What to Expect from a Fire Risk Assessment
A fire risk assessment is something every business needs to do. The assessment will give you a clear idea of what you need to do in order to protect your workplace and your employees from fire. After all, employers are solely responsible for workplace fire safety, including preventing fires from spreading, maintaining building regulation standards, and ensuring your staff are capable of putting out small fires.
So, what should you expect from a fire risk assessment? Let’s take a look.
Evaluate the Risks
What is your workplace like? The assessor will go through and look for potential fire hazards. While these may not be eliminated, they should be identified so you know what to watch for and where you need to prevent a fire from breaking out. This will include potential fuel sources, oxygen sources, and ignition sources.
You can divide everything into the following categories:
Fire Detection: The assessor will check that you have fire alarms and that they are capable of notifying everyone in the building of a fire. This may require lights as well as sirens, for those who are hard of hearing.
Training: Your current training plan will be evaluated. Your staff should be well trained, so they know exactly what to do if a fire does break out. They should also be aware of how to reduce the risk of a fire in the first place and should be adept in fire drills.
Escape Routes: Everyone should be aware of the escape routes throughout the building, but they should also be clearly marked. The exits must be available to use and not blocked. In case of an emergency, it’s essential that everyone can easily open the doors.
Fire Extinguishers: You must have fire extinguishers readily available for staff to use. These need to be easily found, marked with signs, and of the proper size and quality for the potential hazards. For example, in a kitchen, you want to make sure the fire extinguishers are compliant with kitchen regulations.
Emergency Lighting: If the power goes out during a fire or other emergencies, there needs to be a backup set of lights. These can be run on a battery to prevent them from turning off. While emergency lighting is useful everywhere, it should be used to light the way to the exit above all else.
Recommend Safety Measures
Finally, the risk assessor will give you a plan to ensure your workplace is as secure as possible. It should include where you need more fire alarms, fire extinguisher placement, and any fire escape routes that need to be cleared. You should also have an emergency training plan.
Do you need a risk assessment for your business? Contact EK Fire Protection today for more information.