Fire Safety Advice for Venues

The 5 steps of fire safety risk assessment 

Assess the fire risk within your venue and consider how to maintain the safety of your patrons within. Make a plan to improve fire safety measures within your premises. Keep a record of your FSRA and review it regularly. 

STEP 1: What is a fire hazard? 

Think about how a fire could start on your premises.  

Walk round your premises, both inside and out and look for hazards. Fire starts when heat comes into contact with fuel (anything that burns) and a supply of oxygen is available. You need to keep heat and fuel apart. 

With that in mind, look for: 

• Naked flames

• Portable heaters

• Electrical equipment

• Signs of smoking

• Matches and ash trays

• Anything else that could emit heat or anything which may cause sparks.

If you are a hotel venue, pay particular attention to kitchens and guest bedrooms and where people may use matches and candles or areas where they may smoke. 

If you are a licensed premises with no sleeping accommodation then pay attention to areas such as kitchens, store rooms, electrical cupboards (especially if as some are -  located underneath a stair) and rooms with high fire loading such as spirit stores and beer cellars. 

Think about what could burn and how quickly a fire could spread.

Laundry materials, curtains, furniture and cooking oil could all burn, just like the more obvious fuels such as fuel, paint, varnish and other flammable liquids likely to be found in a licensed venue such as spirits. 

Check outside for fuel too. A common cause of fires in commercial properties is ignition of external refuse – ensure that any refuse stored externally is well away from the building, not up against it in bins or located underneath overhangs or eaves of roofs. Don’t just consider fire spread – think about whether anything external which catches fire could potentially affect the fire escape route from your premises.  

Consider your buildings construction – are walls made of brick, hardboard or chipboard? Are there polystyrene tiles on the ceiling and if so are they located within a main means of escape? 

STEP 2: Consider who is at risk? 

Everyone is at risk if there is a fire. 

You need to think about yourself, your staff, your patrons and anyone else who visits the premises. Some people should be considered to be at an elevated risk compared to others. For example, young children, the elderly or those with physical disabilities, mobility issues or cognitive impairments may be particularly at risk and require specific consideration.  

STEP 3: Consider and implement your fire action plan  

Using what you have found in STEP 1 and STEP 2 you should be able to remove or reduce any hazards identified. 

Think about whether a heat source, such as a hair dryer or hair straighteners, could fall, be knocked or pushed into something that could ignite.

Is the electrical equipment within your property modern, working properly and has it been PAT Tested recently and is your mains wiring in good serviceable condition – when was your last EICR (Electrical Inspection Condition Report) carried out? 

Electrical fires are one of the most common causes of fire in commercial premises within the UK. 

Now think about what you need to do if there is a fire on your premises How will it be detected and how will you alert people on the premises? 

For example, do you have an automatic fire detection system? Are the detectors of the correct type and in the right place? Is the system tested regularly? Can you clearly hear the alarm in each area? If a hotel - is the alarm loud enough to wake someone who is sleeping in bed?  

What action will you take to protect people on your premises and make sure everyone can find their way out in an emergency? 

You need to make sure your staff and patrons know what to do if a fire occurs. Will everyone on the premises be able to find their way out in an emergency? 

If staff lead or assist in an evacuation are they well drilled and will they know instinctively what to do? Would any escape routes benefit from emergency escape lighting? Are areas immediately outside final exits clear of obstructions and adequately lit? 

Have you practiced a fire drill? Do you have equipment to allow someone to put a small fire out and have staff had any training to allow them to do so safely? 

STEP 4: Record, plan and train 

In any premises with a license enacted upon it, you must keep a written record of the significant findings from your risk assessment. This should include: 

• any fire risks you have identified in STEP 1;

• any measures you have implemented to reduce or eliminate those risks;

• any additional actions you require to take (Use an Action Plan and define reasonable timescales for completion, signing/dated completed actions off as they are completed).

STEP 5: Record, plan and train  

Your written FSRA should be seen as a helpful, living document. It’s not something that should be completed and then forgotten about and it requires to be reviewed regularly. 

• You should review the assessment regularly and, if necessary, update it.

• If any changes occur in the way you use your premises, or if the layout changes, the risks may also change

• If any review identifies new risk, you need to ensure you consider and address these to keep your paying guests as safe as possible

• Your review can be as simple as asking yourself ‘Has anything changed in my venue since the last FSRA?’ – If anything has changed then you should consider if this change has impacted on your fire safety risk assessment. If there has been no change since last time then a separate ‘Review sheet’ within your FSRA which is signed, dated and has the remark ‘No changes’ added to it is sufficient – there is no need to redraft entirely an FSRA if there have been no changes. This demonstrates a responsible management attitude to fire safety.