Fire Safety
Let Us Guide You Through Your Compliance Obligations
Fire Risk Assessment, along with all other fire safety services focuses on your life safety obligations.
Fire Safety
Fire Risk Assessment, along with all other fire safety services are focussed on life safety obligations as required by Regulatory Reform (fire safety) Order. Services will establish all compliance obligations, including servicing, maintenance, and inspections schedules, in consideration of, mechanical and electrical systems (M&E), passive fire, specialist fire equipment, and all relevant plant and equipment.
Employers, landlords and managing agents, along with all persons who control or manage property, must ensure the risks to life from fire is appropriately managed. For all properties, the responsible person must ensure all compliance obligations are being met, and the risk to life is minimised in accordance with the design criteria and/or regulatory standards.
Accordingly, all persons responsible for managing property must understand the risks to life associated with fire and must appoint a responsible person to ensure all compliance obligations are met.
Fire Risk Assessment
Our specialist Fire Risk Assessors will undertake a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA), to ensure you remain compliant with this mandatory statutory requirement…..
Fire Door Inspections
Our qualified Fire Door Inspectors will undertake a non-intrusive visual inspection of all fire doors, identifying instances where the protection may have been compromised…..
Compartmental Survey
A specialist fire safety consultant will undertake a non-intrusive survey of the accessible* passive fire protection (compartmentation), checking all relevant areas under the control of the client…..
Fire Drills
A formal fire drill, independently reviewed and recorded by a fire safety professional. Specifically developed to review and confirm adequacy of evacuations arrangements….
Fire Design Strategy
Specialist fire safety consultancy support to develop and or review Fire Design Strategy (FDS). This is a requirement during the planning phase of new properties, extensions, or significant refurbishmentss….
Fire Safety – the Legal bit….What Is Required
Fire Safety must be managed in accordance with the Regulatory Reform (fire safety) Order 2005 (RRO). The principal requirement being the safety of ‘Life’ and assessment of risk by ensuring a competent person undertakes a Fire Risk Assessment
The RRO applies to all commercial businesses, shops, offices, care facilities, factories, warehouses, community halls, schools, pubs, restaurants, hostels, and hotels, along with any business/person that is responsible for the common areas of ‘multi-family housing units’ – including those in high rise apartment blocks.
In compliance with the RRO the following are the responsible person:
- an employer
- the owner of the building
- the landlord of the building
- a facilities manager, building manager, managing agent, risk assessor, or anyone else with control of the premises.
The responsible person must ensure a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) of their building is undertaken by a competent person, the FRA is regularly reviewed, and plans are in place to protect life and property during a fire emergency.
Ensuring health, safety and fire is managed systematically and in accordance with regulatory requirements is a priority for all businesses. Utilising a ‘Competent Person’, who can be either employed or retained via a consultancy arrangement is a mandatory requirement. (Management of Health & Safety Regulations 1999, regulation 7).
Fire Strategy & Compartmentation - the legal bit
Fire Design Strategy
A fire strategy is a complex document specifically tailored to a building, detailing all aspects of the building’s fire safety features including, construction, compartmentation strategy, means of escape and other fire safety features/measures. The strategy will include the required management standard to ensure the ongoing arrangements to maintain safety are available 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.
In addition, and to improve fire safety or allow fire safety exception of the standard codes, a fire safety engineered approach can be developed and applied. Considerations for engineered solutions could include, automatic fire suppression, smoke & heat exhaust ventilation, smoke curtains etc.
Compartmentation (Passive Fire)
Passive protection that provides the compartmentation is a critical aspect of a buildings fire strategy; the fire protection of compartments provides safety by reducing the spread of fire and smoke. Compartmentation is provided horizontally and vertically, usually by floors, walls, or doors which are designed and constructed to offer a specified level of protection.
Managing and maintaining the level of internal protection along escape routes (including protected routes, fire doors, the treatment of service penetrations and joints in construction) is necessary to ensure fire separation is achieved to aid safe evacuation and meet other fire safety objectives including those required by Building Regulations.
Fire Doors - the legal bit
Fire Doors (Commercial Property)
Fire door inspection must be undertaken six monthly in all buildings where the passive fire protection is a legal obligation under both the Building Regulations, and to meet the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (and similar legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland). Fire Doors create fire and smoke breaks to protect escape routes, high-risk or high-value areas, and prevent loss of life and extensive property losses.
Fire resisting doorsets are a vital passive fire protection measure and will be found in almost all buildings, providing protection to escape routes and areas of high fire risk. They are often subject to damage due to misuse or general wear and tear and should undergo regular inspection to ensure they continue to function properly. Fire door inspections allow for remedial work to be identified and subsequently implemented to ensure the spread of fire can be minimised and provide building occupants with additional time to escape. A fire door inspection scheme should include in-house visual inspections and, where necessary, full surveys by a competent contractor.
The Responsible Person must ensure that a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment has been undertaken and this will typically involve a review of the condition of existing fire doorsets. However, the scope of a fire risk assessment will not extensively cover all fire doors and frames. Sampling can indicate the presence of significant issues, such as incorrectly fitting doors, missing features (such as intumescent seals, if required) and obvious signs of damage, but a more extensive door inspection survey may be required.
Fire Doors (Residential Property)
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced legal requirement applicable from 23 January 2023. The new requirement stated that, the Responsible Persons for all multi-occupied residential buildings in England with storeys over 11 metres in height must:
- undertake quarterly checks of all fire doors (including self-closing devices) in the common parts,
- undertake – on a best endeavour basis – annual checks of all flat entrance doors (including self-closing devices) that lead onto a building’s common parts.
Best Endeavours: It will be for responsible persons to determine the best approach to engage with residents in order to get access to undertake the annual checks of flat entrance doors. This could include the responsible person agreeing with residents a date, so access can be granted.
The regulations also require responsible persons to provide to residents of all multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises (that have common parts) information on the importance of fire doors to a building’s fire safety.
The regulations do not replace the existing duty for a responsible person to put in place general fire precautions in any premises covered by the Fire Safety Order, regardless of the building’s height.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 has clarified that in any residential building which contains two or more sets of domestic premises are within the scope of the Fire Safety Order.
Responsible persons for residential buildings below 11 metres in height have a duty to put in place general fire precautions in these buildings, this duty includes making sure that all fire doors – including flat entrance doors – can provide adequate protection.
Quick Access to Key Services
Fire Risk Assessment
Fire Door Inspections
Health & Safety Risk Assessment
Legionella Risk Assessment
