A regularly asked query by property owners, building owners and those accountable for handling fire safety is– can I do my own fire risk analysis?
In this short article, we’re going to discuss why it is conceivable– but may not necessarily be the right conclusion to make. Who are we? Fire Risk Assessment
The short answer is ‘Of course – you can carry out your own fire risk analysis’, there is nothing stopping you from Googling an online template for a fire risk analysis and filling out the areas to describe your property, what you do, and any risks you can identify from the limited knowledge you have. If in doubt get in touch Pyro Fire
You could possibly even do your own analysis, perhaps even go to a fire safety program. This may have been acceptable prior to 2005, as the fire service used to visit your property and carry out an audit to deliver you with a fire certificate. Having said that, since then, the demands and law for fire safety became much more stringent and things changed drastically.
The law for fire safety – The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which was effectively introduced in 2006– was designed to change fire safety in England & Wales, to bring in the need for a suitable and adequate fire risk analysis 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 interpretation has since been made very clear:
A suitable and sufficient fire risk analysis can only be carried out by a competent person.
‘Competent’ can be defined as someone with enough training, credentials, experience and attitude. A competent person needs to have acquired specific training in relation to fire risk analyses, they must have some form of certification to back that up, experience in assessing your type of property, and the right attitude to ensure they’re able to communicate the results effectively. All of the above can be achieved for your fire risk analysis by using external inspectors.
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