No need to fear a fire risk assessment

Does your practice comply with new fire legislation which came into force at the end of 2006? It will, if you can show that you have produced a suitable fire risk assessment and have procedures in place to address any identified risks.

Dental practices need to be aware that the first prosecutions under the new Regulatory Reform Order are now being brought, resulting in fines for breaches of regulations such as obstructing exits and wedging open fire doors. However the British Fire Consortium reports that many business owners worry that conducting a fire risk assessment will be complicated and time consuming and result in expensive alterations or installation of sophisticated safety equipment. Consequently, some premises are not being assessed and staff and patients may be risk. The good news is that in the majority of cases, recommendations made following a fire risk assessment at a well run premises are relatively minor and inexpensive.

There are two routes to fire risk assessment. The first and most time consuming method is to download a copy of the 145 page guideline document from www.communities.gov.uk and work through the process yourself. An alternative approach is to call on the services of a specialist fire company who will use qualified and experienced staff to conduct the assessment for you swiftly and efficiently. Many British Fire Consortium members are trained to offer this service and will provide the most cost effective and straightforward recommendations for compliance.

A fire risk assessment forms the main ethos of the new legislation and must be formally recorded if there are five or more people employed by the practice or if the type of premises requires it. Enforcement is usually carried out by a fire officer. BFC member, Martin Hughes, whose company, Eurofire, conducts fire risk assessments as well as installing and maintaining fire safety equipment, provides an insight into a typical assessment and its outcome. He explains, “Businesses should really not be concerned about what recommendations resulting from a risk assessment might cost. What is far more important is the safety of people using the premises. Staff, visitors or patients need reassurance they are in a safe place.”

But in Martin’s experience, especially in well run premises, the recommendations will be minor. He continues, “We recently assessed the premises of a dental practice located in the ground floor and basement of a traditional terraced property. The premises were found to constitute a ‘normal fire risk’. Combustible materials were stored safely, fire exit routes were clear, a suitable manually operated fire alarm and portable fire extinguishers were already provided and routinely maintained. Our recommendations included: The installation of one fire door to provide fire separation between the ground floor and the basement; opening up a partially bricked-up door from the basement into the light well at the front of the building to form a more suitable fire exit route; and the implementation of a training programme for staff. Considering the age of the building, this was a relatively inexpensive outcome for the business. In modern premises, we often find that the installation of some new fire safety signage is all that we recommended.”

Martin believes most fire risks are reduced by common sense and good practice and suggests the following regular checks for ALL practices, including those which employ under five people.

• Keep all exits clear
• Test fire alarms weekly (they should be maintained every six months)
• Check fire extinguishers weekly (they should be maintained annually)
• Check signage is in place weekly
• Ensure all staff undertake appropriate training so they have sufficient knowledge of the building and know how to react in the event of fire including the use of fire extinguishers and evacuation procedures.

Reproduced by kind permission of The Probe

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