Fire Risk Assessment
In the UK, all workplaces and processes require a Fire Risk Assessment, there are very few premises that are exempt, domestic dwellings for example, but an assessment is needed for the Common Areas in blocks of flats or apartments, Houses in Multiple Occupation (Student Accommodation) Guest Houses and Holiday Lettings.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for England & Wales (and associated legislation Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 & Fire & Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006) is specific in the requirement for a Fire Risk Assessment to be carried out in the workplace. It is an offence under Article 9 of The Order if this is not undertaken, or it is not suitable and sufficient for your workplace or processes.
It is the responsibility of the Owner or Occupier, (or anyone designated the Responsible Person as defined in The Order), to ensure this assessment is carried out, is suitable and sufficient and contains all the relevant information including provision for persons with mobility impairments.
The Order also makes it quite clear that the assessor must have the relevant competency, skills and knowledge. In a very small single occupancy premises, (simple, single occupancy, ground floor – low-risk office), the Owner or Occupier or an employee might be able to carry out a basic ‘5 Step Approach’ assessment, but more often, in medium to large, complex or high-risk activity premises, the Responsible Person has neither the skill-based personnel, resources, nor the time to ensure the Fire Risk Assessment process is carried out correctly, methodically, diligently and contains all the relevant information. It should be noted that any premises with sleeping accommodation is deemed as ‘high risk’.
We offer a bespoke service to evaluate your business workplace, its processes, the people and the infrastructure to produce a fully compliant Fire Risk Assessment that identifies any hazards or dangerous conditions, together with a priority-based action plan to ensure commensurate remedial measures can be put in place where necessary and within a reasonable timescale. We also assess the Emergency Plan and procedures on your behalf.
By adopting the established British Standard PAS 79 Methodology Model, (recognised as the industry preference by UK-wide Fire & Rescue Service Authorised Inspectors), Peninsula Fire Safety Consultants provide our clients with compliance, quality, assurance and validated assessments that they expect for this valuable service.
Please feel free to or use the contact form for a no-obligation advisory response.
Fire Safety Training
The Fire Safety Order requires the Responsible Person to provide fire safety-related training to all employees and those who resort to your premises in the course of their work, (including visitors and contractors etc.), upon induction and at regular intervals thereafter. As a bare minimum, this training must cover the actions employees must take in the event of a fire, how to raise the alarm in the event of a fire, how to summon the emergency services, where any fire-fighting equipment is provided and how to use it if necessary, the location of all available exits and where to assemble in a safe place. It’s also a requirement to record all training and details of the person receiving it in a formal record format.
Regular evacuation drills are an excellent method of familiarising the people in your workplace with the available exit routes and assembly areas. You should ensure this is undertaken at least annually, more frequently for high turnover of staff or seasonal hiring.
Your workplace may require Fire Wardens or other nominated persons with specific duties should a fire occur, or when the alarm is sounded, (checking rooms and floors are evacuated,
or specialist tasks like ensuring machinery is switched off or hazardous area doors are closed etc.). They might also be nominated to attempt to tackle a fire in its early stages, (hot-work operatives etc.), all these tasks require a higher-level content of fire safety training and a competence assessment.
Don’t forget your obligation to provide assistance to those with mobility impairments, how are you going to ensure they can negotiate stairs or doors? Do you have staff who are hard of hearing or partially sighted, again special measures may need evaluating by firstly, discussing with and involving those who have any form of disability, followed by practising the methodology in real-time scenarios.
Peninsula Fire Safety Consultants can provide fire safety-related training that covers all types of working environments for example, nursing staff in a residential care facility will need to respond to a fire alarm differently to employees in an office block. We will always arrange to meet with you at your workplace prior to carrying out any training, this ensures that the nature of your business is taken into account, appropriate risks are identified, and we can tailor any specific training to suit your needs. Please contact us for more information.
Fire Safety Audit
Local Authority Fire Service Inspectors are required to carry out formal fire safety compliance audits of premises to ensure, amongst many other criteria, a suitable fire risk assessment has been undertaken, there are appropriate fire safety measures in place to ensure persons who resort to your workplace are not at risk from fire, hazardous materials or processes. They give you sufficient prior written notice of the audit, typically one month; and provide you with a detailed list of documents, records and evidence they require to be made available at the audit.
Following the audit, the Inspector will provide you with an audit report outcome that indicates a Compliance Level to The Fire Safety Order 2005. You will be informed at the time; and in writing, if your business workplace meets the necessary Compliance Level and no further action will be required. If however there are any issues of non-conformity, not only will you have been made aware of them at the time, but you may also receive a Formal Notice of Deficiencies identifying the areas that need to be addressed within a reasonable timescale and; depending on the severity of any issues, they may also serve an Alterations, Enforcement or Prohibition Notice.
