Chapter 4: Fire Safety Risk Assessment

34. Employers, managers and any persons with control to any extent of the premises, including its owner(s) in some cases, have duties in respect of fire safety of the premises. It is a legal requirement to carry out a fire safety risk assessment. This forms a crucial element in the overall safety policy for the premises. It is essential that the risk assessment is specific to fire safety and to the premises concerned. An overall generic risk assessment will not be sufficient. It is essential that the person who undertakes this fire safety risk assessment is proficient to do so.

35. Persons can be considered proficient where they have sufficient technical training and experience or knowledge, both to carry out a fire safety risk assessment and understand fully the procedures and management involved, and to undertake properly the measures referred to in this guide. Risk assessment in complex premises may require the assessor to have a greater level of knowledge and expertise.

36. This chapter explains fire safety risk assessment and sets out a step-by-step guide to the process. The method suggested shares a similar approach to that used in general health and safety guidance.

What Is a Fire Safety Risk Assessment?

37. A fire safety risk assessment is an organised and methodical look at the premises, the activities within the premises, the potential for a fire to occur and the harm it could cause to the people in and around the premises. The existing fire safety measures are evaluated and kept under review to establish whether they are adequate or if more requires to be done.

38. For the purpose of fire safety risk assessment, a hazard is a situation that can give rise to a fire. Risk has two components: the likelihood that a fire may occur; and the potential for a fire to cause death or injury i.e. consequence. Both of these components should be considered in a fire safety risk assessment.

39. The aims of a fire safety risk assessment are:

• To identify hazards and reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low as is reasonably practicable; and
• To determine what fire safety measures and management policies are necessary to ensure the safety of people in the building should a fire occur.

How is a Fire Safety Risk Assessment Carried Out?

40. There are five steps in the assessment process and these are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Five Steps of the Fire Safety Risk Assessment Process

Step 1: Identify People at Risk

4.1 An assessment should be made of those persons at risk if a fire occurs. This involves identifying the number and location of people working and other persons who frequent the premises such as visitors, customers and contractors. Visitors to the premises may be unfamiliar with the internal layout.

42. The maximum numbers liable to be in the building at the same time should be determined. This can be anticipated from the size of the premises and knowledge of trading patterns. There is guidance in Technical Annexe 13.8 for calculating potential occupancy capacity.

43. Account should be taken of the lack of awareness and immaturity of any young persons employed and consideration given to employees and others who may work alone such as cleaners and security staff and anyone who may be in isolated areas such as maintenance staff.

44. Persons who have some form of disability may have difficulty in perceiving or responding to a fire or in leaving the premises if there is a fire and this must be considered. Alterations may have been made to the premises to increase accessibility for disabled persons in order to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. In considering staff and visitors, any disability and associated difficulty should be identified. Information and guidance on the evacuation of disabled persons in the event of fire is available in Practical fire safety guidance: the evacuation of disabled persons from buildings.

45. There are other persons who may have some reason for not being able to leave the premises promptly such as elderly customers or parents with children.

Step 2: Identify Fire Hazards

46. This step involves identifying potential ignition sources, the materials that might fuel a fire and the oxygen supplies which will help it burn.

47. For a fire to start, three components are needed: a source of ignition, fuel and oxygen. These components can be represented in the form of a triangle of fire as shown in Figure 2. If any one of these components is missing, a fire cannot start. Taking steps to avoid the three coming together will therefore reduce the chances of a fire occurring.

Figure 2: The Triangle of Fire

FUEL (Flammable gases, liquid or solids)
OXYGEN (Present in the air)	IGNITION SOURCE (Such as cooking, smoking, electrical equipment)

Identify Sources of Ignition

4.8 Potential ignition sources are those where sources of heat could get hot enough to ignite material found in the premises. These sources could include:

• Smokers' material such as cigarettes, matches and lighters;
• Naked flames such as candles or gas open-flame equipment;
• Electrical, gas or oil-fired heaters (fixed or portable);
• Hot processes such as repair work by contractors;
• Cooking equipment;
• Lighting equipment such as halogen lamps or display lighting;
• Deliberate fire raising; or
• Faulty or misused electrical equipment.

49. Indications of 'near-misses', such as scorch marks on furniture or fittings, discoloured or charred electrical plugs and sockets, cigarette burns etc, can help identify hazards.

Identify Sources of Fuel

50. Anything that burns is fuel for a fire. Material which will burn reasonably easily and is in enough quantity to provide fuel for a fire or cause it to spread to another fuel source should be identified. This applies to contents, fixtures and fittings and also to structure and materials used to construct or line walls and ceilings such as polystyrene or tiles. How these fuels might contribute to the spread of fire should be identified. Shops are likely to contain a larger quantity of fuel than offices.

