Fire Risk Assessments for Business Parks and Multi-Tenant Buildings in Limerick

In a business park or shared building, fire safety depends on several parties each doing their part: the landlord, the managing agent and every tenant. A fire risk assessment shows what falls to you, and where a gap between you and your neighbours could put people at risk.

The legal duty

Section 18(2) of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003 places a duty on anyone having control of a premises other than a dwelling house to take all reasonable measures to guard against the outbreak of fire, and to ensure as far as is reasonably practicable the safety of people on the premises. Employers must also identify hazards and hold a written risk assessment under section 19 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

More than one person can have control of the same building. Typically each tenant is responsible for their own unit, and the landlord or managing agent for the common parts. The lease decides the detail.

Where shared buildings go wrong

• Nobody tests the shared alarm, because each party assumes another does.
• Shared corridors and stairs fill up with deliveries, bikes and furniture.
• One tenant’s alterations breach the fire separation between units.
• Empty units are left unsecured, with waste inside.
• Different tenants use different assembly points, or none.
• Evacuation plans stop at the unit door and do not cover the shared route to the outside.

What a tenant’s assessment covers

1. Fire hazards inside your unit and how they are controlled.
2. Your escape routes, including the shared parts you rely on.
3. How the building alarm reaches your unit and whether staff can hear it.
4. Fire doors and the walls separating you from neighbours.
5. Extinguishers, training, drills and your fire safety register.
6. Anything that depends on the landlord, listed so you can raise it with them.

What a landlord’s or agent’s assessment covers

1. Common escape routes, stairs, lobbies and plant rooms.
2. The shared alarm, emergency lighting and their servicing.
3. Fire separation between units and risers.
4. External areas: bin stores, car parks and access for the fire service.
5. Information given to tenants, and how changes are communicated.

When tenants change

A new tenant can change the risk for the whole building, for example a store becoming a workshop. That is a reason to review the fire risk assessment.

Based in Co. Tipperary, Safer Solutions carries out fire risk assessments in Limerick for tenants, landlords and managing agents in Raheen, Castletroy, the city centre and across the county. Call 086 275 9728, email info@safersolutions.ie or request a quote.