverage in the event of a fire.

What does a Fire Risk Assessment cover?

A fire risk assessment is a crucial process designed to identify potential fire hazards and evaluate the risk of those hazards causing harm. This assessment aims to ensure the safety of people and property by implementing necessary measures to prevent fires and mitigate their effects.

Here are the key areas that a fire risk assessment covers:

1. How Likely a Fire Is to Start: Identifying common sources of fire hazards, including faulty wiring, heating equipment, or flammable materials.
2. What Would Happen if a Fire Did Start: Evaluating the risk of fire spreading throughout the building, considering factors such as layout, construction materials, and building occupancy.
3. Measures to Prevent Fire and Minimise Risks: This includes checking fire doors, extinguishers, sprinkler systems, and fire alarms to ensure they are in place and in good working order.
4. Fire Safety Systems: A review of the building’s fire and risk assessment measures to alert occupants of a fire, including smoke detectors, alarms, and emergency evacuation routes.
5. Escape Plans and Procedures: Ensuring that escape routes are accessible, properly marked, and unobstructed, and that there is a clear emergency evacuation plan for all building occupants.

Key Fire Safety Measures in a Fire Risk Assessment

A well-conducted fire risk assessment will identify essential fire safety measures to keep people safe and reduce risks. Here are some critical safety measures that should be included:

• Preventing the Spread of Fire: Installing fire-resistant doors, walls, and partitions to contain a fire and prevent it from spreading quickly through the building.
• Alerting People to a Fire: Testing and maintaining smoke alarms and fire alarms, ensuring they are functional and effectively alerting occupants to potential dangers.
• Ensuring Safe Evacuation: Clearly marking escape routes and exits, ensuring they are free from obstructions, and regularly rehearsing evacuation procedures.
• Providing Firefighting Equipment: Having accessible fire extinguishers, sprinklers, and other firefighting equipment readily available.
• Instructing Occupants on Fire Procedures: Developing a comprehensive emergency plan, including instructions on what to do if a fire breaks out and where to go for safety.

Who is Responsible for Completing a Fire Risk Assessment?

In the UK, the responsibility for carrying out a fire risk assessment falls to the ‘responsible person’, who is typically the individual or organization in control of the premises. The responsible person could be:

• The Owner (Freeholder): The owner of the building is often considered the responsible person for fire safety.
• Management Companies: If a management company oversees the property, they may be the responsible party.
• Managing Agents: In some cases, the responsible person may delegate the task of completing the fire risk assessment to a managing agent or fire safety expert.

Regardless of who carries out the assessment, the responsible person must ensure that a ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire risk assessment is performed and that any required safety measures are implemented.

How Often Do You Need a Fire Risk Assessment?

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, it’s a legal requirement to review fire risk assessments regularly. According to Article 9, the Responsible Person must ensure the assessment is kept up-to-date and fully effective, especially in situations like these:

• Suspected Inaccuracy: If the fire risk assessment is suspected to be outdated or inaccurate—for example, after a fire incident or change in building structure.

• Significant Changes: When the building undergoes renovations, layout modifications, changes in occupancy, or shifts in usage. This includes structural updates, new activities on the premises, or a change in the type or number of occupants.

These updates are essential to ensure that fire safety measures stay effective and compliant with current regulations. Even changes that don’t immediately seem to increase fire risk can require an updated assessment to keep fire safety protections current.

How Does Miller Knight Help?

A fire risk assessment is not just a legal obligation—it’s an essential tool for ensuring the safety of building occupants, minimising risks, and protecting property from fire hazards. Whether you are a property owner, manager, or agent, it’s crucial to stay compliant with fire safety laws and regularly update your fire risk assessments.

If you’re unsure how to carry out a fire risk assessment or need expert assistance, Miller Knight offers professional services to ensure your building is fully compliant with fire safety regulations.