Under Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), the Responsible Person (RP) must carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment (FRA) to identify the general fire precautions needed to protect relevant persons.

For smaller, uncomplicated premises, the RP may be able to complete the FRA themselves using appropriate guidance. More complex premises may require additional knowledge, skills and experience.

The RP can seek help from within their organisation or from an external fire safety professional. Under Article 18 of the FSO, anyone providing this assistance must be competent, with sufficient training, experience, knowledge and other qualities to properly undertake the work.

The RP remains legally responsible, so it is important to ensure that anyone appointed is competent for the specific circumstances.

What should a competent fire risk assessor know?

Depending on the premises, a competent assessor should have appropriate knowledge and experience in areas such as:

• Identifying fire hazards and assessing risk
• Fire behaviour and the effects of fire on people
• Relevant legislation and government guidance
• Means of escape
• Fire prevention
• Passive and active fire protection
• Fire safety management
• The fire risk assessment process and its documentation

The level of expertise required will depend on the complexity of the premises, the hazards present and the risks identified.

Therefore, if you are confident on all but the risk assessment process, getting help on that part is prudent, and the help does not require knowledge of the other areas. However, it may be that the only area you are confident is the risks associated with your premises, therefore you require someone with the knowledge and experience in the other areas.

Due to the varied levels of expertise required for different premises it is difficult to define the education, knowledge and experience required of a risk assessor for a particular situation. This lack of clarity therefore makes it difficult to have a coherent strategy with regard to establishing national standards of competency in the risk assessment field. The Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council, which is an open and voluntary group of fire industry organisations have published two documents   'Competency Criteria for Fire Risk Assessors' and  'A Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor'.

Choosing a fire risk assessor

If you need help with your FRA, choose someone whose competence matches the requirements of your premises. You should:

• Ask for and check references
• Review their qualifications, experience and CV
• Ask to see examples of previous FRAs
• Check their quality assurance arrangements
• Look for appropriate third-party certification or verification
• Obtain and compare several quotations

Professional organisations, including the Institution of Fire Engineers, Institute of Fire Safety Managers and BAFE, can provide information about competency and registered schemes. You may also wish to seek recommendations from your insurer or another trusted source.

A competent person should understand the limits of their own competence and recognise when additional specialist expertise is required.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service's Business Education Department provides advice and guidance to businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, on complying with the requirements of the Fire Safety Order.