What is considered in a Fire Risk Assessment?
The duty to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment in the communal areas of a residential block or property falls under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This is because communal areas of managed residential property are deemed a workplace and therefore attract the requirements of The Order. The guidance is somewhat vague and there are no specific time periods for how often Fire Risk Assessments must be carried out or reviewed, only that it should be ‘regularly’. In general, Fire Risk Assessments will usually need to be reviewed every 1-3 years; under the discretion of the Risk Assessor and dependent on the severity of the risks found at the property.
The Fire Risk Assessment is considered the foundation from which the whole fire strategy for a property is built. It is a way of preventing a generic one size fits all approach to fire safety that can have potentially devastating effects.
In this article, we discuss some of the crucial things that Fire Risk Advisors look for when carrying out a Fire Risk Assessment on a residential block, as well as discussing when a Fire Risk Assessment may need to go beyond the communal areas and become more intrusive.
What are Risk Assessors looking for when they carry out a Fire Risk Assessment?
Standard (Type 1) Fire Risk Assessments will look at the communal areas of a block of flats and will identify the fire hazards and risks in the building. As well as the slightly more obvious hazards such as combustible items being stored in the communal areas, they will be looking for any process issues, such as inspection regimes and routine tests; these are referred to as legal non-compliances. For instance, they will check for records of:
- Fire Door Inspections that comply with the Fire Safety Regulations 2022
- External Wall Systems including balconies
- Inspection and maintenance of smoke detectors
- Fixed electrical installation inspections
- Testing and maintenance of emergency lighting
- Regular property/ site inspections
In addition to this, the Assessor will be looking for evidence of co-ordination, co-operation and communication with residents, regarding;
- Their individual flat entrance doors.
- Fire safety within non communal areas.
- The emergency plan for the property.
Please note these lists are not exhaustive and will of course differ with every property.
Are Fire Doors considered in Fire Risk Assessments?
As part of your Fire Risk Assessment, the Assessor will comment on doors as far as they can, bearing in mind that access to front doors can be difficult. Some of the issues in regards to fire doors that may be included in a Fire Risk Assessment report can include:
- UPVC doors installed as flat entry doors
- Doors not appearing to meet the minimum half hour standard of fire resistance, e.g., large gaps
- Fire doors not closing into frames correctly
- Cold smoke seal/intumescent strip missing from doors
- Fire doors not labelled “Fire Door Keep Closed”
- Fire doors wedged open
However, in order to fully inspect the doors and comply with the Fire Safety Regulations 2022 a Fire Door Inspection should be arranged to be carried out as well as a Fire Risk Assessment. Communication with the residents is vital here, so that full access to the doors can be gained. Fire Door Inspections are crucial for assessing the whole door set and should be carried out by a competent person or organisation.
When would a Fire Risk Assessment need to go Beyond the Communal Areas?
Type 1 is the most common type of Fire Risk Assessment and is usually sufficient for most purpose-built blocks of flats and conversions. Type 1 is a non-destructive assessment of the communal areas of the building, not the private dwellings.
In general, access to these occupied areas (such as flats) is not expected or required unless there is there is reason to believe that there may be significant fire issues inside.
In which case, a Type 3 or Type 4 Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) may be required. Type 3 FRAs go beyond the requirements of the law by considering the flats as well as the common parts and is usually considered necessary if it is thought there may be a fire risk inside of the flats.
Type 4 FRAs also consider both the common parts and inside of the flat, but have a destructive element. They are required to be more intrusive as they look closely at the compartmentation and fire stopping for the building. Type 4 Fire Risk Assessments are sometimes referred to as Compartmentation Surveys.
What is a Compartmentation Survey and when would it be required?
A Compartmentation Survey is a more intrusive survey that involves an element of destructive sampling and is required when there is good reason to believe there are serious structural flaws that need further investigation due to the risk that this could lead to breaches in compartmentation and the spread of fire throughout the building.
Compartmentation Surveys can include both the communal areas and the tenant’s demise (Type 4) or just the common parts (Type 2).
Generally, Compartmentation Surveys, are only necessary in very limited range of circumstances and not be routinely recommended unless there is strong justification. For instance, a Compartmentation Survey may be recommended if a new landlord has acquired a block of flats for which the history of construction work is suspicious. Furthermore, they may also be required in light of an enforcement notice issued to the building.
Should you require further information please give the 4site team a call on 01376 572936.
