A regularly asked query by landlords, building owners and those liable for managing fire safety is– can I do my own fire risk evaluation?
In this guide, we’re going to illustrate why it is possible– but may not necessarily be the appropriate conclusion to make. Who are we? Fire Risk Assessment
The short answer is ‘Yes – you can carry out your own fire risk evaluation’, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from Googling an online design template for a fire risk evaluation and filling out the fields to define your property, what you do, and any risks you can identify from the limited knowledge you have. If in doubt get in touch Fire Risk Assessment
You could even do your own analysis, perhaps even attend a fire safety course. This may have been satisfactory prior to 2005, as the fire service used to visit your property and carry out an audit to deliver you with a fire certificate. But, since then, the demands and law for fire safety became much more strict and things changed noticeably.
The law for fire safety – The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which was actually introduced in 2006– was designed to change fire safety in England & Wales, to introduce the requirement 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 definitely brought under scrutiny, but the definition has since been made very obvious:
A suitable and sufficient fire risk evaluation can only be carried out by a competent man or woman.
‘Competent’ can be defined as someone with sufficient training, certifications, experience and attitude. A competent person must have acquired 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 correct 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 outside inspectors.
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