Introduction to Fire Safety Management

14 Fire
14.1 Introduction
As has been previously discussed in Chapter 5, the
purpose of risk assessment in general is to assist an
employer and/or a nominated ‘responsible person’ to
identify the preventive and protective measures required
to comply with the law. The same may be said for fi re risk
assessment.
The principles involved with fi re risk assessment
are very similar to those adopted for task-based and
workplace-based risk assessment with a number of
discrete differences, in particular many of the protective
control measures are built in at the design stage of a
building, as has already been discussed in Chapter 9.
It is therefore essential when considering the fi re risk
assessment process to include not only the task-based
or operations-based risks, which may cause a fi re, but
also the building risks that may prevent persons responding
and being able to escape to a place of safety in the
event of a fi re. The principle of this chapter is to draw
together all of the elements previously discussed within
the preceding chapters to enable those completing a
fi re risk assessment to ensure that it is both suitable and
suffi cient.
This chapter discusses the following key
elements:
➤ Defi nitions relating to fi re risk assessment
➤ The process of fi re risk assessment
➤ Risk assessment recording and reviewing
procedures
➤ The preparation of the emergency plan.
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risk assessment
14.2 Defi nitions relating to fi re risk
assessment
Chapter 5 of this book included basic defi nitions relating
to general risk assessment. Further defi nitions specifi -
cally related to fi re are detailed below.
14.2.1 Fire hazard
A primary fi re hazard is something that has the potential
to cause harm, by initiating or exacerbating a fi re (ignition,
fuel or oxygen source).
A secondary fi re hazard is something that has the
potential to cause harm by preventing an adequate
response in the event of a fi re (inadequate size of escape
route, lack of signage, lack of effective emergency plan).
14.2.2 Fire risk
A combination of the likelihood (chance or probability) of
a fi re occurring and should it do so, the severity (or consequences)
of the outcome.
14.2.3 Fire risk assessment
The process of identifying fi re hazards and evaluating
the level of risk (including to whom and how many are
affected) arising from the hazards, taking into account
any existing risk control measures.
14.2.4 Fire risk controls
Workplace precautions, for example sprinkler systems
within a building, fi re alarm and detection systems, fi re
emergency plans (procedures), work permit systems and
portable fi re fi ghting equipment.