The need for a single resister of professional fire risk assessors working to a unified set of competency standards was high on the agenda at the first morning’s seminar sessions at Firex North.

Stephen Adams of approvals body BAFE kicked off with an overview of why independent certification of fire risk assessment companies was so important to end users and responsible persons. He said there were three main criteria for good certification schemes: sufficient demand for them; adequate standards and a suitable delivery mechanism.

A competence standard for fire risk assessors, added Mr Adams, “probably should have been done a few years ago. But now there is unquestionably a demand for it and the industry now has the opportunity to do this and to get it right.”

Simon Ince of Warrington Certification called for a single register of fire risk assessors

Simon Ince of Warrington Certification said the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and similar legislation in other parts of the UK had ushered in what could be perceived as a “DIY” risk based legislation. But although the government did not want to create a “consultants’ charter”, he said that there was a role to be played by competent fire risk assessors “selling competence not compliance”.

Warrington Certification has already launched its own fire risk assessors scheme. It will adopt the standard for fire risk assessors currently being worked on by the cross-industry fire risk assessment competency council and due to be completed by the end of this year. “There is no point in having standards unless someone independent assesses you against them,” he said.

Nick Coombe of CFOA and a member of the competency council said that responsible persons would need to get expert help with buildings and occupancies which were more complex than those covered in the official government guidance. He criticised those who just went for the cheapest fire risk assessment they could find. “I get annoyed when you’ve got a £10m building and you have a £500 fire risk assessment. Would those people take their expensive company cars to a back alley garage?”

He added that all the stakeholders on the fire risk assessment competency council agreed the need for a unified set of standards and a single register for fire risk assessors. But there were currently different opinions on the depth and detail of knowledge required to undertake risk assessments for different types of building and levels of risk.