Barbour Webinar Monday 16th September 2013
Fire Risk Assessment and the Competent Person
presented by Howard Passey
Commercial Director, FPA
Sponsored by:
Agenda for today’s webinar
• Introduction
• Overview of Barbour Services
• Presentation Fire Risk Assessment and the Competent Person
• Questions and Answers submit your questions via the chat box at anytime
• Post Event Survey – CPD Certificate
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Health and Safety Executive Today’s Presenter
Howard Passey Commercial Director FPA
While working for Ove Arup and Partners, Howard trained formally as a land surveyor, following which he spent eight years in the construction industry working for two main contractors progressing from a position of engineer to site manager. Howard joined the Fire Protection Association in April 1992 as a Training/Information Officer. Currently holding the position of Commercial Director he is primarily responsible for the Training, Membership, Publications and Fire Advisory Services functions.
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Fire Risk Assessment & the Competent Person
Howard Passey BEng(Hons) MIFireE MIFSM
Director
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Fire Protection Association
• UK’s National Fire Safety Organisation
• Established 1946
• ‘Not for profit’ business
• Activities:-
• Training including e-learning (www.fpa-academy.com)
• Publications and DVDs including streaming (www.fire-stream.net)
• Consultancy including Fire risk assessments and Risk
management surveys
• Insurer research & publications (www.riscauthority.co.uk)
• Fire Risk Management journal for Members (www.frmjournal.com)
• Experimental research, small and large scale
• Main website – www.thefpa.co.uk
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Responsibility for fire safety
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
That any fire-risk in a premises must be managed, for
the life of the building
Therefore the Responsible Person / Duty Holder must
ensure that a ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire risk
assessment is carried out and maintained and that
appropriate control measures are implemented
But, who is ‘responsible’?
However, the message is much the same
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
The legislation
Meaning of “responsible person”
3. In this Order “responsible person” means—
(a) in relation to a workplace, the employer, if the workplace is to any extent
under his control;
Risk assessment
9.—(1) The responsible person must make a suitable and sufficient
assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the
purpose of identifying the general fire precautions he needs to take to
comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed on him by or
under this Order.
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
The legislation
5. Duties under this Order
(3) Any duty imposed by articles 8 to 22 on the responsible person in
respect of premises shall also be imposed on every person, other than
the responsible person who has, to any extent, control of those
premises so far as the requirements relate to matters within his control.
(4) Where a person has, by virtue of any contract or tenancy, an obligation
of any extent in relation to—
(a) the maintenance or repair of any premises, including anything in or on
premises;
(b) the safety of any premises,
that person is to be treated, for the purposes of paragraph (3), as being
a person who has control of the premises to the extent that his
obligation so extends.
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
If you are involved in provision, maintenance or management of
fire safety at any level then you share liability for its usefulness
and its operation when it’s needed in fire, and that liability will still
be there in the event of a court case.
I place the order; it is not my responsibility to install the
works
If it is your responsibility to appoint a fire risk assessor or specify
a system, materials and/or appoint the installation contractor, it is
also your responsibility to ensure that they can prove
competency for the work they are undertaking.
It’s no longer simply a duty of care or voluntary – it’s a legal
obligation.
What does this mean in practice?
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
2 Pubs
Hotel rooms above
1 x 9 rooms
1 x 6 rooms
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
The inspection by F&RS
“Common sense breaches”
• Prohibition of 2nd and 3rd floors………..
• Locked exits
• Blocked staircases
• Non maintained fire alarm
• Non maintained extinguishers!
• Non maintained emergency lighting
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Why Prosecute?
• Risk assessor competency?
• Common sense breaches for owner?
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
The result
• Mr David Liu – Responsible Person
• 8 months imprisonment (due to early guilty plea)
(Precedent set at 12 months)
• £15,000
• Mr John O’Rourke – Fire Risk Assessor
• 8 months imprisonment (due to early guilty plea)
• £5,862
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Advice from the prosecutor
• Know the legislation
• Know the guidance documents
• Qualifications/ Training / CPD
• Competency
• Beware of precedents/templates
• Be premises specific
• Keep up to date
• Experience
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Analysis of 100 prosecutions From May 2007
With kind permission of Warren Spencer and IFSEC Global
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Analysis of 100 prosecutions From May 2007
• North west of England only
• Out of 100 cases, conducted only 3 trials
• All 3 found guilty
• Conclusion, most defendants pleaded guilty
• 5 cases withdrawn by prosecuting authority
• In 2, guilty plea entered by another defendant in respect of
same premises
• In one other defendants company had changed names and
been wound up
• In two other cases defendants disappeared. Warrants await!
