1、PAS 79Fire Risk Assessment Guidance and a recommended methodologyBritish Standards Institution389 Chiswick High RoadLondon W4 4ALUnited Kingdomhttp:/www.bsi-9 780580 506833ISBN 978-0-580-50683-3PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SPECIFICATIONPAS 79:2007PAS 79 Fire risk assessment Guidance and a recommended methodol
2、ogyNorthern Ireland FireSafety PanelICS code: 13.220.20; 91.040.01NO COPYING WITHOUT BSI PERMISSION EXCEPT AS PERMITTED BY COPYRIGHT LAWC.S. Todd relevant persons is defined in much the same manner as it is defined in the Fire Safety Order in England and Wales. In Scotland, further requirements in r
3、espect of the fire risk assessments required by the Fire (Scotland) Act are imposed by the Licensed Copy: Wang Bin, na, Thu Oct 18 07:24:59 GMT+00:00 2007, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSIPAS 79:2007 BSI June 2007 vFire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 5. Guidance on the requirements of this legislation
4、, and the fire risk assessment required by it, is published by the Scottish Executive 19. In Northern Ireland, the requirements for fire risk assessments are identical to those in Scotland, but are imposed by Articles 25(2)(a) and 26(2)(a) of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 200
5、6 6. Fire and rescue authorities can advise on the fire safety legislation that applies to any building, and on means for compliance. If in doubt regarding the requirements of legislation, consultation with the fire and rescue authority is strongly recommended. Advice can also be obtained from a sui
6、tably qualified and experienced fire risk assessor or fire safety practitioner. A number of bodies, including the Institution of Fire Engineers, maintain a register of persons who are considered competent to carry out fire risk assessments. NOTE Professional bodies can advise on appropriately qualif
7、ied and experienced specialists. The Institution of Fire Engineers maintain a register of fire risk assessors who have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the IFE that they have a combination of education, training, knowledge and relevant experience in the principles of fire safety, and have experie
8、nce in carrying out fire risk assessments, one or more samples of which have been subject to review by the IFE to confirm that they are suitable and sufficient to meet their objective. This Publicly Available Specification does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users
9、 are responsible for its correct application. This Publicly Available Specification is not to be regarded as a British Standard. Compliance with a Publicly Available Specification cannot confer immunity from legal obligations. Attention is drawn to the legislation described in this Foreword and to g
10、uidance produced by Communities and Local Government, the Scottish Executive and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (in Northern Ireland). Licensed Copy: Wang Bin, na, Thu Oct 18 07:24:59 GMT+00:00 2007, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSIPAS 79:2007 BSI June 2007 vi Introduction Emp
11、loyers and other persons who have control of premises are required by legislation to carry out an assessment of the fire risks to occupants of buildings, and other people in the vicinity of the buildings, to ensure that these people are safe from fire and its effects. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Saf
12、ety) Order 2005 3 requires that, in England and Wales, the risk assessment is “suitable and sufficient”. This assessment is usually referred to as a “fire risk assessment”. For the purposes of this Publicly Available Specification, a fire risk assessment carried out in the structured manner describe
13、d herein will be referred to as “the fire risk assessment”. The person on whom a duty is imposed to carry out the fire risk assessment is described in different ways in different legislation across the UK. For example, in England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order describes the per
14、son as the “Responsible Person”, whereas this term is not used elsewhere in the UK. Moreover, this duty can be imposed on more than one person within the same premises (e.g. in premises in multiple occupation, the duty may be imposed on every tenant, the owner and the managing agents). In this PAS,
15、the term “dutyholder” is used to describe any person on whom the relevant fire safety legislation (see 3.75) imposes a requirement to carry out a fire risk assessment. Since legislation also requires “suitable and sufficient” assessments to ensure that organizations comply with health and safety leg
16、islation, an organization could choose to carry out, and document, a single combined health, safety and fire risk assessment. In practice, this approach is normally only adopted in the case of very small buildings, and most organizations choose to carry out a separate fire risk assessment, independe
