Ensuring your commercial building is protected from fire is a legal requirement, and our Fire Safety Risk Assessment Checklist is the perfect place to start.
Fire safety can help save lives and protect your business assets, but compliance with regulations can also help you avoid penalties and potential prosecution. Your business doesn’t stand still, so your fire safety demands don’t either, which is why it’s vital to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment regularly.
In this blog, we’ll give you a five-step Fire Safety Risk Assessment Checklist, so that you can focus your efforts into putting the right fire safety measures in place for your business.
Step 1: Identify any potential hazards
The first step is to work through your premises and find anything that could lead to a fire starting or spreading. Think of things like lighting, electrical equipment, combustible materials, sources of ignition, welding and grinding, or even human activity like smoking or arson.
If you spot any areas where a fire could start, you should look around the vicinity for any materials or objects that could accelerate the spread of that fire.
Step 2: Assess who might be at risk
You should look at the risk of fire in the context of the people who may be vulnerable to it. While able-bodied people may be able to remove themselves from an area quickly, this won’t always be the case.
For example, if your premises are likely to be occupied by children, older people or those with a disability, you should consider how quick and easy it will be for them to escape. This also applies to anyone in the building alone, especially at night.
Step 3: Take action to mitigate risk
The findings from the first two steps of your Fire Safety Risk Assessment Checklist can then be put into meaningful action. This can include (and is by no means limited to):
- The supply and placement of fire extinguishers
- Identification and marking of escape routes (including at night)
- Alarm systems
- Moving potentially flammable objects or sources of ignition
- Deploying sprinkler systems as a rapid-response mechanism
- Ensuring the Fire Emergency Evacuation Plan (FEEP) is a compliant means of escape.
- Emergency lighting and signage.
- Correctly specify fire extinguishers and position them appropriatly.
- Remedial works or replacement of non-compliant door sets.
- Compartmentation breech fixes.
- Installation of sprinkler systems
Step 4: Document your plans and ensure everyone is fire-aware
It’s essential to keep a record of all the fire safety measures you have taken, and to document the results of your Fire Risk Assessment. You should also make sure that everyone on your premises knows what to do in the event of a fire: how to evacuate, how to use any extinguishers or other equipment, and who is responsible for raising the alarm. This should include briefings of fire plans, and regularly-held fire drills.
Step 5: Regularly review your Fire Safety Risk Assessment Checklist
Everything listed above in this Fire Safety Risk Assessment Checklist should be reviewed on a regular basis.
You should always conduct a review and a new assessment if you have had a fire, narrowly avoided one, or have had some major changes in the use of your premises (such as more stock being kept on-site, or dangerous substances being stored in new or different places).
What’s more, breaches to your fire stopping compartmentation in walls, floors and ceilings can be hidden from view, rendering your building non-compliant – often without your knowledge. Without regular inspection, fire doors can also quickly fall short of UK standards and leave your business at risk.
To ensure your building remains safe and compliant, your fire protection should be regularly reviewed by certified fire safety professionals – just like our team at CFP.
Need help with your Fire Safety Risk Assessment Checklist?
If you’re the nominated ‘Responsible Person’ for fire safety within your organisation, then it’s your job to find an experienced, qualified third party to help you with this Fire Safety Risk Assessment Checklist. At Commercial Fire Protection, we have years of expertise in assessing all types of business premises, and all our risk assessors are fully accredited members of the Institute of Fire Managers and the Institute of Fire Engineers.
To find out more about our Fire Risk Assessment services, speak to our friendly team today.
