A frequently asked question by landlords, building owners and those responsible for dealing with fire safety is– can I do my own fire risk evaluation?
In this blog post, we’re going to reveal why it is possible– but may not always be the proper conclusion to make. Who are we? -
The short answer is ‘Of course – you can execute your own fire risk analysis’, there is virtually nothing stopping you from Googling an online template for a fire risk assessment and filling out the areas to define your building, what you do, and any risks you can identify from the limited knowledge you have. If in doubt get in touch -
You might even do your own analysis, perhaps even go to a fire safety program. This may have been satisfactory prior to 2005, as the fire service used to visit your building and carry out an audit to deliver you with a fire certificate. However, since then, the requirements and law for fire safety became much more stringent and things changed substantially.
The law for fire safety – The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which was really introduced in 2006– was designed to reform fire safety in England & Wales, to introduce the need for a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment to be carried out for all non-domestic premises.
The words ‘suitable and sufficient’ when used in law, were undoubtedly brought under scrutiny, but the meaning has since been made very obvious:
A suitable and sufficient fire risk analysis can only be carried out by a competent professional.
‘Competent’ can be defined as someone with adequate training, certifications, experience and attitude. A competent person must have received 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 proper 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 external assessors.
Find out More about our Fire risk assessments -