West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority
Fire Protection Policy
For Operational Crews Completing visits of Non-Domestic Premises
West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service
Oakroyd Hall
Birkenshaw
Bradford
BD11 2DY
Date Issued:
01/04/2012
Ref:
FS-POL033
Review Date:
31/03/2013
Version: 6.0
www.westyorksfire.gov.uk
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For Operational Crews Completing visits of Non-Domestic Premises
Operational visits of non-domestic premises (Excluding During Performance Inspections)
Reducing risk within premises is an integral part of the Authority’s overall risk reduction process
and operational personnel will undertake visits within suitable premises to gather appropriate risk
data, and act as the eyes and ears in terms of fire safety for the Authority.
Risk data gathered during visits will be used to enhance information within FSEC which will, in
turn be used to help develop our IRMP. All visits carried out by operational personnel will be
carried out under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004.
When carrying out visits the aim is to collect accurate safety critical risk information and
additionally check that the Responsible Person has an understanding of their obligations rather
than picking up every potential incidence of non-compliance.
Personnel carrying out these “visits” are not authorised under the Regulatory (Fire Safety) Order
2005 (RRO) and therefore are not authorised to request remedial works to be carried out. Any
advice given to the occupier should be limited to what is provided in Public Advice Notes
available on the Authority’s website. A contact number should always be available to operational
personal to enable them to seek advice from a specialist Fire Protection Inspector.
Premises to be visited are provided in lists on the Premises Risk Database. These lists will be
agreed annually with each Operational District Commander taking account of the risk profile
within each District and Station.
It is vital Operational Crews understand that the purpose of their visit is foremost to obtain
accurate risk information for firefighting operations, any information obtained during the visit for
the purposes of fire safety is secondary to this. The data collected will eventually be used to
populate the risk information on Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs). Details of this procedure are
covered by Operational Procedure No. 4 - “Risk Management Policy for Buildings and
Structures”. Further information on recording and database issues are provided in PRD11 user
guide – Fire-fighter Safety Risk Inspections (Available on SharePoint)
Responsibilities
Crews will be responsible for entry of data collected during visits, database amendments as
required.
Operational District Commanders will be responsible for agreeing the overall programme and for
monitoring District performance.
Station Commanders will be responsible for the management of visits as detailed in this policy
document.
The MACC Database Team will be responsible for entry of operational information onto the
mobilising system.
Fire Protection personnel will provide support for operational crews on any matter of technical
fire safety. Any support required out of normal office hours will be through the existing chain of
command.
Data Team & Address Management Team will provide support relating to the recording of data
on the Premise Risk Database.
Fire Safety Support will provide support regarding the process and procedure that is to be
undertaken.
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For Operational Crews Completing visits of Non-Domestic Premises
Procedures
If the following sections of the form have not already been completed by a specialist Fire
Protection Inspector then they should be completed by the visiting crew:
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Front job sheet (amendments as required)
Part A (site assessment)
Part B (fire safety indicator)
Part C (risk profile)
Part D (Risk Critical Information – Fire-fighters’ Safety Information)
For further information see PRD10 user guide – Operational Visits (available on SharePoint
under PRD Help).
On completion of all visits, the following advice leaflets should be left with occupants:
1. Public Advice Leaflet No.56 “Arson Advice” contains guidance on arson protection and
risk assessment.
2. Public Advice Leaflet No. 45A – “What to Expect When a Fire Safety Inspector Calls,
Brief Guide for Businesses, Employers & other Responsible Persons”.
Both leaflets contain a website address where additional guidance is available.
The Premises Risk Database will propose premises suitable for visiting in a prioritised list
according to their risk rating score.
It is the Station Commander’s responsibility to choose which premises are to be visited.
However, this responsibility may be devolved to the Watch\Crew Commander if effective
monitoring is in place
“Ownership” of the visit must be taken by the person responsible for its completion. This is
achieved by the clerk or the Station Commander allocating “ownership” to the required individual
via the Premises Risk Database.
Appropriate forms as detailed above can be pre-printed for use during the visit and are also be
available from Reprographics at FSHQ.
An appointment should always be made by the Watch\Crew Commander, with an appropriate
person at the premises. Information should be given to the person detailing what the visit will
entail and the possibility that it may be postponed at short notice due to an emergency call. For
information purposes operational visits are conducted under FRS Act 2004 7 (2)(d), and
therefore do not require any additional authorisation for entry. If entry is refused crews should
return to station and seek advice from their Station Commander or District Fire Protection
personnel.
All completed parts of the form should then be returned to the Station Commander who will
check the details for accuracy and amend as necessary.
Follow-up visits relating to poor standards of fire safety in premises will not be required by the
Watch\Crew Commander responsible for the inspection.
If poor standards are identified, the Watch\Crew Commander should indicate to the occupier that
a follow-up inspection may be carried out by a specialist Fire Protection Inspector.
Once the data is entered into the Premises Risk Database, any fire safety deficiencies identified
in Part B of the form, will automatically determine whether a specialist Fire Protection Inspector
should attend the premises.
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For Operational Crews Completing visits of Non-Domestic Premises
Premises where dangerous conditions are identified
During a visit, if a Watch\Crew Commander identifies conditions within the premises that involve
a risk to persons so serious that use of the premises ought to be restricted or prohibited, the
Watch\Crew Commander should immediately contact their District Fire Protection Office and
seek guidance. Whilst awaiting the arrival of the District Fire Protection Personnel, and if safe to
do so, the visit may continue. If the visit is outside normal office hours, support and guidance
should be sought via MACC.
Procedure for premises without a record in the Premises Risk Database
The introduction of the RRO increased the types of premises for which the Authority is now the
enforcing authority, and therefore the Premises Risk Database may not hold records for all
premises that crews may wish to visit.
If a premises record cannot be located in the database, crews may still visit the premises, but
before the visit can be completed a record must firstly be created on the database by either the
station clerk or the individual who has “ownership” for the visit. For further advice please see
PRD020 user guide (Fire Safety Library - PRD Information) for guidance on how to create new
premises records.
Performance Monitoring
Performance monitoring of visits for type, quality of data and number of visits completed will be
carried out in the first instance by the Station Commander. It is imperative that data quality is of
the highest standard as the data determines the non-domestic risk profile of the Authority and
will be used by new mobilising systems in the near future.
Additional monitoring will be completed centrally.
Quality sampling of data collected in respect of fire safety (completed by operational staff) may
be undertaken by the specialist Fire Protection Inspectors
Review
The above procedure will be reviewed annually.
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