Chapter 4: FIRE SAFETY RISK ASSESSMENT

30. Employers, landlords/managing agents, managers and any persons with control to any extent of the premises providing sleeping accommodation, 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.

31. Persons can be considered proficient where they have sufficient 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. Nobody knows as much about the business as those operating it. Using their knowledge and experience, they can identify key issues and practical suggestions for improvements. However, if they do not feel confident enough to undertake the fire safety risk assessment, for example, due to the complexity of the premises or the activities undertaken on them, a fire safety specialist may be commissioned.

32. 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?

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. 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?

36. 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

37. An assessment should be made of those persons at risk if a fire occurs. This involves identifying the number and location of people sleeping, using and working in the premises and other persons who frequent the premises such as visitors and contractors. In general, guests and visitors to the premises may be unfamiliar with the internal layout.

38. The maximum numbers liable to be in the building at the same time should be determined. This can be anticipated from knowledge of residency and the total number of bed spaces available.

39. 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 anyone who may be in isolated areas such as maintenance staff.

40. Where premises accommodating guests are not continuously staffed, this should be considered in terms of the additional risk this imposes.

41. 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, guests, residents, tenants 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. Other persons may have some reason for not being able to leave the premises promptly, such as elderly persons or parents with children.

42. In some premises, such as licensed HMOs providing rehabilitation programmes (not falling within the definition of a “care home service” under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001), there may be a higher probability that residents are under the influence of drugs, alcohol or medication. As a result, their mobility, awareness and understanding may be impaired. This will directly affect their ability to respond to an emergency, such as a fire. Where this is the case, then consideration should be given to the additional risks posed and the assistance which may be required by some residents in order to evacuate the premises if necessary.

43. Any special assistance required in terms of fire safety issues can be identified when guests first register, residents are first accommodated or tenants take up a tenancy.

Step 2: Identify Fire Hazards

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

45. 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

Identify Sources of Ignition

46. 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, gas open-flame equipment and solid fuel fires/stoves;
Electrical, gas or oil-fired heaters (fixed or portable);
Hot processes such as repair work by contractors;
Cooking equipment;
Lighting equipment such as lamps;
Laundry equipment;
Deliberate fire raising; and
Faulty or misused electrical equipment.

47. 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

48. 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 the 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.

49. Some of the most common ‘fuels’ found are:

Textiles, soft furnishings and laundry;
Flammable liquids and solvents, such as white spirit, methylated spirit, cooking oils, disposable cigarette lighters and adhesives;
Flammable chemicals, such as certain cleaning products;
Stockpiles of wood/kindling used for open fires;
Seasonal or religious occasion decorations;
Plastics and rubber, such as video tapes and upholstered furniture;
Waste material; and
Flammable gases such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and aerosols.

Identify Sources Of Oxygen

50. The main source of oxygen for a fire is in the air around us, such as natural air flow through doors, windows and other openings.

Step 3: Evaluate The Risk And Decide If Existing Fire Safety Measures Are Adequate

51. 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

52. 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 smoking materials are not properly extinguished or when bedside lights are knocked over.
By act or omission, such as when electrical equipment is not properly maintained, or when waste is allowed to accumulate near to a heat source.
Deliberately, such as intentional setting fire to external storage or rubbish bins.

53. 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

54. 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 walls, partitions, ceilings and roof voids; and
Fire and smoke spreading through the building due to open doors, doors not fitted with self-closers, doors being wedged open or damaged doors.

55. Additionally, where the building is in multi-occupancy such as a flatted building, or is multi-use such as a mixture of offices and flats, 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

56. In implementing fire safety measures, 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 or other relevant persons, such as tenants, as considered necessary.

Avoid Or Reduce The Hazards That May Cause A Fire

57. 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

58. 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;
If smoking is permitted, it should be in those areas which are exempt from statutory prohibition only;
Ensure electrical and mechanical equipment is installed, used, maintained and protected in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;
Ensure gas appliances are installed, used, maintained and protected in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;
Take precautions to avoid deliberate fire raising.
Include instructions for proper use of cooking facilities where provided for the use of residents/tenants; and
Consider restricting or prohibiting the use of candles and other naked flames in resident/tenant areas.

Remove Or Reduce Sources Of Fuel

59. 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 and combustible materials in public areas to a minimum; and
Develop a system for the control of combustible waste by ensuring that it is not allowed to build up and is carefully stored until properly disposed of.

Remove Or Reduce Sources Of Oxygen

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

Closing doors and other openings; and
Ensuring that doors are close fitting and, where appropriate, fitted with seals.

61. In some cases the action may be a precaution taken in case a fire starts, such as keeping certain doors closed.

Remove Or Reduce The Risks To People From A Fire

62. 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.

Step 4: Record Fire Safety Risk Assessment Information

63. 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

64. 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;
Alterations to the building, including the internal layout;
Significant changes to furniture and fixings; or
Becoming aware of shortcomings in fire safety measures or potential improvements.

65. 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.

66. 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, its findings may help inform a review of the fire safety risk assessment.