A Fire Risk Assessment is an organised and methodical look at your premises, the activities carried out there and the likelihood that a fire could start and cause harm to those inside or nearby.

If your organisation employs five or more people, your premises are licensed or an alterations notice is in force, then the significant findings of a fire risk assessment, actions to be taken and details of anyone especially at risk must be recorded. You will probably find it helpful to keep a record of your assessment even if you are not legally required to do so.

The aims of the risk assessment are:

• To identify the fire hazards.
• To reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low as reasonably practicable.
• To determine what physical fire precautions and management arrangements are necessary to ensure the safety of people if a fire does start.

How do you carry out a fire risk assessment?

It is important that you carry out your fire risk assessment in a practical and systematic way and that you allocate enough time to do it properly. It must take the whole of your premises into account, including any outdoor locations and any rooms or areas that are rarely used. If your premises are small, you may be able to assess them as a whole. In larger premises you may find it helpful to divide them into rooms or a series of assessments using natural boundaries.

You must appoint one or more competent persons to carry out any of the preventative and protective measures needed to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. This person could be you, an appropriately trained employee or where appropriate a third party.

Your risk assessment must demonstrate that, as far as is reasonable, you have considered the needs of all relevant people, including disabled people.

Useful Links

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
View the fire safety legislation in full.