Fire Risk Assesments

Under current legislation any place of work must be assessed, but any place of work that employs five or more employees must have a written fire risk assessment. Currently, anyone can provide a Fire Risk Assessment. There are no minimum requirements or special fire training requirements for assessors. So the problem for owners of commercial buildings, estate and facilities managers has been to find a properly trained assessor with the qualifications and experience to carry out a fire risk assessment that would stand up to legal scrutiny.

Who is responsible for ensuring a fire risk assessment is carried out?

The Building owner or the person to whom the role of building manager has been legally delegated to.

If I employ someone to carry out my Fire Risk Assessment have my legal duties been fulfilled?

The responsible person needs to establish the credentials of the fire risk assessor prior to their appointment. This is a big problem because; there has never been a nationally recognised qualification or accreditation scheme. This means that there are fire risk assessors currently operating with little or no formal training and experience.

Can the responsible Person just appoint an internal manager or employee to complete the fire risk assessment?

Yes as long as they can prove competence.

Call us on +44 7775 561137.