17、nt of their health and safety risk assessment. The reason for this is that, for most buildings, different skills, experience and expertise are required for each of the two forms of risk assessment. The term “suitable and sufficient” is not defined in legislation. Moreover, legislation requires that
18、the “significant findings” of the risk assessment, and any group of persons “especially at risk”, be recorded if the organization employs five or more people (in the entire organization, and not just in the building in question), or if legislation requires licensing, registration or certification of
19、 the premises, or if an alterations notice (requiring that the relevant enforcing authority is notified of proposals to carry out certain alterations to the premises) is in force. Again, the terms “significant findings” and “especially at risk” are not defined in the relevant legislation. It follows
20、, therefore, that the adequacy of any fire risk assessment is a matter for subjective judgement. This can lead, and has led, to inconsistency in interpretation, creating some difficulties for organizations, their advisers and enforcing authorities. These difficulties have been exacerbated, even for
21、fire safety specialists, by a distinct move, in recent years, towards “risk-proportionate” fire precautions, and away from the more traditional “prescriptive” approach in which there was often a more rigid application of codes of practice without full consideration of fire risk. This shift is benefi
22、cial to those who own and manage buildings, since it provides a better match between risk and precautions, more akin to that found in the field of general health and safety. It therefore precludes unnecessary expenditure in circumstances in which the risk does not justify it. Equally, it ensures ade
23、quate protection (possibly to an even higher standard than applied under prescriptive codes) when warranted by the fire risk. Ultimately, the final arbiter as to whether fire precautions satisfy legislation can, however, only be the Courts. There is, therefore, no single correct or incorrect method
24、of carrying out and recording the significant findings of a fire risk assessment. Rather, there are many approaches that can lead to a suitable, and satisfactorily documented, fire risk assessment, which, at first sight at least, Licensed Copy: Wang Bin, na, Thu Oct 18 07:24:59 GMT+00:00 2007, Uncon
25、trolled Copy, (c) BSIPAS 79:2007 BSI June 2007 viibear little similarity. Nevertheless, the prerequisites for a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment are implicit in legislation, and, accordingly, close scrutiny of most adequate fire risk assessments will reveal consideration of many common f
26、actors. This Publicly Available Specification does not purport to contain a methodology and documentation that is necessarily superior to all others. It is likely to satisfy requirements of current fire safety legislation and will, if necessary, be amended at the relevant time to ensure that this is
27、 the case. The fire risk assessment methodology is intended to facilitate protection of people from fire. Guidance on fire precautions to protect property, and to protect against interruption to business, from fire can be obtained from property insurers, and many suitably qualified and experienced f
28、ire safety consultants can advise on these issues as well as on life safety. The objectives of this Publicly Available Specification are: to provide organizations and their advisers with a methodology for meeting their legislative responsibilities to undertake fire risk assessments; to assist non-fi
29、re specialists with a framework for assessment of fire risk, albeit that an underpinning knowledge of fire safety principles will be required in order to carry out the fire risk assessment described in this Publicly Available Specification; to promote better understanding of fire risks and fire safe
30、ty by organizations and non-fire specialists; to enable common relevant terminology to be adopted by those who carry out fire risk assessments; to provide an understanding of the principles and scope of fire risk assessments; to establish a pragmatic, holistic and risk-proportionate approach towards
31、 assessment of fire prevention measures, fire protection measures and management of fire safety, for the purpose of conducting fire risk assessments; to establish a satisfactory basis for documentation of fire risk assessments; to provide a benchmark for a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessmen
32、t. This PAS is largely consistent with the approach to fire risk assessment set out in Government guidance documents on the relevant fire safety legislation. These guidance documents not only explain the legal requirements in respect of fire risk assessment, but give technical guidance on compliance
33、 with the legislation. However, in the particular area of fire risk assessment, this PAS expands on the advice in the Government guidance documents. Licensed Copy: Wang Bin, na, Thu Oct 18 07:24:59 GMT+00:00 2007, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSIPAS 79:2007 BSI June 2007 1 1 Scope This Publicly Available
