When should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?

There are no specific time periods for how often fire risk assessments must be carried out or reviewed, it is up to the responsible person to make that judgement.

The law says that the person responsible for the fire risk assessment of your building should review it ‘regularly’ to make sure it’s up to date.

As a rule it is standard for a fire risk assessment to be reviewed every 12 months.

A fire risk assessment should also be reviewed if the building has been altered in any way since the last assessment ie, extension built.

There may be other times where it is recommended that the review or further assessment be carried out sooner ie, 6 months if risk was deemed substantial on the initial assessment.

The reasons for reviewing a fire risk assessment are very similar to when a fire safety policy should be reviewed which are as an example:

A change in the number of relevant persons
Timeframe since original carried out
Alterations to the building
Changes to working practices
Introduction to new equipment that increases the level of risk
New legislation, guidance or standards
Significant changes to internal structure such as fixtures
Following fire or enforcement notices
Seasonal such as Christmas

Whatever the reasons for needing review the following 5 step approach should be followed:

Step 1 - Identify fire hazards
Step 2 - Identify people at risk
Step 3 - Evaluate, remove, reduce & protect from risk
Step 4 - Record, plan, instruct, inform & train
Step 5 - Keep the assessment under review