Fire Risk Assessments within private dwellings

[Suttonfire]

I have a client who would like a selection of flats inspected in addition to the communal area FRAs which they have already had completed.

I would expect an FRA within a flat to primarily focus on compartmentation, fixed installations, detection and warning, MOE etc. However, the client has have asked us to produce 'PEEPs' for the residents where they have vulnerabilities.

I am concerned about attempting to produce such procedures for persons whom I will have only known since entering their flats, and would have no guarantee that they would have correctly communicated any special requirements which they may have (all persons involved will be occupants of flats within general needs residential blocks), and where there are no real management arrangements in place. Has anyone else been asked to undertake something similar? I can't see how I could possibly produce a suitable 'PEEP' in these circumstances, and can only foresee being able to give some heavily caveated general guidance.

I would be interested to hear views on this.

[Fire Monkey]

Hi,

I presume this is some sort of sheltered housing?

Conducting PEEPS sould not be part of the risk assessment - certainly a FRA would include determining if PEEPs were in place (if required), had been suitable reviewed since first written (based on changing circumstances of the person concerned) and if they were suitable and sufficient and actually comparable to the design, equipment and escape measures and policy and procedures in place for the building.

Personally as a risk assessor I would refuse to carry out PEEPS as part of the FRA. I might offer, under a separate contract, to carry out PEEPS (but perhaps not at flats) if I felt I was able to gain the relevant information from the occupants or those with a responsibility for them and had a reasonable understanding of the overall picture of fire safety and management and not just the local one. I would need clear understanding of who the competent and responsible people were and make them aware of what their responsibilities area. I don't fancy being responsible for co-ordinating each PEEP with the fire safety plan for the whole building - individuals can't be looked at in isolation. The problem is that I would not know until the process was over that if this was a practicable exercise and if it was not then the client would have no answer to their request but they would still need to be charged for my time (I don't work for free). I could not issue useless PEEPs as that, in my view, would not meet business ethics and might lead the responsible person in to a false sense of security (ticking that box) thinking that they have fire safety all nicely tied up and neat. 

What about VEEPs?     

In general if I think a combination of the words - barge, would, a, touch, with, pole, not.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/422202/9446_Means_of_Escape_v2_.pdf

FM

[William 29]

Personally, I would avoid. The idea of the Person Centred PEEP is that the RP does them. In my view it is their responsibility and not that of the assessor for a whole manner of reasons, as you have stated.