What Is A Fire Risk Assessment, And Why Is It Important?

An integral part of determining whether your property needs remedial services (such as Waking Watch or interim fire alarm measures), the process for a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) is crucial to understanding what the next steps are for your property and the ongoing safety of residents.

It’s not always clear-cut, though, especially as FRAs and Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) are, by design, one of the most rigorous inspections your property will undergo. As a leading provider of Waking Watch services, ProFM Group are on hand to demystify the FRA process.

We’ll be examining exactly what a fire risk assessment looks for, what that means for both property owners and residents alike, and the all-important next steps. We’ll also talk about why these assessments are essential for the wider industry, and for keeping buildings, property and residents safer in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.

What Is A Fire Risk Assessment?

A Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) is a structured, legally required inspection of a building that determines the key risks of fire at a property. It follows a set structure to ensure that all aspects of the property are considered and that any potential fire risk factors are identified and properly mitigated, or that measures are put in place to ensure that fire is contained and poses minimal risk to occupants.

It is different to a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall (FRAEW) in that it is primarily concerned with internal fire safety measures (such as fire alarms, extinguishers, and reinforced fire doors), but the two are often linked, with the FRA uncovering a need to conduct an FRAEW. This often forms part of the next steps you’d need to take after your Fire Risk Assessment, which we discuss later in this article.

An FRA is carried out by a properly licensed and trained professional. In most cases, this will be a local Fire and Rescue Service, but it may also be conducted by an entity or person who’s registered with the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE).

While this can be an individual who is associated with the building (a resident, for example), they will need to have undergone the proper training to be able to formally carry out the FRA and make appropriate recommendations. This is why many opt for this to be done by an external party or body, with local Fire & Rescue Services being the most prevalent option.

It is a legal requirement to have a Fire Risk Assessment conducted for any dwelling that is not a “single private dwelling”. This was written into law by the Regulatory Reform Order of 2005, and essentially refers to most non-house properties with a few exceptions, such as offshore projects like oil rigs.

It’s particularly of note for high-rise dwellings, including apartment blocks, flats, student accommodation, and large-scale social housing. That will be the focus of this piece, alongside how that can lead to the implementation of a Waking Watch service.

What Does A Fire Risk Assessment Look At?

At its core, a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) will look at the fundamentals of what can cause a fire, what the effects of that fire could be, and how occupants will be affected. That usually includes:

• How likely a fire is to start
  • This may involve looking at electrical components and infrastructure, as well as any pressure points for the flow of electricity in the property.
• Any areas where there is a more pronounced risk
  • Communal areas where multiple devices are plugged into a single socket, or older technology (like refrigerators) that could spark a flame.
• What may happen if a fire does start
  • The damage that could be incurred to property and assets is important to consider, but any good FRA will place the utmost emphasis on preserving life.
• What measures are in place to mitigate risks from fire
  • This encompasses fire extinguishers, alarm systems, sprinkler systems, fire doors, and emergency exits.
• What measures are in place to protect people
  • This would include evacuation strategies, including any specific Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs), and emergency lighting and signage.

This effectively only scratches the surface, however. An FRA is designed to be as thorough as possible – essential, given that a lax approach can endanger lives – and a good FRA will review every aspect of your existing measures and property features to highlight every area of fire safety at your property.

As per the insurance firm Howden Group, FRAs cannot (and should not) be a surface-level assessment. By necessity, they need to be as in-depth as possible, and while our summary above highlights the key points an FRA will cover, there’s much more to it. Here’s a brief breakdown of some of the more complex aspects a licensed and trusted FRA will cover:

• Construction methods used both internally and externally
• Information around compartmentation (how fire is contained in a building where a “Stay Put” strategy is already in place), and any breaches that could exacerbate the spread of fire internally
• Residency fluctuations (such as reduced resident numbers during working hours)
• Any routine or intermittent visitors who need to be aware of the evacuation strategies, emergency exits, and appropriate mitigation measures
• Any “emerging technologies” that are used across the property (solar panels on a shared array, for instance, or EV charging points) and their risk factor
• Any coordinated approach that’s taken to evacuation strategies, and the responsible parties for facilitating this

Outside of that, a Fire Risk Assessment may also pinpoint any concerns that may have been overlooked, or that could present a concern for the future. As Howden Group point out, it’s unlikely that any property that has a Fire Risk Assessment completed will have no actions to consider – the purpose of the FRA is to help keep occupants safe, and any improvements are recommended with that sole purpose in mind.

