Transport premises and facilities
If you have, own or run an transport premises or facilities, you must carry out a fire risk assessment. This is the law.
You can learn what a fire risk assessment is below. This applies to 'airport terminals (passenger and freight), ferry/shipping ports (passenger and freight); rail (surface – train/light rail/tram – and sub-surface) terminals, stations and platforms, bus/coach terminals and stations, transport interchanges, tunnels (road and rail), and similar premises'.
Your Fire Risk Assessment must be carried out by your Responsible Person. This may be an employer, manager, occupier or owners of transport premises and facilities. Alternatively, you can employ a professional Fire Risk Assessor to do the assessment for you.
What is a fire risk assessment
A fire risk assessment is an assessment of the possible fire risks for your transport premises and facilities, and what can be done to remove or reduce them. You must record the required information and keep it up to date.
Every transport premises and facility has a legal responsibility to do and maintain a fire risk assessment. It is there to help keep you, your customers, visitors, staff, public and premises safe from fire. Responsible persons may wish to carry out the fire risk assessment for less complex premises or seek advice from a competent person.
The Government produces a guide which tells you how to carry out a fire risk assessment and is particularly useful for owners and operators of such premises and facilities..
If you don't want to do your fire risk assessment yourself
If you cannot carry out the Fire Risk Assessment yourself, you can employ someone to do it for you.
You will still be legally responsible for your Fire Risk Assessment and so it is important that you use or employ a person who can do the job correctly. Take a look at the things you should check before employing someone to do your Fire Risk Assessment
When we inspect your transport premises and facilities
Kent Fire and Rescue Service are legally required to inspect transport premises and facilities and make sure that you have appropriate fire safety in place. This is to help protect you, your premises, the public, your staff, customers and anyone who uses them, from the risk of fire.
Our Inspector will make sure that your premises or facilities complies with the government guidance found in 'Fire Risk Assessment for 'Transport premises and facilities' referred to above.This means the things you need to do to make sure that:
- the appropriate fire alarm(s) and warnings, signage, lighting and other requirements referred to in the government guidance are in place to assist people to evacuate if there is a fire
- that you know what to do if there is a fire, and that this information has been passed onto your staff and other relevant people
- you are doing everything to stop fire in the first place by identifying fire hazards and people at risk, and by removing or reducing those hazards and risks
- that you keep records of what you do and keep your Fire Risk Assessment reviewed and updated