A typical fire risk assessment will follow a straightforward five step process, as recommended by government guidance. All businesses in the UK are required to have carried out a fire risk assessment, and they must keep a record of it too if they have five or more staff. The legislation relating to this is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Depending on the size and nature of your business, you may not feel qualified to carry out your own assessment, but as long as your workplace is relatively straightforward, and you have a degree of common sense, there is no reason why you should not be able to do your own assessment. The alternative is to use a specialist consultant, which you may wish to anyway if you feel you do not have the time yourself.

Step one is to identify all fire hazards. The easiest way to do this is to have a thorough inspection of all parts of your premises, thinking about the three things which are required for a fire to start. These are a source of ignition, fuel and oxygen. Sources of ignition are relatively easy to spot – think of smoking areas, heaters or anything that involves a naked flame. Also bear in mind anything which has the capacity to get hot, including lighting and electrical equipment if it develops a fault. Fuel is anything which will burn, so look for any storage of paper, wood or other combustible material, as well as flammable liquids or gases that you use, and any materials or soft furnishings. The main source of oxygen is of course in the air, so look at how air can move around your premises, paying particular attention to fire doors.

Step Two is to identify any people who are at risk. As well as the obvious employees who work there all the time, do not forget to consider visitors and contractors, and pay particular attention to anyone working in isolation, those less able to move quickly and anyone who may have a language difficulty.

Having identified how fires may start and who is at risk, you now need assess the risk levels and put in place measures to minimise the chances of anything happening which could cause harm to anyone. This is step three and in many ways the most important part of the fire risk assessment. You need to consider each risk and see if it can be eliminated, or whether there are measures you can put in place to reduce the likelihood of it happening to an acceptable level.

Step four is to record the findings of your fire risk assessment. You are required to do this by law if you have five or more employees, and your local fire authority may ask to inspect it. It does not need to be sophisticated, but must record what you have found and what you are doing to manage the risks. Free forms are available online to help you record your findings.

Your fire risk assessment is now complete, but the fifth stage in the process is to review it at regular intervals. How often you must do this is not specified in legislation and will depend on your situation, but annually is a good start. The things to look out for are any changes in your workplace which could have an impact on the risk of fire or the risk to people. If you change the layout of your premises or install new machinery or materials, that is the time to revisit your assessment to ensure it is still appropriate.