Hundreds of unregistered fire risk assessors operating in UK, warns the Fire Protection Association
The FPA has provided training for 800 people in fire risk assessments (FRAs) in the past 12 months, Howard Passey, principle consultant at the FPA, told a Fire Safety in Tall Buildings seminar today.
Mr Passey compared this number to the total number of individuals registered with three of the UK’s various accreditation bodies, which is around 300.
The Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council, a workstream made up of major stakeholders in the fire safety industry, advises: “We recommend you check that those providing [FRAs] have independent registration with, or certification from, a professional or certification body and that they meet the competency criteria established by the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council.”
The council lists four bodies which can approve individual assessors. Of these, the Institution of Fire Engineers has 229 individuals registered with it, the Institute of Fire Safety Managers has 33, Warrington Certification has 33 and the Institute of Fire Protection Officers has 15.
Read the full article here – https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/hundreds-of-unregistered-fire-risk-assessors-operating-in-uk-warns-fpa-54443
Currently, fire risk assessors do not need to be registered or third party accredited. However, following the Grenfell Tower fatal fire on 14th June 2017, the Prime Minister commissioned two inquiries.
One inquiry to establish what happened at the Grenfell tragedy, the other to look closely at the Building Regulations and Fire Legislation.
This certainly includes the fire risk assessment process, competence of fire risk assessors and fire risk assessment registers/accredited bodies.
Engaging independent registered fire risk assessors like Martin Bainbridge and George Vost of MB Fire Risk, is a wise investment. http://www.ifpo.org.uk/
Business owners, Responsible Persons and Duty Holders are strongly urged to ensure the chosen fire risk assessor has experience is assessing your type of premises and the finished report is considered suitable and sufficient for the risk. MB.
