Fire Risk Assessments

At Lighthouse, we have the necessary competencies to provide Fire Risk Assessment services for you. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires duty-holders of non-domestic premises in England and Wales to undertake a Fire Risk Assessment of their premises.

What is a Fire Risk Assessment?

A Fire Risk Assessment is a report compiled specific to a non-domestic premises which documents the duty-holder’s identification of pertinent fire risks, and how those risks have been reduced by the implementation of suitable ‘control measures’.

A Fire Risk Assessment should be bespoke to the environment of the duty-holder, and take into account any relevant guidance issued by the regulator to address how the safety of ‘relevant persons’ will be managed in the event of a fire.

Relevant persons include employees, customers or residents within the building in question with particular attention to be paid to those at ‘special risk’ such as; disabled persons, those who the duty-holder knows have special needs, and children.

Am I a duty-holder?

Duty-holders are those that are responsible for the management of a place of work, common areas of a multi-tenure building (both commercial and residential), or landlords of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

Organisations can be duty-holders, along with individuals.

It is also common practice for duty holders to pass on their responsibilities to organisations who undertake the management of their facilities – usually Property Managing Agents.

What classes as a non-domestic premises?

All places of work are classed as non-domestic, along with the common areas of any residential block buildings and HMOs.

For organisations operating from fixed premises which they fully occupy, operations should be assessed in their entirety and a suitable Fire Risk Assessment produced.

If you lease a commercial unit within a multi-tenure complex, you are responsible for your own demised area. Your demise may be covered by a ‘linked’ fire alarm, however, you are still required to produce a Fire Risk Assessment for your operational area.

Similarly, if you are the landlord or management company for a building with multiple tenants, you will be responsible for the ‘common areas’ and so again, a Fire Risk Assessment should be commissioned by you.

Who should undertake my Fire Risk Assessment?

Fire Risk Assessments should be undertaken by somebody who is ‘Competent’ to do so. The definition of competence will vary dependent on the building or unit in question, its occupancy and size.

A ‘Competent person‘ should have in-depth knowledge of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and experience of interpreting its contents against the trade or operations of the building or unit to be assessed.

Lighthouse Fire Risk Assessments

At Lighthouse, our team of fire safety consultants have a broad range of experience across a number of industry sectors. From our base in Leeds, we conduct Fire Risk Assessments for businesses across the UK.

All of our Fire Risk Assessors hold memberships with the Chartered Institute of Occupational Health (IOSH) and have a specific qualification in Fire Risk Assessments.

Our fire consultants also hold membership in the Institute of Fire Engineers.

We have experience in providing Fire Risk Assessment services across a broad spectrum of occupations, including:

• Common Areas of Multi-Tenure commercial complexes
• Common Areas of Residential Block complexes
• Student Block complexes
• Hotels
• Care Homes and Medical Centres
• Manufacturing facilities
• Warehousing and Storage
• Offices
• Retail
• Restaurants, Bars and Cafes
• Education facilities

To discuss how you could benefit from the Fire Risk Assessment services Lighthouse provide, fill in the consultation request form at the top of this page or call us on 0845 459 1724.