A commonly asked question by property owners, building owners and those liable for dealing with fire safety is– can I do my own fire risk evaluation?
In this guide, we’re going to clarify why it is possible– but may not normally be the appropriate conclusion to make. Who are we? Find Out More
The short answer is ‘Of course – you can conduct your own fire risk evaluation’, there is nothing at all stopping you from Googling an online template for a fire risk evaluation and filling out the areas to describe your property, what you do, and any risks you can identify from the limited understanding you have. If in doubt get in touch Pyro Fire
You might even do your own analysis, perhaps even attend a fire safety course. This may have been appropriate prior to 2005, as the fire service used to check out your property and carry out an audit to provide you with a fire certificate. Having said that, since then, the requirements and law for fire safety became much more rigorous and things changed noticeably.
The law for fire safety – The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which was effectively introduced in 2006– was created to reform fire safety in England & Wales, to introduce the requirement for a suitable and adequate fire risk evaluation to be carried out for all non-domestic premises.
The words ‘suitable and sufficient’ when used in law, were definitely brought under examination, but the interpretation has since been made very clear:
A suitable and sufficient fire risk evaluation can only be carried out by a competent man or woman.
‘Competent’ can be defined as someone with adequate training, certifications, experience and attitude. A competent person must have received specific training in relation to fire risk analyses, they must have some form of certification to back that up, experience in assessing your type of property, and the correct approach to ensure they’re able to communicate the findings effectively. All of the above can be achieved for your fire risk evaluation by using outside inspectors.
Find out More about our Fire risk assessments Pyro Fire