Fire Safety Consultancy

In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005  applies to all workplaces (this includes construction sites) and common areas in residential premises where there is more than one residential dwelling.  This Order requires the ‘responsible person’, which includes any person who, by virtue of any contract or tenancy, has an obligation in relation to maintenance or repair of the premises, or anything in or on the premises, or the safety of the premises, for example contractors, to ensure the safety of all relevant persons that might be harmed by fire.

As with all hazards, the first step to controlling it, is to first determine the risk, which is what the fire risk assessment aims to do.
Aside from the legal requirement to carry out a fire risk assessment, a fire risk assessment helps you understand the potential risks and improve your fire safety precautions, so you can keep employees and visitors safe.

We can conduct fire risk assessments on most premises which come under the requirements of the Order. Get in touch today to discuss your fire risk assessment needs.

• Fire safety awareness
• Fire marshal
• Fire warden
• Fire extinguisher selection and use

A fire safety management plan details your arrangements to implement, control, monitor and review fire safety standards and to ensure those standards are maintained. The plan describes the arrangements for effectively managing fire safety so as to prevent fire occurring and, in the event of fire, to protect people and property.

The fire safety management plan consists of the adopted evacuation strategy and fire safety training specific to the building staff  employed to work there, addressing any specific fire risks within the premises and detailing particular duties which should be performed during an evacuation for certain staff and the company policy and procedures to be implemented, such as maintaining compliance with fire risk assessments; maintenance and testing of internal systems; implementing in house fire door checks;  arranging planned preventative maintenance (PPM) schedules for the fire protection systems and any other relevant services; management of contractors and creating hot work permits etc.

We can assist you to put all of this information into a coherent fire safety management plan to help ensure you are appropriately managing fire risks in your business, or review/update your existing fire management plan to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

A ‘fire strategy’ is a complex document specifically tailored to a building, reviewing all aspects of the building’s fire safety features including construction, compartmentation strategy, means of escape and other fire safety features/measures – including management arrangements in place to ensure it is fit for use for the end user of the premises or intended purpose group. Approved documents are used predominantly as guidance for achieving the requirements of the Building Regulations for new residential and commercial buildings: however, they are not lawfully enforced, unlike the Building Regulations. Alternatively, associated approaches may be used such as that described in BS 9999, or a fire engineered approach in developing a fire strategy for a premises.

Is a fire strategy a legal requirement?

Where a building is erected or extended, or has undergone a material change of use, Regulation 38 of the Building Regulations requires that a package of fire safety information must be assembled and given to the responsible person of the premises. A fire strategy is commonly used as a means for collating and providing that information.

We can develop, or assist with the development of a compliant fire strategy for your project. We can also review existing or draft fire strategies to ensure compliance, where applicable.

Fire safety appraisal of designs to ensure compliance with Building Regulations 2010 and/or an alternative British Standard such as BS 9999 or BS 9991

We can provide fire safety advice as part of the design process to help ensure your designs meet the relevant regulations requirements, or generally in relation to most fire safety aspects of your project.