On line Fire Risk Assessments

[nearlythere]

Bit like a surgeon guiding the house porter through a surgical procedure on line.
The surgery still isn't being performed by a competant person.

[AnthonyB]

A large part of the problem is due the CLG guidance notes, it is a common perception that anyone can carry out a fire risk assessment all they have to do is follow the guides or get hold of a bootleg checklist from PAS 79.
 

If people actually bothered to use the full DCLG guides at all (not just the introductory booklet) and the further references therein things would be better, few people even apply these, especially with the Yes/No/NA type assessments.

[Mr. P]

Mike, the format of RA, if it covers all requirements of rro, then does it matter where it comes from? But yes! The person carrying out the RA must be competant et al.

Are we not over complicating this issue?

[Mike Buckley]

Mr P I agree, if as you say it is a good format, it doesn't matter where it comes from. The point I am making is that it is the competency of the person doing it that is crucial.

[Tom Sutton]

Are we still discussing online FRA's because my understanding of an online FRA is the website asks the RP a questions the RP answers and the website produces the FRA. No matter how good the website is or its format what questions can they ask to ensure they get the right answers without being on site. Unless the RP is competent in fire safety then he wouldn't need them and could download a free FRA template to save a couple of quid.

[Mike Buckley]

Although not directly on the online FRA topic see

 http://www.fire.org.uk/Articles/Fire%20risk%20assessments-dangers%20of%20cheap%20and%20cheerful-1.pdf

[BLEVE]

I agree with much of the article. However, disagree with the detail wrt cause & effect programming, false alarm criteria (OTT)etc
it would be s&s to ensure compliance with BS 5839 plus demonstrable maintenance.

[Tom W]

My problem with them in is you have so much faith in the fact the assessor understands the question properly.

AND

If you are completing an online risk assessment you would probably be sat at a desk. Thats not the best place to be when assessing a building especially for a novice