If you have a building with many people working in it or living there it is likely that you will need to carry out an affordable fire risk assessment. This is a legal requirement and one that should be taken very seriously. If you ignore the law and try to cut corners it can be costly, not just in terms of the money spent on the fire safety measures themselves but also in the potential loss of life that could occur as a result of a fire.
In order to ensure that a fire risk assessment is carried out properly the assessor needs to visit the premises and look at how things are organised, how people move around the building, check that all exits are clear, identify any items that could be a fire ignition source (including discarded cigarettes), make note of any equipment that is inflammable and also consider the ability of those occupying the premises to escape in the event of a fire.
Depending on how complex the building is and how many people will need to escape it may take some time for the fire risk assessment to be completed. Often the cost will rise in proportion to the number of people who must be protected in the event of a fire and also how much equipment is inflammable.
A good fire safety engineer will be able to look at the situation objectively and find the simplest, least costly solution that satisfies the legal requirements of the Fire Precautions Act. In some cases insurers put their own interests before those of the insured and may push for expensive, out of date solutions to fire safety problems. These can be expensive to install and are a false economy when a more creative, less costly alternative would be equally effective.
It is important that a fire risk assessment is reviewed regularly to ensure that it remains valid. This should be done annually but in some situations, such as where the premises have undergone a major change of use or where there has been a fire or near-miss incident, it may need to be reviewed more frequently.
CWS Fire Safety can provide a full fire risk assessment service which includes reviewing the existing fire precautions and providing recommendations for any additional, more effective protection measures that should be introduced. We have a network of qualified fire safety engineers who are all capable of assessing any premises and ensuring that the risk is reduced to as low as reasonably practicable. We can offer this at a price that will be more affordable than some of the cheaper options available from independent fire risk assessors. We can also provide a self help fire safety pack which gives you all the tools to do your own simple fire risk assessment via our unique ClickFRA web based software facility which is fully supported from our back end.