1.7 Managing building work and
alterations
Fires are more frequent when buildings are
undergoing refurbishment or alteration.
You should ensure that, before any building
work starts, you have reviewed the fire risk
assessment and consider
ed what additional
dangers are likely to be introduced. You will
need to evaluate the additional risks to people,
particularly in those buildings that continue
to be occupied. Lack of pre-planning can lead
to haphazard co-ordination of fire safety measures.
Y
ou should liaise and exchange information with
contractors who will also have a duty under
t
he Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations 1996
to carry out a risk assessment
and inform you of their significant findings and
the preventive measures they may employ. This
may be supported by the contractors’ agreed
work method statement. The designer should
also have considered fire safety as part of the
Construction (Design and Management)
R
egulations 1994 (the CDM Regulations).
11, 12
You should continuously monitor the impact
of the building work on the general fire safety
precautions, such as the increased risk
from quantities of combustible materials and
accumulated waste and maintaining adequate
means of escape. You should only allow
the minimum materials necessary for the work
in hand within or adjacent to your building.
Activities involving hot work such as welding,
flame cutting, use of blow lamps or portable
grinding equipment can pose a serious fire
hazard and need to be strictly controlled when
carried out in areas near flammable materials.
This can be done by having a written permit
to work for the people involved (whether they
are your employees or those of the contractor).
The purpose of the permit is to ensure that the
area is made as safe as possible before any hot
working starts, that monitoring and precautions
continue to be taken whilst the work is in
progress, and that the area where the hot work
was carried out and the surrounding area are
monitored for at least an hour after completion
of the work.