Fire risk assessments are an integral part of keeping your building site safe, protecting your workers and your property from the devastating danger of a fire starting on site.
Just because there was a fire risk assessment carried out on your site at some point in the past does not mean that another one does not need to be done either.
Building sites are constantly changing and evolving as new technology is developed leading to new risks and considerations that need to be made regarding your fire safety.
In this blog, we will take a look at the specifics of building site fire risk assessments, walking you through how to carry out such an assessment and why it is so important to review and optimise your fire safety on a regular basis.
What are fire risk assessments?
Fire risk assessments are carefully structured processes designed to identify potential fire hazards and introduce fire safety measures to minimise the risk they pose.
The assessment should inform your fire safety protocols and be the underpinning foundation of health and safety training you provide your staff.
An effective fire risk assessment that is taken seriously by building site managers really can save lives and will reduce the threat of expensive property damage and legal fees.
What is involved in a building site fire risk assessment?
Unsurprisingly, the main purpose of a fire risk assessment is to identify the fire risks that exist on your construction site.
This will include any hazards such as flammable materials, fuel storage areas, flammable paint, and any locations that would be particularly challenging to evacuate in the event of a fire.
After this has been done, it is time to evaluate the risks that have been identified and work out what can be done to mitigate them. There will always be some degree of risk on a construction site simply due to the nature of operations but with the right precautions the dangers can be kept to an absolute minimum.
You should also take note of how your fire safety protocols are affected by the security systems that you have in place including things such as perimeter lighting and building site access control gates.
If you have any questions about how to carry out a building site risk assessment, get in touch with a professional security company who will be able to advise you or even conduct one on your behalf.
Who can carry out a Fire Risk Assessment?
It is the duty of a designated responsible person to oversee the application and implementation of a fire risk assessment.
It is often the business owner who conducts the assessment or the building site manager in the construction industry.
Only a suitable experienced and responsible person should ever be given the duty of carrying out a risk assessment, be it a fire assessment or a security assessment. Ideally they will have a background in fire safety or at least had some training on how to carry out a risk assessment effectively.