Posted By Bob
Could someone please help clarify exactly how Fire risk assessment/s should be arranged in a multi-occupancy building, both from a legal and from a practical point of view.

Under statute, a FRA has to be drawn up by a Responsible Person who is defined as anyone who to any extent exercises control over all or part of the premises.

If for example we take an office block with 20 tenants, we have several parties who exercise such control :

1) Each individual tenant, firstly as occupier and secondly arising from certain contractual responsibilities specified under the lease

2) The property owner who controls the common areas such as the reception area/corridors/staircases together with the common services, the common fire alarm sytem and the common welfare areas, and will also be responsible under the lease for some aspects of maintenance & repair

3) The managing agent who has contractual obligations for the day-to-day safety and maintenance of the premises

Each of these parties exercises varying degrees of control over the premises and bears statutory responsibility as a Responsible Person for producing and maintaining an effective FRA relating to matters within their control.

In our example therefore we have 22 Responsible Persons who each draw up individual FRAs, supposedly coordinating with the other 21 in the process!

So now we have no less than 22 separate FRAs. Can someone please help me to understand :

a) Who has overall legal responsibility for ensuring that everyone has drawn up an effective FRA?

b) From what I can ascertain it is a recommendation in these situations that the parties should agree joint arrangements such as appointing a Fire Safety Coordinator. Why is this only a recommendation? Surely in the absence of effective coordination all we have is a set of fragmented (and therefore ineffective) FRAs. This seems bizarre to me as multi-occupancy buildings by their very nature are far more hazardous from a fire point of view than those in single tenure.

Maybe I'm missing the point but it would seem logical to me that the landlord should have the legal responsibility to ensure that each individual FRA has been drawn up. He should also be responsible for appointing a Fire Safety Coordinator to bring everything together into one cohesive assessment.

I would very much appreciate others' views on this subject.

Bob

Posted By Andy Brazier
Sorry - last posting was a bit misleading.
All employers must do a FRA. If they employ five or more people they must also record significant findings. Just the same as H&S.

For multi-occupancy, you are required to make reasonable steps to assist others in their FRA. That would include the landlord and other employers.

Posted By Ashley Wood
Bob, this is why I think the Landlord should take the initiative and FRA the complete building in conjunction with the tenants.

Posted By Andy Brazier
I don't disagree with landlord taking the lead, but you need to remember the FRAs need to consider sources of fuel (what can burn), sources of ignition, as well as what happens once a fire has started (detection, alarm, escape). I would expect the landlord will have little knowledge or control regarding the fuel or ignition, so I can't see his assessment being comprehensive.

Posted By shaun mckeever
Bob

As has been explained the landlord is responsible for the common areas/features e.g. fire alarm system. He canot undrtake the FRA for the tenant areas because the landlord assumes responsibility. It must be the tenant who takes responsibility.

What is not often understood is that the tenants must also include the common areas forming the means of escape within their fire risk assessment. This in effect means that in your example the means of escape will have been assessed 22 times!

The landlord has the responsibility for co-ordinating the fire safety arrangements within a multi-occupied building. This includes ensuring all tenants have undertaken a 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment. This is to ensure that no tenant places at risk other tenants but also to ensure that firefighters are not placed at risk.

I am currently involved with a building in a well known shopping area in London where thay have had a major fire. This is the first major fire in the area since the new legislation came into force. I undertand that the fire service are taking a close look at it and may be prosecuting the tenant for not having a 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment. It is a shame that so many take this business so lightly. I had been to the building on behalf of the landlord before the fire and advised the tenants that their risk assessments are unlikely to be considered 'suitable and sufficient'. Why does it have to take a serious fire for them to realise I am right?

Posted By Bob
Unfortunately Sean people never think it'll happen to them........head in the sand syndrome.

Bet his insurers are mightily impressed that he igored your recommendation!!