Fire Risk Assessments

[Brian]

Has anyone used an outside party to carry out a fire risk assessment of a venue? How did you find it?

[boswell]

total bovine excreta, not aware of how a theatre operates, full of petty restrictions and things that did not apply plus bits left out, we binned it and did our own based on the HSE model. Our own is approved every year by the local Fire Brigade officer.

[Ynot]

Has anyone used an outside party to carry out a fire risk assessment of a venue? How did you find it?

Did consider it a while back but didn't in the end.

I'm going to find out how well our own policy is going to stack up in a couple of weeks as we've got an audit scheduled by our local FSO...

(The very appropriately named FSO is Blaize Marshall... He's been around for many a year and we've always got on quite well, btw)

[Brian]

My current problem is finding someone who is independent. Everyone I find seems to works for a fire alarm/fire training/fire extinguisher company and we all know how unbiased that advice is going to be.

[Russ83]

This could be a complete long-shot but I worked with Jim Ranyard on Brassed Off last year and his business is health and safety for theatre and television (website). I don't know if he does fire assessments but may know someone who does in your area. I found him to be a general all round good guy with lots of experience.

 

Have you tried contacting a local college? Our site manager at school has to have full working knowledge of all the rules and regs and is a good source of info for me. I asked him to come and have a good look around our society clubhouse and advise on what we needed to do. He didn't want to put his name to a formal site inspection but he went through everything with me (fire extinguishers, electrics, roller shutters etc) which gave us enough info to update our risk assessments and a jobs list for things that needed attention.

[andrewm]

Sorry to but in - I have just joined. I find Simon Garrett of X-Venture very good. Former Earls Court Ops Director and does the above for likes of Farnborough Airshow and most exhibitions / trade shows in London (all of Clarion and Reed Exhibitions I think).

 

Andrew

[Pete McCrea]

I'm working through ours to get it all up to speed, and have bought one of those templates from Staples which is a paper pack which links you to a web site. I've yet to actually get into it, but hope that it'll enable me to create something that stands up and maybe fills some of the gap's I'd miss.

 

As Brian says, it's hard to find the unbiased people.... Though that said I've had conversations with the guys from Midland Fire Protection and they might be a valid option, as they aren't really out there to sell alarms or extinguishers.

[lightsource]

He didn't want to put his name to a formal site inspection but he went through everything with me (fire extinguishers, electrics, roller shutters etc) which gave us enough info to update our risk assessments and a jobs list for things that needed attention.

 

:)

[kerry davies]

I've done fire RA's for a variety of purposes/venues and strongly recommend doing your own (unless you really do want to throw money at me).

 

Like all RA's they really need to be done by the management and their representatives and not a complete outsider. They should also be simple, accessable and readable otherwise they will never be read and cannot be flexible, organic documents. Just having one is as useless as having none if it isn't referred to constantly. Things change!

 

Only someone familiar with the premises, usage and client groups knows enough to properly assess the risk and, when I do take money from people, I insist on them doing it all with me. Pro-formas are available on Fire Service websites so using your local one will give you a head start on acceptable format (especially if you submit one with their own logo on it) and they all give advice on how to fill them in. Don't take advice from someone unwilling to take responsibility but do take it from your FSO.

 

The aforementioned Blaize Marshall, golfing fanatic, is typical in that he will advise, then warn and only if you take the mick will he take action. Not many of them are jobsworths.

[cfmonk]

total bovine excreta, not aware of how a theatre operates, full of petty restrictions and things that did not apply plus bits left out, we binned it and did our own based on the HSE model. Our own is approved every year by the local Fire Brigade officer.

 

 

Could you provide a link to the HSE model please? I've been a looking for it but not a finding!

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

[boswell]

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications...firesafetyrisk8

[Risk-Assessments]

I know that this place does impartial risk assessments in the midlands http://www.ccssltd.co.uk/pages/services/fi...-assessment.php

[Ynot]

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications...firesafetyrisk8

Now THAT looks like a document worth a gander.

(Especially the week before our audit from the fire service!).

 

Thanks for the link.

[kerry davies]

http://www.bedsfire.com/CommunitySafety/Bu...ireRiskAss.aspx

Good website this with pro-formas and completed examples, and lots of info for business users. Staffs, Durham, Lincs, Essex and North Yorks also have pro-formas on their websites.

 

Berkshire doesn't seem to have one, sorry Chris, but using any official fire service format could ease the path.

 

In Chris's case, as a marquee guy, the guidance for open air events, is at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications...afetyassessment

 

Tony, check out: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/corpora...sment+blank.doc from your own LA website. Hit him with his own approved format and see what he says.