Fire Safety Audit Guidance

Fire Safety Audit Process

Fire Safety audits are carried out following nationally agreed guidelines so that any advice given to you is consistent and proportionate to the fire risk in your premises and to keep people safe.

We believe that prevention is better than cure and our Inspectors will actively work with you to advise and assist with meeting the standard required.

Our Inspectors carry out audits in a fair and open manner in accordance with the Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service Enforcement Policy Statement.

All Fire Safety Inspectors are issued with an Authorisation Card (Service Identification Card) which will be shown to you on request. This gives the Inspector certain powers, which are summarised along with the legislation concerned in the following notes.

During the visit, the Fire Safety Inspector will try to establish whether your premises are safe in case of fire. They might ask questions and ask you to provide evidence to support your answers. They will consider all of the following:-

•  What you are doing to reduce the risk of fire;
•  What you are doing to reduce the risk of the spread of fire;
•  Are there enough escape routes (corridors, stairs and doors) for people in case of fire;
•  What you are doing to make sure that escape routes (corridors, stairs and doors) are safe to use when needed;
•  What you are doing to detect fire and raise an alarm;
•  Whether people understand what to do if fire breaks out;
•  What you are doing to fight outbreaks of fire safely;
•  What you are doing to ensure that the effects of a fire are as small as possible

Documentation usually required during the visit

During the visit the Fire Safety Inspector will need to view the following documents, where applicable, to your premises. If possible please email these to us prior to the visit. If you are unable to email any of the documents, please ensure they are available at the time of the inspection:-

•  Fire Risk Assessment.
•  Records of staff training and fire drills.
•  Records of testing and maintenance of fire fighting equipment (extinguishers).
•  Records of testing and maintenance of all fire safety provisions including; fire alarm, emergency lighting, sprinkler and smoke ventilation and fire resisting doors.

GUIDANCE NOTE

Please click the icon below to open a copy of the Guidance Note for the Fire Safety Audit Process