Every commercial building and some residential buildings in the UK are subject to UK Fire Regulation Rules, Know as the “Regulatory Reform Act or Fire Reform Order 2005.

This means all buildings must have a Fire Risk Assessment, which looks at and accesses Fire Extinguishers, Fire Alarms and Evacuation Routes and Plans, Emergency Lighting, Staff Training, Fire Doors and Fire Stops and lots more.

But I only have a small premises with a couple of staff?

Don't worry the rules are slightly different for you!!

If you are a small business and have fewer than 5 members of staff this can be quite a simple task as there is no legal obligation to document and record your assessment, It just requires a common sense approach from the business owner to access and evaluate your premsises, this can be accompanied with one of our on site FREE Surveys, where we can discusses and just give you some generall advice.  

However you may still have meet some min requirements like Fire Exits and Extinguishers for exmaple. 

We can start to give you that advice now just fill in this contact form.

So what if I have 5 or more members of staff?

Once you reach 5 members or staff full or part time the rules do change and the law requires you to have a fully documented Fire Risk Assessment, this can be hard copy or pdf file on a computer for example, but crucially it must be available and to hand if the Local Authorities, or Fire Brigade perform and inspection or wish to review it. Also more importantly failure to have a full FRA completed will invalidate any business and building insurance you have. 

Sounds daunting and serious doesn't it? Yes but it doesn't have to be the crucial thing to remember is an FRA is NOT like an MOT for a car, its not a pass or fail exercise finding issues on an assessement will not immediatley stop your business from trading, but it will give you a guide and help you stay on side with the authorties moving forward.   

So what do you get with our Fire Risk Assessments?

Our Fire Risk Assessment service is incredibly thorough and its important to make clear we only use completley idependant assessors and theres a couple of reason we do so, firstly an independant assessor is unbiased and there is no conflicted of interest between the assessor and the services we provide, secondly and most importantly since the tradgey of Grenfell Tower the legislation is looking likely to change and make only independant UKAS registered assessors a legal requirement. 

Each Fire Risk Assessment can take upto a full day on site and sometimes longer, it starts with a meeting with the responsible person where we discuss a lot of the buildings details such as its general use, nature of business, and techincal details, then a full assessment and survey takes place as we walk round the whole premises. Once we have completed the site visit the Fire Risk Assessments are drafted and legislation is reviewed and checked, the FRA is then passed through another 3rd party for review and auditing before finally be ready and this usually takes up to 30days. 

Remember we are here to SUPPORT you and your business we will work with your Responsible Person, not just at the time of the Fire Risk Assessment but also throughout the year, we are always available for FREE advice and Consultation.

Fire Regulations can be complex, ambiguous at times and also sometimes contradictory we’re here to help walk you through each step and make sure your business, premises and your employees are properly protected.

For more information please fill in our contact form and a member of staff will call you as soon as possible.

Who is the responsibly person?

Every building will have what is known as a “Responsible Person” this is quite literally the person responsible for the Fire Safety of the Premises, its most often the Business Owner, Health Safety or General Manager but can also often be, a caretaker, maintenance manager, landlord or even have shared responsibility. As a business owner its important to understand that you are always the "responsible person" even if you have delegated some of the responsibity to a manager for example, ultimately its your responsiblity to make sure your staff are competent. 

Why is it important to observe the Fire Regulatory Reform Order 2005?

October 2006 witnessed the biggest change in UK fire safety legislation since the introduction of fire certificates in 1971. With effect from this date, a formal fire risk assessment will be needed for all non-domestic premises. This includes sites where fire certificates may previously have been issued as these will cease to be valid after this date.

Failure to comply with these requirements can result in a prison sentence of up to two years.

The Association of British Insurers suggests that 40% of businesses do not recover following a fire.

The average cost of a fire in commercial premises in 2003 was estimated at £58,100. It has even been suggested that those without up-to-date and valid fire risk assessments will find themselves un-insured.

So fire safety should be a priority for any business and a fire risk assessment should be undertaken on a regular basis.

It is important to note that these requirements differ from those of existing fire management assessments and will require a more detailed assessment of the building.

Recent examples in the press have included schools with inadequate management plans, which have been compromised by the removal of firebreaks and fire doors.

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Here are some links to government sites, which you may find useful:

https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/who-is-responsible

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-your-premises-safe-from-fire

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/14879/making-your-premises-safe-short-guide.pdf