5.1 Some of the most common 'fuels' found are:

• Textiles, soft furnishings and clothing;
• Flammable liquids and solvents, such as white spirit, methylated spirit, cooking oils, disposable cigarette lighters and adhesives;
• Flammable chemicals, such as certain cleaning products and photocopier chemicals that use hydrocarbon solvents;
• Seasonal or religious occasion decorations;
• Packaging materials, stationery and advertising material;
• Plastics and rubber, such as video tapes and upholstered furniture;
• Waste material, particularly when finely divided such as shredded paper, wood shavings, off cuts, and dust; and
• Flammable gases such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and aerosols.

Identify Sources of Oxygen

52. The main source of oxygen for a fire is in the air around us. Air supply generally falls into one of two categories: natural air flow through doors, windows and other openings; or mechanical air conditioning systems and air handling systems. In many buildings there will be a combination of sources, which will be capable of introducing or extracting air to or from the building.

53. Additional sources of oxygen can sometimes be found in materials used or stored in premises such as:

• Some chemicals (oxidising materials), which can provide a fire with additional oxygen and so assist it to burn; or
• Oxygen supplies from cylinder storage

54. Oxygen apparatus poses a special hazard. High concentrations of oxygen can cause materials to burn extremely rapidly and some materials which are not normally considered combustible, can burn in an enriched oxygen atmosphere. Oxygen is dangerous when in contact with grease or oil.

Step 3: Evaluate the Risk and Decide if Existing Fire Safety Measures are Adequate

55. Step 3 of the fire safety risk assessment involves an assessment of the hazards and analysis of whether the fire safety measures taken reduce the risks posed by the hazards to an acceptable level.

Evaluate the Likelihood of a Fire Starting

56. The chances of a fire starting will be low if there are few ignition sources and combustible materials are kept away from them. In general, fires start in one of three ways:

• Accidentally, such as when displays are knocked over;
• By act or omission, such as when electrical equipment is not properly maintained, or when packaging is allowed to accumulate near to a heat source; or
• Deliberately, such as intentional setting fire to external storage or rubbish bins.

57. The premises should be critically examined to identify any potential accidents and any acts or omissions which might allow a fire to start. This should include situations that may present an opportunity for deliberate ignition.

Evaluate the Consequence to People from a Fire Starting in the Building

58. Having considered the people likely to be at risk should a fire start in the building and the chances of a fire occurring, the extent of the actual risk to those people if a fire starts and spreads should be considered. In evaluating the risk to people it is necessary to consider situations such as:

• Fire starting on a lower floor affecting the escape routes for people on upper floors especially where there is only a single escape route;
• Fire developing in a space that people have to pass by to escape from the building;
• Fires that may develop in unoccupied spaces;
• Fire or smoke spreading through a building via routes such as poorly installed, poorly maintained or damaged vertical shafts, service ducts, ventilation systems, walls, partitions, ceilings and roof voids;
• Fire and smoke spreading through the building due to open doors, doors not fitted with self closers, doors being wedged open or damaged doors; and
• Fire and smoke spread through open areas such as atria.

59. Additionally, where the building is in multi-occupancy, specifically consider;

• The risk from a fire which may occur in communal parts or in another part of the building occupied by a different person; and
• The risk which a fire in the premises may pose to other occupiers of the building and any adjoining premises.

Risk Reduction

60. In implementing fire safety measures, fire safety law requires that certain principles should be considered, these are:

• Avoiding risks;
• Evaluating risks which cannot be avoided;
• Combating risks at source;
• Adapting to technical progress (as this often offers opportunities for improving working methods and making them safer);
• Replacing the dangerous with the non-dangerous or less dangerous;
• Developing a coherent fire prevention policy which covers technology, organisation of work and the influence of factors relating to the working environment;
• Giving collective fire safety protective measures priority over individual measures; and
• Giving appropriate instruction to employees.

Avoid or Reduce the Hazards that May Cause a Fire

61. Having identified the fire hazards in Step 2, the risks should be avoided or removed if reasonably practicable to do so. If the hazards cannot be removed, measures should be taken to reduce the risks.

Remove or Reduce Sources of Ignition

62. There are various ways to reduce risk caused by potential sources of ignition, for example:

• Replace naked flame and radiant heaters with a central heating system;
• Restrict the movement of, and guard portable heating appliances;
• Ensure that prohibition of smoking is enforced;
• Ensure electrical and mechanical equipment is installed, used, maintained and protected in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions; and
• Take precautions to avoid deliberate fire raising.

Remove or Reduce Sources of Fuel

63. There are various ways to reduce the risks caused by materials and substances which burn, for example:

• Ensure flammable materials are stored properly;
• Remove combustible wall and ceiling linings, such as polystyrene or carpet tiles, to reduce the surface rate of flame spread and smoke production;
• Reduce stocks of flammable materials on display in public areas to a minimum. Keep remaining stock in dedicated storerooms or storage areas where the public are not allowed to go and keep the minimum required for the operation of the business;
• Take action to avoid storage areas being vulnerable to fire raising or vandalism; and
• Develop a system for the control of combustible waste by ensuring that waste materials and rubbish are not allowed to build up and are carefully stored until properly disposed of.

