Other Building Fires risk methodology consultation

The Other Building Fires (OBFs) risk methodology is the second of three methodologies delivered by the DOR Project for the UK Fire and Rescue Service (FRS). The first methodology, assessing the risk of Domestic Dwelling Fires, received the support of full Council in February 2022; following this the DOR project has been working on the development of a risk methodology for OBFs and Road Traffic Collisions (RTCs). The consultation for the RTCs methodology will launch in March.

A Working Group made up of UK FRS Protection SMEs, PPRU, and RBIP was assembled to help shape the methodology developed with consultants ORH. The project’s aim was to deliver an evidence based, data driven methodology for calculating the risk of OBFs.

Building categories: ORH, in collaboration with the DOR project and the Working Group, identified 23 building categories using incident data from IRS data and Ordnance Survey data on building locations and property types.

Likelihood: An analysis of the likelihood of OBFs in terms of the total number, relative proportions and annual rates per 1,000 buildings in each of the 23 building categories was undertaken.

Consequence: A lack of robust data in this area led to a 3 step approach for consequence, including a ‘potential consequence’ model developed under the guidance of the Working Group:

• measured consequence based on evidence; IRS data on actual OBF incidents,
• potential consequence based on other risk groups associated with property types (societal, firefighter, community, heritage, environmental)
• building-specific consequence – using local information for an identifiable address

Guidance for local adjustments was written by RBIP and PPRU colleagues; upcoming guidance being developed as part of the review of Risk Based Interventions will align to this methodology. Following UK FRS consultation, the methodology will be peer reviewed by academics from Liverpool University, before formal launch and publication in the summer of this year.

Many thanks for participating in this consultation.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Hannah.Begum@nationalfirechiefs.org.uk

Start the consultation survey.