Proposals for compulsory certification of fire risk assessors

[jokar]

Are we really saying that once a person or Company is registered on any scheme then that will be the end of it?  There are good and bad in all occupations and so much depends on any one persons particular viewpoint.  Whatever robust type of process takes place to get someone onto a register, it does and will not follow on that the person or Company concerned will be scrupulous all the time.  There are many 3rd party accreditation schemes out there at the moment for all types of industry and commerce, banking as an example, that have or could fail at any time.  It is not just a scheme or register that will provide suitable and sufficient FRA's it will be diligence in the job that people do.  I do not know of that many RA's or FSO's who would have completed a intrusive survey in a housing block and many will still not and just make vague suggestions or recommendations about ventilation or structural work.  The difficulty is knowing or having the standards available to which particular premises were built and then having an understanding about whether that standard can be increased where required or practical to do so.

[nearlythere]

So, being on the IFE register makes one a competent Fire Risk Assessor?
Is that what some people are saying?

[kurnal]

So who are you recommending Tom?
People on the FRACS register  or Warrington Fire Ltd?  There is a huge difference.

Why do you feel under pressure to recommend anybody?

Why not tell people what to look for and let them choose rather than telling them who they should use. 

[Tom Sutton]

Kurnal when I referred to Warrington Fire I was talking about FRACS however if I get such an enquiry I tend to be far more general.

My opening gambit is usually when employing a fire risk assessor treat it like employing any other tradesperson. Check out their competence pack if they have one, contact previous clients, what are their qualifications, also the proof, are they members of any relevant trade associations, are they on any fra registers and check out more than one company.

All these details should be looked at carefully and finally emphasis Caveat Emptor and make sure there is no come back on me.

[Bobbins]

Easy TW. tell them to go to: http://www.ife.org.uk/frr/riskregistersearch or go to a member  company of the FIA or to http://www.warringtonfire.net/ContentAttachments/928.pdf.
 
Available for further fire calls.

Colin just because a company is in your club it definitely doesn’t make their risk assessors competent. Members of the FIA as far as I am aware only have a code of conduct to work to and that does not require individual risk assessors to have any kind of third party certification, and the competence isn’t even defined yet.

So the company will effectively be self assessing their fire risk assessors for competence.

“Oh yes Bill is very good he has been in the fire industry for 20 years he knows his stuff alright”

TRANSLATION:- Bill has been on a two day course on fire risk assessment as he fed up with filling fire extinguishers after 20 years.

Colin don’t make the same mistake as last time the “OLD BOYS CLUB” tag is transferable and make no mistake it will follow from the IFE if the FIA don’t do things properly.  Competence needs to be independently assessed or it means nothing, hence the IFE register of competence was established. It is a step back as far as I am concerned and if what I am hearing is correct the IFSM and IFE also think competence needs to be assessed for individuals by an independent third party.

As Tom suggests a more rounded approach needs to be made by the RP a rigorous assessment of the fire risk assessors ability or failing that the this process should be done by an independent third party for the RP. 

[colin todd]

TW, It is not unique that there is more than one route to demonstration of competence. If you were recommending an electrical contractor, you might well recommend to people that they use an NICEIC company or a member of the ECA (or, in Scotland, SELECT). If you were recommending a fire alarm contractor, you might choose to suggest an LPS 1014 company or one certificated under BAFE SP 203.

More generally, before risk assessment was ever invented, how did you recommend a competent fire consultant-again a number of professional registrations could be cited.

As you know, in due course, there may be a national scheme for fire risk assessors. However, Rome was not built in a day.