EMBERSHIELD

The Health & Safety at Work Act also places a duty on an employer, landlord, managing agent to:

“Ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees, and to ensure that employees and others are kept safe. Under the Act you have an obligation to ensure any potential risk of work-related violence is eliminated or controlled. If you have five or more employees you must have a written health and safety policy statement, setting out how you manage health and safety in your organisation”

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) 1999 also require:

Employers to consider the health and safety risks to employees and to carry out a risk assessment to protect employees from exposure to reasonably foreseeable risks. Those risks include work-related violence. A risk assessment is an examination to:

1. Determine what hazards exist in the workplace;
2. Establish the significance of the risk;
3. Identify and implement prevention and control measures;
4. Produce a clear management action plan.

If you have five or more employees you must record the significant findings of your risk assessment and any groups of employees identified by it as being especially at risk. In addition, employers have a requirement to appoint competent people, set up emergency procedures, provide information to employees and work together with employers sharing the same workplace.

1. Obtain information on the building, the processes carried out in the building and the people present, or likely to be present, in the building;
2. Identify the fire hazards and the means for their elimination or control;
3. Assess the likelihood of a fire;
4. Determine the fire protection measures in the building;
5. Obtain relevant information about fire safety management;
6. Make assessment of the likely consequences to people in the event of fire;
7. Make an assessment of the fire risk;
8. Formulate and document an action plan;
9. Define the date by which the fire risk assessment should be reviewed.

This will depend on the type and complexity of the building and the current level of risk for example:

1. High risk premises then yearly would be advised.
2. Moderate risk premises then 2 yearly.
3. Low risk then 3 yearly.

A risk assessment is needed if there are:

1. Any material changes to the building, 
2. Change of use.
3. After any incidents.
4. After any action by the enforcing authorities.
5. Regular reviews are also needed.

Fires need three things to start – a source of ignition (heat), a source of fuel (something that burns) and oxygen:

1. Sources of ignition include heaters, lighting, naked flames, electrical equipment, smokers’ materials (cigarettes, matches etc), and anything else that can get very hot or cause sparks.
2. Sources of fuel include wood, paper, plastic, rubber or foam, loose packaging materials, waste rubbish and furniture.
3. Sources of oxygen include the air around us.

Employers (and/or building owners or occupiers) must carry out a fire safety risk assessment and keep it up to date. This shares the same approach as health and safety risk assessments and can be carried out either as part of an overall risk assessment or as a separate exercise.

Based on the findings of the assessment, employers need to ensure that adequate and appropriate fire safety measures are in place to minimise the risk of injury or loss of life in the event of a fire.

To help prevent fire in the workplace, your risk assessment should identify what could cause a fire to start, ie sources of ignition (heat or sparks) and substances that burn, and the people who may be at risk.

Once you have identified the risks, you can take appropriate action to control them. Consider whether you can avoid them altogether or, if this is not possible, how you can reduce the risks and manage them. Also consider how you will protect people if there is a fire.

1. Carry out a fire safety risk assessment.
2. Keep sources of ignition and flammable substances apart.
3. Avoid accidental fires, eg make sure heaters cannot be knocked over.
4. Ensure good housekeeping at all times, eg avoid build-up of rubbish that could burn.
5. Consider how to detect fires and how to warn people quickly if they start, eg installing smoke alarms and fire alarms or warning devices.
6. Have the correct fire-fighting equipment for putting a fire out quickly.
7. Keep fire exits and escape routes clearly marked and unobstructed at all times
8. Ensure your workers receive appropriate training on procedures they need to follow, including fire drills.
9. Review and update your risk assessment regularly.