Getting fire risk assessment right

Here Dr David Charters BSc, PhD, CEng, FIFireE, MIMechE, MSFPE, director of Fire Engineering at BRE Global, an independent third party approvals body offering certification of fire, security, and sustainability products and services, examines the critical role of fire risk assessment, and explains why the process should provide the ‘foundation’ for effective fire safety measures.

 In the current financial climate, it is essential that the NHS can ensure continued fire safety. This can be best achieved through consideration of fire risk assessment and future fire strategies. These considerations are of crucial importance, not only in preventing injury and death to patients, visitors, and staff, but also to ensuring the continuity of care provision. All healthcare premises have legal duties to properly consider fire safety under the Fire Safety Order 2005. Although the Fire Safety Order is intended to protect life, in doing so it also brings significant benefits to business continuity and the continued provision of care (although this is no substitute for formal risk management of the provision of care). The Rosepark care home fire in Lanarkshire 2004, in which 14 people died, was one of the worst fires in a care home in the UK, and serves as a tragic example of the dangers of fire in healthcare premises. A Fatal Accident Inquiry was started on the case in November 2009, and concluded in August 2010. After 141 days of evidence, it is considered to be the longest Fatal Accident Inquiry in Scottish history. There was much speculation about fire precautions and risk management in the care home before the results of the investigation, and the research, findings, and lessons to be learned from the tragedy, were recently presented at a special BRE conference. The safety of patients and the continuity of their care, along with rigorously enforced legal requirements, mean that all healthcare premises must undertake fire risk assessments. Good relationships and effective systems of sharing information between healthcare fire advisors and fire and rescue service auditors mean the necessary fire safety audits carried out by the Fire and Rescue Service can be made far less onerous and more beneficial. Fire risk assessments can be complex tasks, but guidance and expert help is available.

Fire risk assessments