Hi Paul. 

Alot of fire risk assesor companies will tell you no, however this is not true and would like to charge you lots of money to do it for you. 

I myself only have the NEBOSH General Cert, currently studying the Diploma (passed A&B) and have been carrying out Fire RA for 5+ Years. 

It all comes down to competencey and being able to demonstrate you have identified key risks in line with legal compliance and what type of industry you are assessing?

For example, I wouldnt be confident in carrying out a Fire RA at Grangemouth Power Station. 

I have had numerous auditors and Fire Officers audit my Fire RA without issue or recommendations. 

Hope this helps. Graeme

Legally (Fire Safety Order), there is no requirement for the person undertaking the FRA to be competent, let alone prove it. Its all very well having all sorts of letters after your name, but of course, that is not the full picture.

The bottom line is knowing your limits and having the strength of character and professional integrity to say no or refuse to do a job which is outside of your comfort zone.

I have been working in the industry for nearly 40 years, and specifically in fire safety roles in almost 20 years. I have attended numerous courses and am a member of a professional FS body. I have carried out FRAs (and other FS tasks) in very large buildings (up to 26,000 person capacity), in specialist high value premises and in high risk mental health and education settings. I can prove my competence by recorded regular CPD

However, I was asked to carry out work for the Nuclear Decommisioning Authority in Scotland, and another for a major industial site in the east midlands - both offered very substantial rewards - but I turned them down as I was not comfortable that I could deliver to a standard that I would expect.

Even during my day job, I am not frightened to say I don't know - or you will need to seek guidance from another professional. I'd rather do that than guess.

Competence is definded in the FSO as(something like) having the necessary skills and experience. That surely must be on a sliding scale, as most fire safety consultants could tackle a small shop, but few would take on Sellafield!