Peninsula Fire Safety Consultants offer a pre-Fire Safety Site Audit service to ensure that your workplace is ready in all respects by carrying out a ‘dry run’ informal inspection. We will identify if your existing Fire Risk Assessment is suitable and sufficient, review your administration and record keeping processes and validate your fire safety management systems, training competencies, policies, procedures and emergency plan.
Our consultants are former Fire Service Officers & Authorised Inspectors and our Fire Safety Site Audit service follows a similar process to the Local Authority Fire Service Inspectorate. We adopt an established model, benchmarking fire safety evidence & performance against the various legislative articles contained in The Fire Safety Order 2005, and as we identify any issues, we can advise and assist you to have the appropriate remedial action, (or evidence of intention), in place prior to the formal inspection.
Please feel free to or use the contact form for a no-obligation advisory response.
Building Control & Planning Applications
The Building Regulations 2010 Regulation 38 is the application tool for new buildings and alterations of existing premises. It should be submitted to the relevant Fire Authority and Local Building Control Officer for approval of mandatory fire safety information and strategy prior to ‘Completion’ or ‘Occupation’ of the facility.
Regulation 38 is frequently the stumbling block for a building or alterations project, through either an oversight in design, building regulation non-compliance or the lack of early consultation with either the Fire Authority or Local Building Control, leading to unnecessary cost-driven amendments of the project and the inevitable delays in business output expectations.
Peninsula Fire Safety Consultants have the expertise and competence in both ‘fire engineering’ and the design approvals process. We can engage with you at the initial stages of project feasibility as Subject Matter Experts, embed within your Project Team to liaise with both the Fire Authority and Local Building Control, peer review & approve designs prior to submission, (ensure compliance with Approved Document B, BS9999, BS5839, BS5266, BS5306, etc). We will advise the Project Team on the timing of necessary Key Stage inspections as the construction work progresses, assess the competence of fire safety system installers, (including materials & relevant hardware/software) and ensure documented evidence of certification of building materials and equipment to ensure that relevant British Standards, Approved Codes of Practice and Industry Models are followed in both sourcing and installation. Download our Design for Tender Submission Template here.
We will also carry out a full fire safety systems verification and commission check prior to final completion and occupation, to satisfy both the Fire Authority and Local Building Control bodies and arrange for a subsequent occupational Fire Risk Assessment to complete the package of ensuring you have a fully compliant facility, ready to occupy and develop your business.
Please feel free to or use the contact form for a no-obligation advisory response.
Advocacy and Liaison
Following a Local Authority Fire Service audit of a business workplace, (or should your business be involved in a fire and a Post-Fire Compliance Audit or Fire Investigation is undertaken), the Fire Authority may deem it necessary to issue the Owner or Occupier with a Formal Notice of Deficiencies identifying the areas that need to be addressed within a reasonable timescale and; depending on the severity of any issues, they may also serve you with an Alterations, Enforcement or Prohibition Notice and your details will be recorded, available for public scrutiny and kept on one or more of 3 National Enforcement Registers normally for a period of up to 5 years.
The notice will contain a glossary of specific ‘Article Breaches’ of The Fire Safety Order 2005.
Peninsula Fire Safety Consultants are fully conversant in these matters and are available to represent your business as independent experts, interpret the Article Breaches and liaise directly with the Fire Authority on your behalf to discuss any remedial actions as defined by the Fire Authority, or identify suitable alternatives, to ensure that persons are not at risk from any unsatisfactory condition, fire safety feature or work process. In most circumstances, we can invariably secure a mutually agreed solution, methodology and time scale of cost-effective measures to demonstrate your compliance with the Fire Authority and assist any subsequent amendment process of the National Enforcement Register.
Please feel free to or use the contact form for a no-obligation advisory response.
FREE Fire Safety Log Book
An established and robust record-keeping regime of the necessary staff training, testing, servicing and maintenance frequencies of fire safety systems and routine checks of the workplace or premises is the most effective method of demonstrating your overall management of a fire safety-compliant culture.
Any audit of your premises by the Fire & Rescue Service is likely to have a more satisfactory compliant outcome if you can produce evidence of routine fire safety checks and a legacy of fire safety system maintenance, servicing and repair.
To demonstrate our support and commitment to all our existing clients and new customers alike, Peninsula Fire Safety Consultants are pleased to provide you with a FREE Fire Safety Logbook that can be downloaded and edited in both Adobe PDF or Word format. This document seeks to explain in plain English the main requirements to demonstrate compliance and includes data entry pages for each requirement. The Logbook should be kept on the premises together with the Fire Risk Assessment and any other relevant safety information such as the mandatory electrical and gas safety servicing records.