Fire Safety Risk Assessment
A fire safety risk assessment is an evaluation of your premises and the activities carried on there for the purpose of determining the likelihood of a fire occurring and causing harm to people on and around the premises.
Purpose of a Fire Safety Risk Assessment
The purpose of a Safety Risk Assessment is to identify what action you need to take to prevent a fire from occurring and what action you need to take to ensure the safety of people on and around the premises.
In Section 18(2)(Act at the bottom of page) of The Fire Services Acts 1981 & 2003 the department imposes a statutory duty of care on a Person or Persons responsible for having control over a premises to which the public is admitted to take all reasonable measures to guard against the outbreak of fire. To prepare and provide appropriate fire safety procedures for ensuring the safety of persons on the premises.
It is not possible to prepare and provide fire safety procedures that are “appropriate” to the premises without undertaking a risk assessment or evaluation of the hazards and risks that are particular to the premises.
A fire risk assessment is an essential starting point for the proactive fire safety management and risk-proportionate fire precautions required by Section 18(2).
What does a fire risk assessment involve?
The fire risk assessment will be completed using the 9-step of PAS 79:2012. To conduct the fire risk assessment, we will visit your premises and undertake an evaluation of the following:
- Detecting fire and raising the alarm
- Emergency escape lighting
- Fire doors and fire exits
- Fire-stopping and compartmentalisation (a visual assessment)
- Flammability of linings
- Fire fighting equipment testing and evaluation
- Management of fire safety and recording systems
- Fire safety policy and procedures for the building
- Emergency evacuation plans
- Fire safety signs and notices
- Provisions for vulnerable and disabled persons
- Staff instruction, drills, training, and hazard awareness
- Inspection, testing and maintenance routines
- Best means of escape are recorded
- Fire hazards and people at risk
- Smoke control systems
- Fire brigade facilities
- Fire certificate conditions
- Flammable and hazardous substances, handling and storage
- We will go through Fire safety legislative, regulatory, and CoP compliance
This completed report will assess the adequacy of the existing fire precautions and include comprehensive and clear findings that are easy to understand, covering all aspects of fire safety on your premises,
We provide an action plan with recommendations to rectify problem areas and to strengthen existing fire safety measures.
We will consult with you on the completed report, explaining it and providing advise on how its recommendations can be implemented.
Fire Fighting and Fire Safety
General obligations with regard to fire safety.
Building Fire Safety Checklist in Ireland
(1) This section applies to premises or any part thereof put to any of the following uses—
(a) use as, or for any purpose involving the provision of, sleeping accommodation, excluding premises consisting of a dwelling house occupied as a single dwelling;
(b) use as, or as part of, an institution providing treatment or care;
(c) use for purposes of entertainment, recreation or instruction or for the purpose of any club, society or association;
(d) use for purposes of teaching, training or research;
(e) use for any purpose involving access to the premises by members of the public, whether on payment or otherwise; and
(f) use for any other prescribed purpose, but excluding—
(i) premises used as a factory within the meaning of the Safety in Industry Acts, 1955 and 1980;
(ii) premises used as a store and subject to licensing under regulations made under the Dangerous Substances Act, 1972 ;
(iii) a magazine, store or registered premises within the meaning of the Explosives Act, 1875; and
(iv) an oil jetty within the meaning of regulations under the Dangerous Substances Act, 1972 .
(2) It shall be the duty of every person having control over premises to which this section applies to take all reasonable measures to guard against the outbreak of fire on such premises, and to ensure as far as is reasonably practicable the safety of persons on the premises in the event of an outbreak of fire.
(3) It shall be the duty of every person, being on premises to which this section applies, to conduct himself in such a way as to ensure that as far as is reasonably practicable any person on the premises is not exposed to danger from fire as a consequence of any act or omission of his.
(4) A fire authority may give advice in relation to fire safety to the owner or occupier of any premises or to any person having control over any premises.
Taken from fire services act 18 – 1981