The fire sector body BAFE (British Approvals for Fire Equipment) reports that two certification bodies have received their UKAS accreditation to deliver the new SP205 scheme – for organisations that deliver life safety fire risk assessments. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and a separate Act covering Scotland, the responsible person or duty holder for a business premises is required to carry out the findings of a fire risk assessment. BAFE is a third party certification registration body for the fire sector.
Since the launch of the scheme document in May the NSI and SSAIB have been working on the necessary assessment skills and processes to deliver the scheme. Since October they can accept applications from fire risk assessment firms who wish to be certificated to SP205. After certification the organisations will be listed on the BAFE website and will carry the BAFE logo. It is anticipated that two other certification bodies will be accredited shortly.
To date there is no other independently audited scheme to ensure the competence and reliability of someone commissioned to carry this out. SP205 specifies that they must have the required technical and quality management capabilities and risk assessment staff need to meet standards. Stephen Adams, BAFE General Manager says: “BAFE is very grateful to the original editorial group who developed the scheme and the UKAS team that has brought this significant development for the UK fire protection industry to fruition. We are sure that UK property users will gain significantly from having access to third party certificated assessors.”
Details of the scheme and the certification bodies can be found on the BAFE website at: www.bafe.org.uk
