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What Is A Fire Risk Assessment?
Ever since the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 made it legal for risk assessments to be carried out on certain types of property, businesses around England and Wales have been required to prove they are complying with the law by submitting their assessments to their local fire authority. Designed to help reduce the outbreak of fire in the work place, fire risk assessments are also essential for providing employees with basic fire safety skills that will allow them to take responsibility in the event of an emergency.
Before the Order in 2006, fire certificates adequately deemed whether a property was safe or not. The new legislation however has been designed to be more focussed to identifying the hazards that pose a threat in the workplace and how these can be minimised. By assessing the risk of fire, companies are able to ensure that the fire safety proposals are adhered to and that legal obligations are met. Anyone who is regarded responsible within the workplace, including managers, must take responsibility for ensuring their premises are a safe environment for their employees to work in.
While many companies will still have fire certificates from previous years, which admittedly also included an element of fire risk assessment, all managers now must ensure they comply with the updated regulations. Even if there have been no changes within the workplace since the certificates were issued, a new fire risk assessment will still need to be carried out.
One of the best ways to do this is attending a Fire Risk Assessment course. Many businesses appoint specific members of staff to be responsible for fire safety in the workplace. By attending a course, staffs are able to apply the 2005 Fire Safety Order to their own working environments.
Courses vary from organisation to organisation however in general, employees will be taught about the current and future Fire Legislative Requirements and gain an understanding of their fire safety responsibilities. Throughout the course they will be shown how to identify fire hazards and people who are at risk.
Practical fire risk assessments, strategic approaches and the necessary practical applications will be demonstrated, highlighting best practice for preventing a fire breaking out.
This includes understanding which fire risks can be reduced and removed in the workplace. Employees will learn how to evaluate the whole process and often, many fire risk assessment courses will include some general fire awareness training.
Most courses will take a few days to complete however are reasonably priced given that you would only send a few employees on the course, depending on size of the company. The price of sending a few employees on the course will be significantly lower than the implications you will meet if you do not comply with the law. Every employee deserves to work in a safe environment, safe in the knowledge that fire risks have been minimised and with so many excellent fire risk assessment courses available today, there really is no excuse not to be prepared.
About the Author Dominic Donaldson is an expert in Fire Safety Find out more about Fire Risk Assessment and why it is so important for preventing a fire in the workplace. |
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