34、Specification gives guidance and corresponding examples of documentation for undertaking, and recording the significant findings of, fire risk assessments in buildings and parts of buildings for which fire risk assessments are required by legislation. It is not applicable in the case of a single-fam
35、ily private dwelling, or necessarily applicable to buildings during the construction phase1. The methodology is intended to provide a structured approach for people with knowledge of the principles of fire safety; it is not intended as a guide to fire safety for non-specialists. The recommended appr
36、oach to carrying out fire risk assessments is intended to determine the risk-proportionate fire precautions required to protect building occupants including employees, contractors, visitors and members of the public and to protect people in the immediate vicinity of the building. The fire risk asses
37、sment is not necessarily sufficient to address the safety of fire-fighters in the event of a fire in the building. The recommended methodology is not intended to address protection of property (the building and its contents) or the environment, or to address protection of a business, process or acti
38、vity against interruption. Buildings with special hazards, with the potential for high risk to life (e.g. chemical or nuclear hazards), will require consideration of additional factors associated with these hazards and their means of control, and are beyond the scope of this document. 2 Normative re
39、ferences The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. The latest edition of the referenced documents (including any amendments) applies. BS 4422, Fire Vocabulary BS EN ISO 13943, Fire safety Vocabulary 3 Terms and definitions For the purposes of this PAS
40、, the terms and definitions given in BS 4422 and BS EN ISO 13943 and the following apply. 3.1 access room room that forms the only escape route from an inner room (see 3.58) 3.2 action plan measures identified in the course of a fire risk assessment that need to be implemented to ensure that the req
41、uired level of fire safety is achieved or maintained NOTE The required standard of fire safety will normally be defined within the organizations fire safety policy, but will never be of a lower standard than that required by legislation. 1Fire risk assessments are, however, required, for example, in
42、 the case of common parts of houses in multiple occupation and blocks of flats in England and Wales, and for licensed houses in multiple occupation in Scotland. Fire risk assessments are also required for construction sites. Nevertheless, these fire risk assessments are outside the scope of this PAS
43、. Licensed Copy: Wang Bin, na, Thu Oct 18 07:24:59 GMT+00:00 2007, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSIPAS 79:2007 BSI June 2007 23.3 alarm receiving centre (ARC) continuously manned premises, remote from those in which a fire alarm system is fitted, where the information concerning the state of the fire alar
44、m system is displayed and/or recorded, so that the fire and rescue service can be summoned 3.4 alternative escape routes escape routes sufficiently separated either by direction and space, or by fire-resisting construction, intended to ensure that one is still available if the other is affected by f
45、ire 3.5 automatic door release mechanism device that can be used for holding a door in the open position, against the action of a door closer, and automatically releasing under specified conditions 3.6 available safe egress time (ASET) time available between ignition of a fire and the time at which
46、tenability criteria are exceeded in a specific space in a building NOTE To ensure the safety of occupants, the escape time (see 3.21) needs to be shorter than the ASET. 3.7 class A fires fires involving solid materials, usually of an organic nature, in which combustion normally takes place with the
47、formation of glowing embers NOTE These are normally carbonaceous fires. 3.8 class B fires fires involving liquids or liquefiable solids 3.9 class C fires fires involving gases 3.10 class D fires fires involving metals 3.11 class F fires fires involving fats and cooking oils 3.12 combustible capable
48、of burning in the presence of oxygen Licensed Copy: Wang Bin, na, Thu Oct 18 07:24:59 GMT+00:00 2007, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSIPAS 79:2007 BSI June 2007 3 3.13 compartmentation subdivision of a building by fire-resisting walls and/or floors for the purpose of limiting fire spread within the buildin
49、g 3.14 competent person person with sufficient training and experience, knowledge or other qualities, to enable them to carry out a defined task properly NOTE The relevant fire safety legislation requires nomination of various competent persons to carry out a number of different defined tasks. 3.15 dead end area from which escape from fire is possible in one dire
