The Importance of a Fire Risk Assessment
It is an alarming fact, but despite plenty of government legislation in this area, many small businesses do not understand the basic requirements of fire safety legislation. With advice and legislation being updated on an ongoing basis, every business must do everything in its power to insure it understands the fundamental principals of a fire risk assessment.
When conducting a fire risk assessment the office manager must start by identifying the major hazards. This can by done by consulting the Health and Safety Executive’s official WebPages to familiarise oneself with the requirements. Next the manager should tour the office, identifying likely risks and talking to staff to use their experience of using the area. Using this information, the manager takes note of the workers using the office, their needs and what dangers they might conceivably face.
The next step is to identify current controls that are in place, assess their effectiveness and identify key areas for improvement. The manager should make it clear which individual is responsible for improvements and carefully make a note when each improvement is made. The final step is to discuss in detail the findings of the study and make sure each member of staff is aware of the procedures in the event of a fire.
However it can sometimes be beneficial to bring in expert advice to help with the fire risk assessment. There are a number of organisations out there that can provide expert advice and a thorough study of your office’s current status regarding fire risk and what kind of additions you need to implement. As well as consultancy the company can offer a range of advice, information and training courses. These range the full spectrum from basic tuition to advanced specialist courses that focus on key areas. Once these are undertaken the person responsible for fire safety within the office can stay up to date with current requirements.
The final thing to remember is that any fire risk assessment must not be a one-off event. Conditions in offices can change, as can the requirements of UK law. It makes sense to carry out regular studies of the office environment, run drills and continually do everything in your power to insure the office is adequately protected against fire.
We all hope this is not the kind of situation any office manger will have to face, but if the day does come the penalties for being unprepared do not bear thinking about.
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