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Have you carried out your Fire Prevention Obligations?

Regular Audits Save Lives

Legislation requires every business to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment, evaluating their premises in terms of fire safety and identifying measures to remove / reduce possible fire risks.

What Does The Fire Risk Assessment Entail?

  • McL Fire will supply a fully qualified assessor to physically inspect your premises and work processes.
  • The Assessor will then provide an easy to understand, fully detailed, written assessment based upon a physical inspection of your premises.
  • A prioritised action plan will then be prepared, showing how to remove or reduce the risk of fire to your premises and to your employees.

McL Fire Assessors are Fully Qualified and Approved, including former Inspection & Enforcement Fire Safety Officers from assorted Fire & Rescue Services. Our solution is also third-party BAFE Approved (SP205 Life Safety Fire Risk Assessments), so you can rest assured that our teams are competent, and that our procedures have been rigorously examined by the relevant certification bodies.

Your Fire Risk Assessment must be reviewed and updated continuously to keep it a ‘live’ document.  It should always be updated following any change in premises, processes or number of people employed, or if you have had a near miss or small fire.  It is good practice to review it at intervals not exceeding 12 months.

The possible actions required when conducting a Fire Risk Assessment.

The following provides an overview of fire risk assessment and how you might go about it. Fire risk assessment should be the foundation for all the fire precautions in your premises. It is essential to read and understand the guidance documents that apply to your premises. Initially a simple single line drawing of the premises to scale, could be drawn, showing any relevant structural features and the use of particular areas e.g. production, storage, office accommodation, storage and plant, etc.

A copy of the plan will be useful should you have a fire at your premises, to give to the fire service when they arrive to assist them in fire fighting operations. The plan can then be used to indicate hazards, and persons especially at risk. It will assist you to identify where combustibles and ignition sources come together, or are in close proximity, and the action to be taken. In very small premises a simple naught and crosses system can be used; red circles for combustibles and blue crosses for heat/ignition sources.

Review, revise & monitor on a regular basis.

Your fire safety risk assessment is not a one-off procedure and should be reviewed regularly. If the findings of the assessment are considered to be no longer valid or there has been a significant change to the premises, or the organisation of the work undertaken has affected the fire risk or the fire safety measures, the assessment should be reviewed.

Situations which might prompt a review include:

  • A change in the number of people present or the characteristics of the occupants including the presence of people with some form of disability.
  • Changes to work procedures, including the introduction of new equipment alterations to the building, including the internal layout significant changes to furniture and fixings.
  • Significant changes to displays or quantities of stock.
  • The introduction or increase in the storage of hazardous substances; or
  • Becoming aware of shortcomings in fire safety measures or potential improvements.

For Fire Extinguishers in Belfast, get in touch!

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