Fire Risk Assessment Dorset

A fire risk assessment in Dorset is a legal requirement for every business owner.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to all buildings that are not private homes. This includes:

• Schools and universities
• Hospitals and care homes
• Retail units
• Residential buildings and HMOs
• Pubs and restaurants
• Factories

The purpose of a fire risk assessment is to identify potential fire hazards and reduce the risk of harm to people and property.

About Fire Risk Assessments

The fire risk assessment is a comprehensive inspection that considers:

1. Building: Including age, construction, layout and history of fires
2. People: Including the number of people, their age, whether anyone has any disabilities and whether anyone is a lone worker
3. Ignition sources: Like open flames, combustible fuels and electrical equipment
4. Fire safety systems: Such as sprinklers, emergency lighting and extinguishers
5. Escape routes: What condition these are in and how well they are maintained
6. Fire safety training: Who is trained and how often is this carried out
7. General housekeeping: Such as obstacles, clutter and wires that could potentially block someone’s evacuation

By the end of the fire risk assessment in Dorset, you might receive recommendations for areas that need improvement. As the ‘responsible person’ for the building, you must implement these improvements and act on any feedback provided.

It’s also important to understand that a fire risk assessment is not a one-time task. You are responsible for regularly reviewing the assessment. If anything changes in your building or business that could make the assessment outdated, you should arrange for another visit to ensure it remains current.

Why Choose Hawkesworth?

• We are fully accredited and experienced
• We offer out-of-hours appointments to fit your business needs
• All of our engineers are City & Guilds certified and DBS-checked
• We can arrange multi-site services if you need fire risk assessments for multiple properties in Dorset
• We’ll send you helpful reminders when your next assessment is due

To arrange a fire risk assessment in Dorset, use our contact page to get in touch.

FAQs

What are the hazards and risks in fire risk assessments?

These two terms are frequently used in fire risk assessments. A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm, while a risk refers to the likelihood of that harm occurring.

For example, flammable liquids are a fire hazard. They become a fire risk if they are handled by untrained staff, in a crowded room, with only one emergency exit.

On the other hand, if the flammable liquids are stored and managed correctly, in a room with fewer people and two well-lit fire exits, the risk significantly decreases.

While not every hazard can be fully eliminated, they can be isolated and controlled to improve safety and reduce risk.

Who can complete a fire risk assessment?

Legally, anyone who considers themselves ‘competent’ can carry out a fire risk assessment. However, it’s important to understand the significant responsibility involved. If your business is inspected and found to have an inadequate fire risk assessment, you could face serious legal consequences, or worse, you could put people’s lives at risk.