who can risk assessment

Who can complete a fire risk assessment?

Any occupied building must undergo a fire risk assessment, whether it is an office, shop, warehouse or residential building.

If you are responsible for a building, it is important to do all you can to reduce the risk of fire to keep people safe.

Did you know a fire risk assessment is a legal requirement. If you are responsible for a building, for example the employer, owner, or occupier of the premises that is not a single private dwelling, in other words a private home, you need to make sure a suitably competent person completes a fire risk assessment.

There is increased emphasis on correctly documenting fire risk assessments for buildings which are used by employees or members of the public.

Having an up-to-date fire risk assessment saves lives, it is your legal duty, and it makes good business sense.

Who is responsible for completing a fire risk assessment?

Under UK legislation every business must carry out a fire risk assessment. Who is eligible to be the “responsible person” and is able to carry out an assessment depends on the types of premises and its main use.

For domestic buildings, the occupier, or for rented residential properties the landlord, is responsible for carrying out an assessment.

Landlords and freehold owners have a legal duty to have carried out an assessment on all properties.

Whether it is a rental or owned property, carrying out a risk assessment makes good sense to ensure the safety of its occupants.

For business premises, the business owner/employer or certified employed is allowed to carry out risk assessments.

For hazardous industries or those with complex risk, many business owners opt to employ 3rd party businesses to carry out their fire risk assessments on their behalf. This ensure that all risks and hazards have been correctly identified and adequate safety measures are put in place.

When allocating a “responsible person”, you must ensure that they are fully trained and aware of how to complete an assessment. They must be fully aware of what a risk assessment must cover.

What does a fire risk assessment cover?

Fire risk assessments cover a range of areas, the main areas are:

  1. What are the hazards
  2. Who is at risk?
  3. Can the risks be reduced and/or removed?
  4. Recording findings, completing emergency plans and providing required training
  5. Review and update assessments at regular intervals

What are the hazards?

Fire risk assessments cover a range of areas, the main areas are:

  1. What are the hazards
  2. Who is at risk?
  3. Can the risks be reduced and/or removed?
  4. Recording findings, completing emergency plans and providing required training
  5. Review and update assessments at regular intervals

Who is at risk?

Who is at risk from fire hazards will vary depending on what roles people carry out in the building. Whenever a risk assessment is carried out, clear identification on who will be in the building, what they will be doing and how they will interact with potential hazards is of paramount importance.

Not all hazards will impact people within a premises in the same way. For example, within a welding establishment, all staff members will have common risks, such as fire within a building or electrical equipment in common area.

However, a receptionist in the front foyer within the building is likely to have reduced risks in comparison to a welder using MIG welding equipment within the workshop space.

Having a clear understanding on who is at risk and from what, allows the correct planning and procedures to reduce the impact of those risks and ensure the persons safety.

Can you the risks be reduced, removed and how severe are they?

Although it is not possible to completely remove fire safety risks, there are many ways to reduce the occurrences, severity and impact of those risks that remain.


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