What fire arrangements do I need to have in place?
If you are an employer or you own premises, you have a legal duty to make sure that your workplace or premises and the people who work there are kept safe from fire and its effects. You should do this by:carrying out a fire risk assessment for your workplace;
This will help you to decide:
- what the chances are of a fire starting in your workplace;
- whether a fire in your workplace would put people in danger;
- whether your existing fire precautions are suitable; or
- whether more precautions are needed.
Your risk assessment will help you you to identify who might be especially at risk if there was a fire, for example:
- all of your employees;
- vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, young workers or people with communication difficulties;
- people who are not in the workplace all of the time, such as cleaners or visitors;
- members of the public; and
- people in other businesses who share your workplace.
Your fire risk assessment will also help you to provide and maintain the necessary fire precautions to protect the people who use your workplace such as:
- Controlling source of ignition
- Limiting fuel for fire
- Detecting and warning about fires
- Fighting a fire
- Maintaining and testing fire precautions
- Housekeeping
- Providing fire safety information, training and instruction to employees and others
Remember - A fire cannot start without a source of ignition (for example, matches, hot processes) and something to fuel it (for example, wood shavings, gas), so look for these in your workplace. You should also consider how your premises are built and how this might allow a fire to spread. If you have particular concerns, you should ask for advice from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. Visit their website at: http://www.nifrs.org/
Click to download book ‘Managing fire safety in the workplace’.(3.18MB) which provides a step-by-step guide to carrying out a fire risk assessment and includes a number of useful fire safety templates.