Remove or Reduce Sources of Oxygen

64. The potential source of oxygen supplied to a fire can be reduced by:

• Closing doors and other openings;
• Ensuring that doors are close fitting and, where appropriate, fitted with seals;
• Controlling the use and storage of oxygen cylinders, ensuring that they are not leaking and that where they are located is adequately ventilated;
• Closing down ventilation equipment; and
• Not storing oxidising materials near or within any heat source or flammable materials.

65. In some cases the action may be a precaution taken in case a fire starts, such as keeping certain doors closed. In other cases the action may take place once a fire is detected, such as when ventilation equipment is shut down (either manually or automatically) or the automatic release of door hold open devices.

66. In buildings with a smoke control system the situation is more complicated. Input of air will be essential to the operation of the smoke control system and some openings in the building may be designed to open automatically when the system operates.

Remove or Reduce the Risks to People from a Fire

67. The fire risk to people should be reduced to as low as is reasonable by putting into place fire safety measures. The level of fire safety measures provided in premises should be proportional to the risk posed to the safety of the people on the premises. The higher the fire risk, the higher the standards of fire safety measures required. Fire safety law organises fire safety measures into seven groupings, which are:

• Measures to reduce the risk of fire and the spread of fire;
• Means of escape;
• Securing that the means of escape can be safely and effectively used;
• Means for fighting fires;
• Means for detecting fire and giving warning of fire;
• Arrangements for action to be taken in event of fire, including instruction and training and mitigation of the effects of fire; and
• Other measures prescribed in fire safety regulations.

68. The objective of fire safety law is to achieve life safety. Chapters 5 to 12 contain further guidance on fire safety measures which can be adopted within premises and the Technical Annexes contain further information and benchmarks against which existing fire safety measures can be compared. The guidance should be applied in a flexible manner but without compromising the safety of persons on the premises.

69. Where improvements to fire safety measures in premises are identified as a result of a fire safety risk assessment, a programme for the implementation of improvements should be drawn up. The programme should have determined timescales indicating the completion dates for any action required. Where improvements involve building work they are subject to Building Regulations.

70. It is important that the status of the Technical Annexes in this guide is understood. Most of the benchmarks in the Technical Annexes are a modification of the Building Regulation standards and associated Technical Handbook guidance that applies to new buildings. The intent of the modification is to provide benchmarks that can be used as a comparison in existing premises. Achieving the same standard as the benchmarks may reduce the risk in existing premises to a degree consistent with the result of a fire safety risk assessment. It may be reasonably practicable to upgrade to a particular benchmark in some situations but not in others. The relevant benchmarks should be used as guidance in order to achieve an overall degree of safety and reduction in risk.

71. Enforcing authorities should not seek to compel these benchmarks on a prescriptive basis. Prescription is not compatible with fire safety risk assessment and all premises will be different, with each risk assessment being site specific and decisions in respect of fire safety standards should at all times be based on judgement of risk and be justifiable, both from a compliance and an enforcement perspective.

Step 4: Record Fire Safety Risk Assessment Information

72. Having carried out a fire safety risk assessment in relation to the premises, the findings should, in some circumstances, be recorded, including any action taken or action still to be taken. Fire safety law requires information to be recorded where five or more employees are employed (whether they are on site or not) or the premises are subject to licensing or registration or an Alterations Notice has been issued requiring this. Recommendations in respect of recording are contained in chapter 5.

Step 5: Review of Fire Safety Risk Assessment

73. A review of the fire safety risk assessment should be carried out regularly. If the findings of the fire safety risk assessment are considered to be no longer valid or there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates, such as a change to the premises that has affected the risk or the fire safety measures, the assessment should be reviewed. Other such changes that might prompt a review include:

• A change in the number of people present or the characteristics of the occupants including the presence of people with some form of disability;
• Changes to work procedures, including the introduction of new equipment;
• Alterations to the building, including the internal layout;
• Significant changes to furniture and fixings;
• Significant changes to displays or quantities of stock;
• The introduction or increase in the storage of dangerous substances; and
• Becoming aware of shortcomings in fire safety measures or potential improvements.

74. The potential risk of any proposed change should be considered before the change is introduced. If a change introduces new hazards consider the fire risk and, if significant, do whatever is needed to keep the fire risk under control. In any case the fire safety risk assessment should be kept under review to make sure that the fire safety measures remain adequate.

75. If a fire or 'near miss' occurs, this could indicate that the existing assessment may be inadequate and a re-assessment should be carried out. Identify the cause of any incident and then review and, if necessary, revise the outcome of the fire safety risk assessment in light of this experience. If the Fire and Rescue Service has attended a fire in the premises, their findings may help inform a review of the fire safety risk assessment.