Who Is Responsible For Arranging A Fire Risk Assessment?

It’s the duty of the Principal Accountable Person (PAP) to ensure that a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) takes place at their property. This follows the Building Safety Act 2022, which outlines the obligation for all residential high-rises to have a PAP.

In residential properties with multiple occupants, this is usually a point of contact at the management agent or property owner. It may be:

• Social Housing Provider – This can be a company, charity or governmental body that offers subsidised housing options for residents.
• An Estates Management Company – This is typically a company that assumes responsibility for the ongoing management of all or part of the blocks.
• A Resident Management Company – This is where a group of residents take responsibility for the ownership of the building.
• A Commonhold Association – This is the system which allows individual properties within a building or larger development to be owned on a freehold basis. It’s the formal name given to blocks of flats, high-rise residential buildings, and other buildings with multiple, self-contained properties.
• A Local Authority – This typically refers to a council or other local authority board. In London, this would be a London Borough Council (for example, the London Borough of Hounslow).
• An Individual – This could be the case if, according to the Building Safety Act 2022, they are “the building owner or named on the leasehold as being responsible for the maintenance of common parts”. They’ll often be referred to as the Landlord or Estate Owner.

Alongside this, there may also be multiple Accountable Persons (APs). This is usually the case in larger blocks or residential buildings, but there will always be a PAP among those APs. Alongside arranging that FRA, a PAP will also have a range of additional duties relating to fire safety at their property. These include:

• Putting measures into place to prevent building safety risks from happening
• Reducing the severity of any issues that do occur
• Reporting fire, structural and cladding issues or incidents
• Engaging with residents on the safety of the building
• Maintaining, updating and providing information about the ongoing safety of the building

• Preparing a resident engagement strategy, which sets out how residents will be involved with safety decisions relating to the building
• Notifying the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) if there are any changes to an AP

If you’re a resident, you are more than likely not an AP or PAP, as this could produce a conflict of interest and may result in skewed results from your Fire Risk Assessment. You will, however, be notified ahead of any FRA that takes place at your property, as the assessor may need to check your apartment or unit as part of their checks (to monitor proper compartmentalisation, for example).

What Are The Next Actions After A Fire Risk Assessment?

This depends on the results of your Fire Risk Assessment (FRA), as well as the severity of the issues that your FRA finds. We’ve broken it down into the most common results from an FRA, and what they might mean for your property.

My Property Has Little To No Recommendations

If this states that your property is in good working order or that its construction does not use any unsafe or potentially dangerous cladding, you do not need to do anything. Your property is completely safe, and there would be little benefit in having fire watch services.

As part of this, your residents will adhere to “Stay Put” guidance. This means that the construction of the building ensures that fire is contained for between 30 and 120 minutes, allowing the Fire Brigade sufficient time to respond and keep residents safe.

The only time when this may change, and your AP or PAP will need to request a further Fire Risk Assessment, is if there is something that changes the capacity of the fire alarm system. This may be construction works which disrupt the communications or damage the structure of the property.

My FRA Has Advised That A Fire Risk Appraisal Of External Wall Is Needed

If your Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) has uncovered that your building has unsafe cladding, or that materials used in the construction of your property are hazardous, you’ll need to have a suitably authorised person conduct a recognised Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (EFAEW) that complies with PAS 9980:2022.

The Government’s guidance on suitable professionals to complete an FRAEW is in-depth and covers a range of different professionals who’d be well-positioned to support. That includes building surveyors, architects, façade engineers, and fire engineers, all of whom should be registered with their appropriate body (the RIBA or CIAT for architects, the IFE for fire engineers, or the ICE for civil engineers, for instance).

