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Putting Together a Fire Risk Assessment

As the person responsible for the management of a building, whether domestic or commercial, you’ll know that there are a few things that you need to get on top of regarding the safety of those people who live, work and use the building regularly. Putting together a fire risk assessment is something that should be done on an annual basis at least, with clear pointers as to what is expected, where certain responsibilities are set out, and where things have fallen down and need to be improved upon between this and the next fire risk assessment. This includes new fire door installation, fire safety routes and other aspects of fire safety that needs changing.

The first thing to do when discussing fire safety is to make a written record of the fire risk assessment. This is down to the person responsible, to carry out the assessment and to write the assessment and make notes on future plans. There is also a requirement for this assessment to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that everything is being done to prevent a fire from breaking out, but also that all fire safety equipment and protocol is up to scratch should a fire break out.

This can include making sure that stairwells and other escape routes are clear of obstacles and hazards, that fire doors are not propped open and that they are up to standard and protect against fire and smoke for long enough for people to escape in the event of a fire and that every person understands where to go and where to meet in the event of a fire. A fire risk assessment is a legal requirement in workplaces where there are five or more employees, so bear this in mind if you are the person responsible for fire safety in a commercial building.

Once you have written the fire assessment and worked out where there are weaknesses in the building, whether that is strategic weaknesses, weaknesses due to the lack of fire safety equipment or knowledge gaps for the people that matter, the next steps should be to implement the necessary changes. There should also be a time noted and a benchmark for when you return to check whether the changes have been implemented successfully as desired during the writing of the fire risk assessment.

There are a few steps to writing and implementing a proper fire risk assessment for a property that you are responsible for managing. It doesn’t matter whether you are a homeowner looking after your family home, a landlord with multiple tenants in a single building or the owner of commercial property with businesses working out of your building every day, you need to understand fire safety and have a plan in place to prevent disaster. Fire safety escape routes should be a priority, as is the training and knowledge of people to understand what to do in an emergency. Fire doors and other fire safety equipment should always be provided in a safe way. Find a supplier of fire doors and fire safety equipment to help you implement the most robust fire risk assessment process that you can.

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