If you’re deemed a ‘responsible person’, it’s your job to manage the fire safety of your business. Fire safety risk assessments help you understand where the threats and risks are and what you can do to avoid falling victim to fire.
Read on to discover your fire safety responsibilities and understand how fire risk assessments can protect your business.
Who’s responsible for fire safety?
You’re responsible for fire safety in business or other non-domestic premises if you’re:
an employer
the owner
the landlord
an occupier
anyone else with control of the premises, for example a facilities manager, building manager, managing agent or risk assessor
You’re known as the ‘responsible person’. If there’s more than one responsible person, you have to work together to meet your responsibilities.
As the responsible person you must:
carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises and review it regularly
tell staff or their representatives about the risks you’ve identified
put in place, and maintain, appropriate fire safety measures
plan for an emergency
provide staff information, fire safety instruction and training
Why do I need to carry out a fire risk assessment?
It keeps people and property safe
Fire safety risk assessments are designed as a preventive measure to keep people and property safe. They aim to:
Identify the fire hazards
Identify people at risk.
Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks.
Record your findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training.
Review and update the fire risk assessment regularly.
It’s a legal requirement
A Fire Risk Assessment is a legal requirement. If you are responsible for a building, for example a employer, owner or occupier of premises that aren't a 'single private dwelling' (a private home), you need to make sure a suitably competent person completes a Fire Risk Assessment. It is your duty to identify fire risks and hazards in your premises and take appropriate action. If there's a fire and you haven't met your legal duties to keep people safe, you could be fined and may even spend time in prison. Therefore, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Here at EK Fire Protection, we provide expert fire safety risk assessments to help our clients protect themselves and their properties. Whether your organisation is large or small, our services will ensure that you and your employees are prepared for the risks and you have enough equipment to deal with any fires that may break out. If you’ve been searching for a ‘fire risk assessor near me’, contact us today to find out more about how we can help you.
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