By Liam PlumbThose who own or manage a portfolio of residential properties have a legal responsibility to ensure that their tenants are safe from the dangers of fire which includes carrying out regular fire risk assessments.
What is a fire risk assessment?
The purpose of a fire risk assessment is to analyse and evaluate the property and its occupants in order to identify potential hazards and the people fire could impact. This helps to provide clear guidance on what steps are needed to reduce the fire risk and ensure that tenants are able to safely evacuate in the event of a fire.
A residential fire risk assessment will typically cover things such as;
Fire Starters
Identifying things that could potentially start or sustain a fire such as fuel sources and ignition points like – electrical appliances, gas cookers, faulty wiring, naked flames, flammable materials, packaging, rubbish etc.
Who is at Risk?
Exactly who lives in the building and do any of them have needs that need to be taken into account which would include those that are;
- Elderly
- Disabled
- Have impaired mobility
- Are vulnerable
- Young children
Fire Detection, Suppression and Protection
This involves looking at what fire safety equipment is in place, where it is located, how many there are, the condition they are in and if they are suitable. Depending on the property this might cover;
- Fire alarms
- Fire extinguishers
- Fire blankets
- Sprinklers
Assess and Control Risks
Once risks have been identified, they must then be reduced or removed entirely in order to make the property safe.
Documentation
It is important to keep a detailed record of any fire risk assessments that are carried out, noting any hazards that were found and how they were dealt with. An emergency plan then needs to be created to help tenants safely evacuate the building and if required training arranged for the necessary people.
Review
Reviewing fire risk assessments on a regular basis helps to keep them effective and up to date. Ideally this would be every 12 months as well as in situations such as;
- When a fire has or almost has occurred
- There have been changes to the building’s exterior or interior
- Substantial furnishing changes
- Recent failure of fire detection systems
- Large increase in number of tenants
Managing the Responsibility of Fire Risk Assessments
The law does not specify who can carry out a fire risk assessment, only that it must be completed by a competent and able person. This often falls to the nominated individual who is referred to as the ‘responsible person’ which is usually the landlord, building manager, property owner etc.
However, conducting fire risk assessments can be a complicated process, especially if they need to be done across multiple properties. Because of the potentially devastating consequences that missing something in a risk assessment can have, they should never be rushed or completed without the proper knowledge to do so effectively.
This is why a lot of landlords choose to manage the responsibility by utilising the services of a professional fire risk assessment company who can handle everything for them to ensure that their properties are safe and compliant.