FAQ

A fire risk assessment (FRA) is a review of a building to assess its fire risks. Controlling fire risks is an important part of managing a building. In order to be able to protect against the risks of fire, it is important to identify these risks with a fire risk assessment. In England, all blocks of flats and and large houses with multiple occupants are required to have a FRA. A Fire Risk assessment includes the following:

• Identify the fire hazards.

• Identify people at risk.

• Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks.

• Record your findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training.

• Review and update the fire risk assessment regularly.

We recommend you should review your Fire Safety Risk Assessment at least every 12 months to ensure your compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.

At Riverside Fire, we believe it's important to understand the causes of fires to prevent them from occurring in the first place. The three major causes of fires are cooking equipment overheating, faulty electrical wiring or appliances and smoking. These causes account for a significant percentage of all residential and commercial fires. It's important to ensure that your cooking equipment is always attended and in good working condition, that electrical wiring and appliances are inspected regularly, and that smoking materials are properly disposed of to prevent fires. If you have any concerns about the fire safety of your home or business, contact Riverside Fire for a consultation and inspection.

Passive systems include floor-ceilings and roofs, fire doors, windows, and wall assemblies, fire-resistant coatings, and other fire and smoke control assemblies. Passive fire protection systems can include active components such as fire dampers.

• All fire doors are required to have a certification label which confirms the door was fire compliant at the time of installation. The label is usually located on the top edge of the door leaf.

• Check the gap between the fire door and the frame, the gap cannot be exceed 4mm.

• Are there any intumescent seals? These can be either fitted into the door frame or grooved into the edge of the door. You can open the door and check for a thin strip either on the door or the door frame.

• A fire door always has a self-closing mechanism as it shuts automatically behind people evacuating to contain the fire and smoke. This also limits the oxygen from entering the affected premises, as oxygen feeds a fire. A fire door will always have a closing mechanism at the top of the door to always close the door.

• A fire door contains at least three hinges, and if there are less than three hinges on any door, it is not an effective fire door.

• The maximum gap underneath a fire door is 8-10mm depending on the specification, between the bottom edge of the door and the floor. If a door has cold smoke protection already added, the maximum gap underneath would be 4mm.

The height of a building is to be measured from ground level to the finished surface of the floor of the top storey of the building ignoring any storey which is a roof-top machinery or plant area or consists exclusively of machinery or plant rooms

The Premises Information Box (PIB) is a secure and efficient system to provide and protect essential company information for the 'golden hour' response by the fire and rescue service. In the early phases of any fire or emergency, the Incident Commander must make decisions on how best to bring an incident under control. The effective provision of information to the Fire Service can enhance their response plan.

Fire drills should be carried out at least twice a year, although this can vary if your fire risk assessment has outlined otherwise.

All fire alarm systems need to be tested weekly to ensure that there has not been any major failure.

The ‘stay put’ policy follows simple guidelines; those occupants of the fire origin flat must evacuate the premises and summon the Fire Service. If a fire occurs in a common area, any persons in that area should leave the building and call the emergency services. The remainder of the building’s occupants are safe to remain in their flats, unless directed to leave by the Fire Service. Some residents in surrounding flats may wish to evacuate the premises in any case, and of course, should not be prevented from doing so.