As an employer, or as someone who has control of a workplace you must take steps to ensure that you have what is known as a 'suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment' in place.Fire regulations were introduced in 2006 to simplify fire safety procedures and make it more straightforward for people to understand what they should do.

Whilst virtually every businesses will be required to assess the risk for their premises (both inside the building and outside in any yard or forecourt areas), whether or not this should be in the form of a written assessment or not can depend on a number of factors. Generally a written assessment is only required where there are 5 or more working on the premises, however having hazardous materials on the premises may negate this exemption. The problem with not carrying out a written assessment is that no-one can really be sure that an assessment has taken place or that the findings of such an assessment have been acted on. This position creates problems in terms of your tenancy which generally requires you not to do anything which invalidates insurance. Your landlord will therefore require some proof that an assessment has taken place and any findings have been acted upon.

In most cases you can do this yourself by simply downloading the Fire Risk Assessment Chart from our Forms page, working through the check list, adding your notes and providing us with a copy. If your business prepares an alternative form of fire risk assessment you must provide us with a copy.

You can find out more about the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 from the Fire Safety In The Workplace website, or you can download our Fire Risk Assessment - FAQ from our Forms page.

We are concerned that there are a number of companies who are panicking businesses into using their services to provide written assessments. In some cases having your risk assessment prepared for you may be best for your business, but these services are often expensive and unnecessary and some companies are employing pressure tactics by telephone. We have provided more detailed information about undertaking a Fire Risk Assessment.

For a basic fire safety information, download A Short Guide To Making Your Premises Safe From Fire.

If your premises are used as a factory or warehouse you can download Fire Safety Risk Assessment (Factories and Warehouses).

If your premises are used as offices or shops you can download Fire Safety Risk Assessment (Offices and Shops).

All these documents can be obtained from our Forms page.