Fire Risk Assessors Certification Scheme (FRACS)

Warringtonfire offers UKAS accredited certification from its Warrington office and is able to provide certification schemes for products and personnel. 

The FRACS scheme is for fire risk assessors and certifies the competence of individuals and companies carrying out fire risk assessments.

UK fire safety legislation requires that all buildings used in commercial or similar type activities - but not those that are solely domestic - are required to carry out a fire risk assessment for the purpose of life safety protection and keep the fire risk assessment up to date.

It is the responsibility of a designated 'responsible person or duty holder' to ensure that a fire risk assessment has been completed and that it is suitable and sufficient for the purpose of protecting the life safety of those relevant persons in or around the building.

Normally the responsible person/duty holder will not be an expert in fire safety and he/she may wish to appoint a 'competent person' to undertake this assessment.

How then does the responsible person/duty holder assess the competence of a fire risk assessment consultant?

FRACS Individuals scheme

FRACS has been designed to provide a 'technical reference' for the risk assessor; using the international standard for bodies operating certification of persons; BS EN ISO/IEC 17024:2012.

FRACS provides a standardized and nationally recognized certificate of competence.

Fire risk assessors who have completed the comprehensive technical evaluation successfully and achieved certification are considered 'competent' to produce risk assessments that are 'suitable and sufficient' for the purposes of the relevant UK fire safety legislation.

FRACS certified fire risk assessors are all listed on Warringtonfire certification’s register of competent fire risk assessors; a valuable reference for the 'responsible person/duty holder', who needs to commission a fire risk assessment.

Using a FRACS certified assessor provides a powerful demonstration that a responsible person/duty holder has exercised due diligence in the selection and appointment of a competent fire risk assessor.

Check the FRACS database to see the individuals registered. 

A copy of the FRACS Individuals Rules and Regulations can be found here.  

FRACS Company scheme

FRACS Company is a quality assurance scheme aimed at companies which offer fire risk assessment services, wishing to differentiate themselves from competitors through an independent certification scheme.

The assessment procedure for certification not only examines the competence of the employees, but also assesses the quality management systems and procedures operated by the company, thus assuring high standards of service and competence can be delivered by the certified company to their clients.

By using the same core competence assessment as the FRACS scheme for individual assessors, the company scheme provides a 'bench mark' comparison for all assessors and enables the certified company to use subcontract assessors with confidence.

It is important for the responsible person to be able to demonstrate due diligence when appointing a fire risk assessor and third-party certification is one way of satisfying this requirement.

Check the FRACS database to see the companies registered. 

A copy of the FRACS Company Rules and Regulations can be found here.