Access Key	Description
1	Home Page

News

Good practice: a five-step checklist to fire risk assessments – step one

In October 2009, Connect published a general guide to fire risk assessments. In the first of a five-part series, we look at each of the steps in more detail. Here, we look at step one – identifying the hazards.

First things first

The first thing you need to think about before starting your fire risk assessment is what your workplace premises are used for. This has a large bearing on the type of assessment needed. This site offers a number of free guides for specific premises including:

offices and shops
factories and warehouses
hospitals (including medical centres)
transport depots
schools, colleges and universities (including outdoor education centres)
residential care homes.

There’s also a supplementary guide on accessibility and means of escape for disabled people.

Step one: identify the hazards

Three things are needed in order for a fire to start:

fuel
oxygen
source of ignition.

If any of these three elements are missing, then a fire cannot start. Taking simple measures to stop these three elements from coming together will significantly reduce the likelihood of a fire. This article will look at how to identify potential ignition sources, the materials that might fuel a fire and the oxygen sources that will help it burn.

Identify sources of ignition

Look around your premises for any possible sources of heat which could get hot enough to ignite materials. These sources could include:

cigarettes, matches and lighters
naked flames, eg candles or gas and liquid-fuelled, open-flame equipment
electrical, gas or oil heaters – whether portable or fixed
hot processes, such as welding or shrink wrapping
cooking equipment
faulty or misused electrical equipment
lighting equipment, such as lamps or display lighting that are too close to stored products
obstruction of vents on office computers and other electrical items
arson (we’ll be doing a feature on preventing arson later in the series).

Make a note of ‘near misses’ such as scorch marks on furniture or discoloured or charred electrical plugs and sockets. Logging ‘near misses’ can help you identify hazards which you may not otherwise notice.

Identify sources of fuel

Anything that burns is fuel for a fire. Look out for the things that will burn easily and are in enough quantity to provide fuel for a fire or cause it to spread to another fuel source. Some of the most common fuels found are:

flammable liquid-based products like paints, varnishes and adhesives
flammable solvents eg methylated spirit, cooking oils and disposable cigarette lighters
flammable chemicals like cleaning products and photocopier chemicals
stationery
plastics and rubber
textiles and soft furnishings such as curtains
items such as shredded paper and wood shavings
flammable gases such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Also consider the materials used to line walls, floors and ceilings, such as polystyrene or carpet tiles and how they might contribute to the spread of fire. You should also bear in mind the explosive potential of dust. Dust can be produced from many everyday materials such as coal, grain, wool, sugar, certain metals and synthetic organic chemicals. A cloud of combustible dust in the air can explode violently if ignited.

Identify sources of oxygen

Air is the main source of oxygen for a fire. In the case of a building, this is provided by ventilation systems – whether that’s natural airflow through doors and windows, or by air conditioning systems. Many buildings operate a combination of both air conditioning and air handling systems, capable of introducing and extracting air to and from a building. Other sources of oxygen can sometimes be found in materials such as:

chemicals that contain oxidising agents, which can provide a fire with additional oxygen. These chemicals should be identified on their container or by the manufacturer or supplier who can advise on their safe use and storage
oxygen supplies from cylinder storage and piped systems: for example, oxygen used in welding processes.

Step one checklist

Have you:

identified all potential ignition sources?
identified all potential fuel sources?
identified all potential sources of oxygen?
made a note of your findings?

There’s more information on fire risk assessments on the Communities and Local Government website. In the next fire risk assessment article, we’ll look at step two: identifying the people at risk.