Construction Fire Risks

A fire risk assessment will help you spot the hazards in your establishment. Are you au fait with the new fire law? DCLG (formerly the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister), has re-examined the fire safety law regarding risk assessment among other things, and has made some changes through the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, as part of the government’s commitment to reduce death, injury and damage caused by fire.

Under the new rules, you must make sure you carry out a fire-risk assessment, although you can pass this task to some other competent person. As far as is reasonably practical, the responsible person, either on his or her own or with any other responsible person, must make sure that everyone on the premises, or nearby, can escape safely if there is a fire.

Risk assessment is perhaps the most essential component of health and safety since it allows you to learn what can cause harm to people in your office or place of work. Hazards are those things in and around the workplace that can cause harm to staff, volunteers, visitors and other members of the public. Look around the building to find those things you consider a significant hazard.

Keep in mind that sometimes it is easy to ignore some hazards because they are familiar. It is also useful to ask people who use the premises if they know of anything they consider to be a fire hazard. Consider the people that use the building and how the hazard might affect them. Even if they use your premises every day, customers and service personnel must be thought of as members of the public. It is also important to consider how the hazard might cause an injury.

Employers must be dedicated to attaining and preserving the highest standards of fire safety for all employees, customers and others who might be affected by their business activities. As part of the fire safety management procedure risk assessments must be carried out and should incorporate an examination of the equipment used, the buildings occupied and the systems of work employed.

Risk is the chance that someone could be harmed. As a guide, “low” risks do not need significant attention. “Medium” risks need some attention to bring them to a “low” level. Of course, “high” risks should be dealt with immediately. Risks assessments must be done in writing if you have five or more employees, and this includes volunteers. Assessments should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they remain valid.

The assessment might also need to be reviewed if there are major changes, and this should be seen as part of the planning process of any new project or change. The guidelines above can help you with the fire risk assessment but you may need added information, particularly if you have large or intricate premises.

With some level of proper training or experience, a responsible person should be able to do a fire risk assessment. More complex premises will probably need to be assessed by a person who has comprehensive training or experience in fire risk assessment.

When completing a risk assessment you should use your own judgement based on your knowledge of fire. Any person carrying out an assessment should be competent in identifying measures that need to be taken to comply with the regulations. Every employer should provide employees with clear and applicable information on:

• The significant risks to their health and safety identified by the assessment
• The precautionary measures considered necessary
• Adequate fire fighting equipment and alarms
• The identity of those persons nominated to assist the employer in the event of a real fire
• You should keep a copy of the assessment in the workplace available for inspection by an authorised Officer of the Fire Authority.