Assessments

Fire Risk Assessments

The Fire Safety (Regulatory Reform) Order 2005 was introduced on 1st October 2006 since when it has been a legal requirement for UK businesses to carry out a fire-risk assessment. Businesses with five or more employees have to make this a written assessment.

Whose responsibility is it to ensure an assessment is carried out?

Well if you own the business then guess who? If your title is owner, proprietor, managing director, CEO then you are ‘The Responsible Person’. It is quite reasonable that you are not the person who carries out the risk assessment but it is your responsibility to ensure it happens.
If you own your own business and the premises and processes undertaken there are quite straightforward it may be perfectly reasonable for you to do your own. If you feel your knowledge may be lacking and would prefer to pass on the task you must ensure that this person is ‘competent’ to do so. Giving the task to an employee who lacks knowledge and has not been supported with training will leave you in a poor position legally. You are required to do ‘Due Diligence’ to ensure the fire-risk assessor is competent. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to look for third-party certification such as FPA, FIA and IFE.

How difficult can it really be?

As well as understanding the inherent risks within your workplace you must understand how a fire starts, how a fire spreads, effective compartmentation, fire evacuation planning, travel distances, safety signs and notices, electrical and gas safety regulations, equality (disability) legislation, external contractors requirements, visitors requirements, fire protection provision: fire alarms, fire extinguishers, emergency lighting and fire safety training requirements.
There are government guides available to help you but they do assume a certain level of knowledge. Can you confidently answer this question for example? “Are there sufficient and appropriate extinguishers placed in the appropriate positions throughout your building?” Would you honestly be guessing if you answered either yes or no to that question?
That is why many people prefer to pass the responsibility to qualified professionals like ourselves.

How much will it cost?

We carry out fire-risk assessments from just £150+vat (common areas of flats / HMO’s) and an average sized, medium to low risk office / commercial building would typically be in the region of £350+vat.
All quotations are free and without obligation. We need just a little information from you regarding size and type of business, number of employees etc. then we can give you a fixed quotation straight away. Call our office or simply fill in the form on the right to get an instant quotation.

Based in Huddersfield we are ideally placed to cover West Yorkshire.

Call the local experts on 01484 94 09 94 or fill in the form on the right. Huddersfield Fire Safety can handle all your fire-safety compliance issues at prices that won’t break the bank. Let us help keep you safe and legal so you can get on with running your business.