The legislation requires the requirement of a fire risk assessment at every workplace. A responsible individual must perform it to minimize the chance of an incident involving fire safety risk.
Failure to adhere to guidelines for fire risk assessments could be punished with severe sanctions, fines, or even prison.
The ‘Responsible Person’ should be assigned before the finalization of the assessment. The name of the person chosen must be made known to all.
The person who is responsible could be an employer or a designated fire marshal and is required to evaluate the site and conduct fire risk assessments regularly to fulfill the construction site security.
Although accidents can’t be completely avoided, being aware of fire hazards. That could be a risk can allow for the appropriate steps to deal with and avoid them from happening.
What Is An Assessment Of Fire Risk?
A risk assessment for fire safety is a systematic and planned examination of the construction site by the responsible person. Assigned to the site to discover the fire hazards and assess the surrounding area’s overall safety levels.
The assessment aims to identify factors that may impact the probability of a fire developing and determine the damage it might cause to the people living in the vicinity.
The Importance Of Assessment Of Risk For Fire
Construction sites pose one of the most dangerous fire hazards because of the possible fire dangers. The risk is elevated because of factors such as the utilization of equipment, raw materials, and electrical wires located on the site.
Every year, fires happen at construction sites that cause the structure to collapse, assets to be destroyed, and, in the worst-case scenario, the possibility of people being injured or even killed.
They can result in delays to projects but also be costly since the construction materials and time must be replaced and repaid.
Fire Risk Assessment Steps
- Recognize any potential fire hazards (sources for ignition, sources of fuel, etc.)
- Find out who is at risk and in what way.
- Reduce the risk and dangers to the lowest degree
- Consider the risk and ways to put controls in to mitigate the risks (escape routes or fire exits lighting, training, and so on.)
- Document the results and apply them
- Verify that the control measures are in place
- Check your risk assessment yearly or more often when you believe it’s appropriate.
Control Measures
Before construction even begins, the site for construction should be planned to take fire safety control measures. The design must contain the following aspects:
- There must be an adequate number of emergency exits and routes. They must be clear all the time and, if necessary, must be lit with emergency lights to be used at any moment.
- The signs clearly show where doors and exit routes are
- Equipment for fighting fires to be distributed equally in the proper locations
- Alarms for fire detection and fire detection systems that are to be installed
In addition, employees must undergo training and be inducted to use the correct equipment to fight fires required primely for construction security. Regular employee, fire safety education is suggested to ensure that employees know how to act in an emergency.