Risk assessment Fire

The process of carrying out a fire risk assessment is similar to that of a general risk assessment except that the identification of hazards is restricted to fire matters. It is the findings of a fire risk assessment that will determine the type and number of fire extinguishers to be provided. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the findings of a fire risk assessment must be recorded. The fire risk assessment should cover a defined area of the workplace. In small premises the defined area could be the whole premises whereas for larger places of work the premises should be divided into discrete sub-areas and each made the subject of a separate fire risk assessment. 

A fire risk assessment involves a number of discrete stages that are listed below and commence with the identification of fire hazards. Typical fire hazards can include the flammable nature of the material being processed, the condition of the machinery, the state of housekeeping, the presence of rubbish, oil leaks, temporary or faulty wiring, evidence of 

A simple strategy involving a predetermined sequence of steps will assist in ensuring tirat a fire risk assessment is effective. Typical steps that can be followed are  

2 remove or elinrinate tire hazards where possible  

3 for each of the remaining hazards, identify the people who would be at risk if a fire started  

There are five main hazards produced by fire that should be considered when assessing the level of risk  

Of these, smoke and other gaseous combustion products are the most common cause of death in fires. 

For a fire to occur it needs sources of heat and fuel. If these hazards can be kept apart, removed or reduced, then the risks to people and businesses are minimized. Identify fire hazards in the workplace is the first stage as follows. 

Most worksites contain combustible materials. Usually, the presence of normal stock in trade should not cause concern, provided the materials are used safely and stored away from sources of ignition. Good standards of housekeeping are essential to minimize the risk of a fire starting or spreading quickly. 

The amount of combustible materials to hand at a worksite should be kept as low as is reasonably practicable. Limit materials to half a day s supply or a single shift and return unused materials to the stores. Always choose the least flammable materials and keep site stocks down as far as possible. 

---

Figure 6.2 Action plan for fire risk assessment...

Apply to all workplaces, unless specifically excepted, and require a fire risk assessment where necessary, appropriate fire-fighting equipment with detectors and alarms measures for fire-fighting emergency routes and exits maintenance of equipment provided. 

It is the general consensus within the worldwide fire community that the only proper way to evaluate the fire safety of products is to conduct full-scale tests or complete fire-risk assessments. Most of these tests were extracted from procedures developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Because they are time tested, they are generally accepted methods to evaluate a given property. Where there were no universally accepted methods the UL developed its own. 

You must cairy out fire risk assessments, h the same way as you do for health and safety risk assessments. 

Fire risk assessment is made in order to determine the overall value of decreasing fire hazard in a particular scenario. The level of fire risk that is acceptable for a situation is, normally, a societal, and not a technical, decision. Therefore, fire hazard assessments are generally more common than fire risk assessments. The NFPA Research Foundation has undertaken a project to develop a methodology for fire risk assessment. It has done this by studying four cases in detail upholstered furniture in residential environments, wire and cable in concealed spaces in hotels and motels, floor coverings in offices and wall coverings in restaurants. 

Figure 5-1 shows how the FHA is integrated into an overall risk assessment. A process hazard analysis is required to identify likely fire scenarios that are carried forward to the FHA. An FHA provides the tools to characterize the hazards and evaluate consequences. The results are incorporated into an overall risk assessment. See Chapter 6 for more information on fire risk assessment. 

A fire risk assessment is a tool for making decisions on fire protection issues. Typically, inherently safer design (CCPS, 1996) is applied prior to the fire risk assessment, however the results of the fire risk assessment may indicate that further review of the design should be conducted. 

The objective of this chapter is to provide an understanding of how and why a fire risk assessment is performed. Completing a fire risk assessment provides management the information needed to make risk-based decisions. 

A fire risk assessment should begin early in the design process. 

A fire risk assessment includes conducting a thorough hazard identification. 

Fire risk assessments should be revised as new information becomes available and the design evolves. 

Fire risk assessments should be used in the identification of prevention, control, and mitigation measures. 

Fire risk assessments are also useful tools for reviewing existing facilities, particularly ... 

A fire risk assessment should be documented to provide a clear overall picture of the possible fire hazards and the role safety systems play in hazard control and mitigation. Also, a fire risk assessment should be maintained evergreen during the lifecycle of the facility to ensure ongoing management of fire hazards. 

The methodology for conducting a fire risk assessment is illustrated in Figure 6-1. Each step in the methodology is described further in this section. 

The benefit of applying a fire risk assessment as a decision tool will vary between companies and projects. In many cases, a formalized fire risk assessment is not necessary because the solution is relatively obvious based on design standards and appropriate fire protection is either applied or not applied. Fire risk assessments may be necessary ... 

The methodology outlined in this chapter follows that in Cuidelines for Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis (CCPS, 2000). NFPA 550 Cu/de to the Fire Safety Concept Tree provides another example of fire risk assessment. There are three keys to a successful fire risk assessment ... 

Documentation is critical to understanding the results and report long after the fire risk assessment is completed. The fire protection engineer should ensure that the fire risk assessment is thoroughly and completely documented. 

The fire risk assessment process begins by collecting basic information about the design. For new projects there may be limited information available however a list of hazards can be developed, the potential fire impact can be assessed, and preliminary risk can be calculated. The level of detail of the fire risk assessment is only as good as the level of detail of the design information. The information needed to perform a fire risk assessment could include ... 

Identifying and analyzing fire hazards and scenarios is the next step in a fire risk assessment. The hazard identification should be structured, systematic, audit-able, and address all fire hazards, including nonprocess fires. The result of the hazard identification is a list of potential fire hazards that may occur at the facility, for example, jet, pool, flash, BLEVE, electrical, or Class A fires. This list should also include the location where each fire could occur. Hazard identification techniques used to identify potential hazards are shown in Table 6-1. 

In some cases, after completing the consequence portion of the analysis, the impact of the consequences is deemed so severe that the company may decide to provide fire protection that will provide mitigation without completing the likelihood analysis. It is important to take the time to analyze the consequences (conduct an FHA) and determine if reasonable mitigation measures can be applied before continuing with the fire risk assessment. Credit for additional mitigation measures can be taken in the fire risk assessment. 

---