Fire Risk Assessments

A fire strategy plan should only be conducted by a fully qualified and competent assessor, ideally they should be an accredited fire risk assessor or fire engineer holding an appropriate level of competency for assessing complex buildings or those that require a fully engineered approach. Competency can be proven by a high-level membership to IFE, IFSM, Chartered fire engineer, or a Tier 3 Risk Assessor.

For new buildings or buildings undergoing a change of use, a Fire Strategy plan, is usually done prior to the construction of a building and completed alongside the architects drawings. The fire strategy helps to inform decisions about the structure of the building, ensuring it is constructed with fire safety in mind, with adequate escape routes, detection and warning systems, access points for the fire service and sufficient passive fire protection. Fire Strategies can also be completed retrospectively on older buildings to provide a comprehensive understanding of how fire would spread in a building and to inform further fire safety planning and mitigation measures. The Fire Strategy will form the basis of an accompanying Fire Risk Assessment.

A Fire Risk Assessment is a legal requirement for businesses and organisations of any size, and must be carried out regularly to ensure that all firefighting, warning systems, and preventative measures are in place in regards to fire safety. A fire strategy plan helps to inform the risk assessor and identify the fire risks present in a building. Used together, the fire strategy and fire risk assessment ensures a comprehensive approach.

Typically fire doors protecting escape routes may be required to have smoke seals to control the spread of smoke.Your risk assessment should detail which fire doors are required to have smoke brushes in addition to a standard intumescent fire door seal. Any door requiring a smoke seal will be listed with an ‘S’ following the rating. For example FD30s.