Your FRAEW will then follow a comprehensive process to determine whether there’s any additional risk posed by the construction and makeup of your external walls, with 4 key stages to the process:

• Documentation Review
  • Your assessor will review all architectural drawings, structural schematics, construction details and other appropriate documents to help them understand the make-up of the building.
• Site Inspection
  • Your assessor will conduct a formal site visit to assess the construction in person, as well as take samples of the materials to check for combustibility and possible dangers.
• Risk Identification & Evaluation
  • Your assessor will formally quantify all the possible risks involving the external walls of your property, evaluate and categorise these in line with PAS 9980, and present these in an easily accessible report.
• Recommended Next Steps
  • Your assessor will conclude their report and assessment with final recommendations for the next steps, and whether or not funding applies to your property.

It is against the law to ignore any formal recommendations following either an FRA or an FRAEW, and the offence carries an unlimited fine and up to years in prison.

My FRA/FRAEW Has Advised Urgent Measures Be Put In Place

If your FRA has found serious failings in the fire safety measures you have in place (an improper or non-functioning fire alarm, or no measures in place to raise the alarm), your Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) may recommend that you put something into place immediately to keep residents safe and maintain legislative compliance.

This will often revolve around an alarm installation package, which can be partially or wholly funded by the government’s latest round of Waking Watch funding. However, this is the ideal scenario, and it’s acknowledged by the leading fire authorities (including the National Fire Chiefs’ Council (NFCC), the Fire Safety Executive (FSE) and the Regulatory Reform Order 2005) that this can and does take time.

Here, a Waking Watch service is usually recommended as a “stopgap” in those interim periods between when issues are identified and an appropriate, BS5839-compliant fire alarm system can be installed.

Why Is A Waking Watch Recommended After A Risk Assessment?

The main benefit of a Waking Watch solution, and a pivotal reason it’s recommended as an interim measure for properties without the proper fire safety infrastructure, is that it’s available immediately. With any conscientious Waking Watch provider, they’re able to deploy rapidly using a dedicated network of trained professionals.

The long-term (any period of more than 3 months, with 6 months at the maximum) recommendation is, of course, that an automated solution be implemented, as this reduces the reliance on human involvement and ultimately streamlines the process for residents. However, as we’ve seen, this isn’t something that can be actioned as rapidly as a Waking Watch service can be.

Waking Watch services also act as that additional reassurance for residents. A key part of the National Fire Chief Council’s (NFCC) guidance is that residents should be kept informed at all times of any changes to fire safety measures, and a physical presence helps reinforce the idea that you’re doing everything you can to ensure the ongoing safety of your occupants.

Again, it’s important to stress that a Waking Watch is always designed to be an interim solution, even from a visibility perspective. Clearly marked and working alarm systems, emergency lighting, and well-communicated exit strategies are the logical next step and provide a more autonomous approach to raising the alarm and facilitating an evacuation (or a Stay Put strategy in properties that do not have unsafe cladding).

Proven Solutions With ProFM Group’s Waking Watch Services

The bottom line when it comes to Waking Watch services, as a recommendation from your Fire Risk Assessment (FRA), is that you need a company you can trust. While it’s designed to be a short-notice, short-term package, it’s absolutely integral to keeping residents safe and remaining compliant with fire safety regulations.

It’s an area where ProFM Group have previously excelled, best exemplified by our work with Connexus Homes. When Connexus requested 5 licensed officers to conduct a 24-hour Waking Watch service at their property in Hereford, we delivered exactly that within 4 hours. That was further expanded a week later, following additional findings from their FRA, bringing the total number of officers to 8.

We feel that showcases our adaptability and our desire to do the very best we can, regardless of the size, scope, or length of time that a Waking Watch is needed for. We respond rapidly, delivering trained professionals on a rotating 24-hour basis to provide the crucial coverage that residential properties (and their occupants) demand.

It’s one of the most critical services we deliver, and ProFM Group’s officers and trained professionals respond with the seriousness and professionalism that it warrants. It’s also a service that we’re proud to demobilise with that same expertise – a Waking Watch is designed for that interim, and we want to ensure that you’re able to move swiftly and safely onto a more automated solution.

What we would emphasise, though, is that you can’t afford to delay, especially not where resident safety is concerned. Get in touch, 24 hours a day, on 03444 779991 to arrange your necessary Waking Watch cover, and to speak with our knowledgeable, in-house experts.