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Analysis of 100 prosecutions From May 2007
• 92% of defendants pleaded guilty
• Conclusion – well prepared prosecutions
• 28% involved HMOs
• 21% involved premises containing multiple occupation
including living accommodation
• Therefore almost half of the prosecutions involved some
form of domestic premises
• County councils prefer to leave prosecutions in HMOs to
F&Ras rather than using powers under Housing Act
• Legal uncertainty surrounding extent and application of RRO
to HMOs
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Analysis of 100 prosecutions From May 2007
• Charges varied but,
• 85% charges included alleged breach
involving FRA
• 60% involved lack of fire alarm or working fire
alarm
• Next most common – lack of appropriate fire
doors
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Analysis of 100 prosecutions From May 2007
• Sentences varied,
• Fines being main punishment • (magistrates sentencing powers are limited to fines)
• Defendants can only be fined in accordance with their
means (companies usually in proportion to profits)
• Total fines handed out £427,400 + £266,339 costs
• 6 sentences of imprisonment
• 4 suspended
• 2 immediate imprisonment
• Community orders, (curfews) and unpaid work
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Enforcement examples
Company When Fine + Costs
Why
Tesco Apr 2010 £119k Inadequate FRA, blocked escape routes, inadequate fire separation
Shell June 2009
£345k Blocked routes, blocked exits, defective fire doors, excessive fire load, FRA not updated since 2003 and actions not implemented
Lillie House June 2012
£45k + 6 months
Serious fire safety failings leading to prohibition of use of the premises (breached twice)
New Look Nov 2009 £536k Alarm was silenced during a fire and customers and staff allowed to re-enter
Belfry Hotel Oct 2010 £125k Inadequate alarm, faulty detectors, substandard exits, lack of staff training
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Competent Persons… • The Responsible Person must….
• Take measures for fire-fighting in the premises, and; nominate
competent persons to implement those measures
• Establish and give effect to procedures to be followed in the event
of serious and imminent danger; and nominate a sufficient number
of competent persons to implement those procedures
• Appoint one or more competent persons to assist in undertaking
the preventive and protective measures.
• “preventive and protective measures” means the measures which have
been identified by the responsible person in consequence of a risk
assessment as the general fire precautions he needs to take to comply
with the requirements of this Order
• Competent?
• Sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Fire Risk
Assessment
Competency
Council
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
The FRACC criteria.....
• An understanding of the relevant current best fire
safety practices in premises of the type in question;
• An awareness of the limitations of the fire risk
assessor’s own experience and knowledge;
• A willingness and ability to supplement existing
experience and knowledge, when necessary, by
obtaining external help and advice.
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
An appropriate knowledge of....
Assessment
of risk from
fire
Applicable
legislation
Appropriate
guidance
Effects of fire
on people and
their behaviour
Behaviour of fire
in premises Means of
Escape
Fire
Prevention
Fire
Protection
Management of
fire safety
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
What is an Appropriate
level of knowledge?
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
BS9999: 2008
• Code of practice for fire safety in the design,
management and use of buildings’ states
‘The later installation of electrical and IT cable
systems, building service pipe work, for example,
often causes significant damage to the usefulness of
fire compartments in buildings …
…..cold work checking can be as important as control
of hot work permits for work on buildings’
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
PAS 79
Fire development and spread can be passively limited by
fire protection measures, such as fire resisting walls
and floors…, which can be used to subdivide the building
into a number of separate fire compartments…..
It will often be relevant, therefore, for the fire risk
assessor to take account of such fire-resisting
construction and to consider its maintenance [e.g. the
adequacy of fire stopping ], often by inspecting sample
areas of construction.
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
What is ‘appropriate’?
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Endoscopy
1056165r.zip
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Modular construction
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Structural insulated panels (SIPs)
• cellular plastics
• extruded polystyrene (XPS)
• sprayed polyurethane foam (SPF)
• polyisocyanurate (polyiso) insulation
• moulded expanded polystyrene (EPS)
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Insulating concrete forms (ICF)
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Hemcrete
Timber
Sheep wool insulation
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
What is ‘appropriate’?
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Engineered solutions
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
In summary
• Assessor must be competent
• Varies with the circumstances
• If using an external consultant, ensure they are
members of a recognised register
• Avoid the use of checklists – other than for the
simplest, and low risk of circumstances
• Use an appropriate template/proforma
• Record the assessment
• Keep the assessment under review
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Some numbers…
• Over 100 training providers offering FRA training..
• Varying standards
• The FPA successfully trained in the region of 800
FRAs in the last 12 months – and we are just one
provider
• Four main Fire Risk Assessor Registers (albeit
with more to come via BAFE SP205)
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Fire Risk Assessor Registers...
Organisation Application
Cost
Interview
Fee Renewal fee
Current
Registrants
IFE £127/£175 £88 £188/£305
IFSM £650/£400 No info No Info
Warrington £350 £300 £250
IFPO £185/£235 £110/£160 £200/£300
NSI 11 companies
173
116
35
14
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
THE UK’s NATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ORGANISATION
Protecting people, property, business and the environment
Fire Risk Assessment & the Competent Person
Thank You
For more information visit…..
www.thefpa.co.uk
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