Who is Responsible for Completing a Fire Risk Assessment?

If you operate a business, to remain compliant with the law, specifically the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, you must make an assessment of the risk to life from fire in your premises. Where you employ 5 or more members of staff, the findings of this fire risk assessment must be documented.

Many people have heard about fire risk assessments, and might even know some of the fire risk assessment steps, but may not know who is responsible. If you’re wondering who is responsible for completing a fire risk assessment, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll talk you through who is responsible, how often you need one and how LW Safety are on hand to help.

Who is responsible for completing a fire risk assessment?

It is the duty of the responsible person for the site to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed. The findings of this fire risk assessment should be documented if you employ five or more people.

Where multiple businesses operate out of a shared building there will be multiple responsible persons and these individuals must co-ordinate to ensure the fire safety arrangements are fit for purpose.

The RR(FS)O defines a responsible person as “in relation to a workplace, the employer, if the workplace is to any extent under his/her control”, or, in relation to any premises that is not considered a workplace “the person who has control of the premises (e.g. landlord/managing agent/building owner).”

Often, in shared-use buildings, the landlord, managing agent or owner will have responsibility for the communal shared spaces and the employer will be responsible for the areas they exclusively occupy.

While it’s possible someone in your company may have some training to undertake a fire risk assessment, especially if the building is very small – a small shop, for example – a more qualified person may be required to carry out a fire risk assessment for complex sites. This is where professional assessors come in, helping to ensure you have a fire risk assessment carried out properly to help protect lives.

How often should a fire risk assessment be carried out?

Now you know who is responsible, the next question is how often a fire risk assessment should be carried out. The simple answer to this question is that no set time frame between fire risk assessments has been given. However, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 does set out that your fire risk assessment should be kept up to date to ensure you’re compliant with other areas of the regulations.

You should also be having a new fire risk assessment carried out each time you’re faced with any of the following situations:

Where structural changes are made to the building itself
Where the use of a space has been altered significantly
Where you begin storing a new, hazardous material on your premises
Where you’ve suffered a fire-related event on-site
Where you have increased or decreased staff numbers significantly
Where you have hired staff members with a disability
Where you identify that fire safety equipment has suffered damage

If any of the above apply to you and your premises, you should take action to arrange a fire risk assessment with a professional assessor as soon as possible.

Fire Risk Assessment from LW Safety

With years of experience in fire safety and support from LS Fire Group and our sister brands, at LW Safety we have the resources and expertise to conduct professional fire risk assessments using qualified assessors. Wherever your premises are in Wembley, Harrow or Uxbridge, we provide full fire risk assessments to help you meet your legal obligations and keep your site safe. With reporting in line with the PAS 79 format and photographic documentation, you’ll then receive our recommendations for any potential action you need to take to tackle any issues identified by the assessment.

To arrange for a fire risk assessment or to find out more about or process, simply contact us today. Alternatively, you can fill in our quick quote form and someone from our team will be in touch.