Fire Risk Assessment - Identify People At Risk

As the second stage in carrying out your Fire Risk Assessment, you have to identify anyone who may be at risk if there is a fire in your place of work. A lot of this will be obvious if your premises are mainly occupied by permanent employees, but you must also consider customers who visit your premises, contractors working on site, staff not based on the premises, but who are present at some times, etc.

Think through all the different work situations and scenarios, and make sure you cover anyone who could possible be on your premises, so that they are built into your Fire Risk Assessment.

In particular consider the following groups, who could be especially at risk:

• Anyone working alone or outside the 'usual' work situation. This might include cleaners or security staff who are on duty at night.
• Anyone likely to spend time in more isolated parts of your workplace, outside areas, outbuildings, warehouses, roof voids, maintenance workshops, etc.
• Members of the public or visitors who will be unfamiliar with your premises. This might also include temporary workers, contractors, etc.
• Anyone less able to leave the premises quickly in an emergency. This can include people with disabilities*, elderly people or people with young children.
• People with language difficulties.

*If (like me) you are responsible for buildings dealing with the public in large numbers, I would suggest you take professional advice with regard to provision for disabled people, or at least consult with local access groups.

Think about all the people who use your premises and identify why they could be at risk. Feed this into your Fire Risk Assessment.

Go to Step 3 of your Fire Risk Assessment