Fire risk assessments (FRA)

Buildings are legally required to have a fire risk assessment if:

• It’s a residential building with two or more properties with a shared escape route
• Or a place of work with five or more people working in it.

The purpose of the assessment is to identify fire hazards, evaluates risks to people, and implements measures to reduce those risks identified from fire.  

Our routine FRA is a non-intrusive inspection of all the communal and shared spaces, including external walls, balcony construction, office spaces, plant rooms and rooms with shared amenities. We also carry them out on car parks.

As part of the assessment, the assessor may knock on your door and ask to check your flat entrance door and see the fire detection within your home. This helps the assessor determine if the right level of protection is in place.

It’s important that FRA are carried out by competent assessors. Southern Housing have appointed, Savills Limited, who are BAFE SP205 accredited, to undertake all assessments.  

Savills’ assessors will be wearing branded uniform and always carry ID. 

We’re committed to being transparent and so we’ve given residents the ability to view and download their current FRA.
Using a smart phone, you can scan the QR Code shown on the poster within your building. This takes you straight to the residents’ portal.  
 
Alternatively, you can visit the website directly. You’ll need the unique property reference number. If you don’t have this, please contact us.
 
View your FRA.

Your property management company: Southern Housing  

The FRA will detail all the actions identified. Each action will have a recommended target date for when it should be completed, which is determined by the assessor.  

Actions are likely to be relating to communal spaces, but if access is needed to your specific flat, we’ll let you know.  

Passive fire protection are measures put in place in the structure of the building to:

• Limit the spread of fire and smoke by containing it in a single compartment 
• Protect escape routes  
• Protect the building structure.

The two most common ways of achieving this is through ensuring there is appropriate fire stopping and fire doors.

Firestopping is the sealing of any openings to prevent fire, smoke, and heat from passing throughout a building.

The spread of fire is contained by creating fire resisting compartments (i.e. around a flat entrance door, or corridor etc). Where cables and pipes pass through walls or ceilings there are often holes and gaps present.

The process of fire stopping seals these holes with fire resisting materials which minimises the spread of a fire within a building.

All fire safety works are considered essential, so it’s crucial you give us access to complete the work.

It’s important to be aware that you are required to provide access for all essential fire safety works, under the terms of your tenancy agreement or lease agreement.  

We’ll always try and work with you to complete works on dates and times that suit you.

If access isn’t granted, we may have no choice but to proceed with legal action.

No. All passive works are completed by third party accredited passive fire safety contractors. This provides assurances that the contractors are competent in completing these types of works.  

Some of the works are chargeable and will be recovered via your service charges.  

Fire stopping works are not rechargeable.