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Our Services
We provide, in partnership with our clients, services that comply with the
highest standards of honesty, integrity and technical expertise.
Safety that Delivers
We work alongside National and International firms.
We are committed to providing customer satisfaction with services and products of the highest quality on time and at a competitive price. The implementation of quality is the responsibility of all staff members, with overall responsibility residing with the Directors, who monitor its effectiveness and associated activities. Quality is crucial to our success.
Professional Team
Bespoke Approach
Expert Advice
JR Associates (Safety) Ltd is an independent Family owned Fire Safety company founded in 2006 by John Bates & Ron Field, both Ex-West Midlands Fire Safety Officers who served at a senior level for several years. As a company, over the years, new advisors have been appointed who have served within the Fire Service or have gained suitable qualifications by being mentored and undergoing examination with the relevant governing bodies to obtain qualifications that deem them competent.
As a company, we provide a bespoke professional service where details of the premises are recorded on a plan. The preventative and protective measures are indicated on them together with any significant findings as appropriate. This is followed by comprehensive documentation to comply with the suitable legislation. However, the document aims to convey information in the most straightforward formats.
JR Associates ensures that only qualified, competent advisors are appointed to complete any Fire Safety Activities. All our advisors hold suitable qualifications within the Fire Sector. All assessors will have served within the Fire Service or been mentored by an ex-fire safety officer. We ensure they hold qualifications with either the Institute of Fire Safety Managers or the Institute of Fire Engineers or via a third-party accreditation such as FRACS.
JR Associates is a professional company that provides a personal service
Fire Strategies
Fire Engineering
Planning For Means of Escape
Fire Risk Assessment
Fire Compartmentation Surveys & Fire Door Surveys
Fire Policies
Building Floor Plans
Training and Support
DSEAR Assessments
Fire Strategies
A fire strategy is a technical document that sets the basis for fire safety control measures from building design. It is not a fire safety plan or an evacuation plan/procedure. It is required to demonstrate compliance with Building Regulations, covering:
- Means of fire detection;
- Warning and escape;
- Internal fire spread (linings and structure);
- External fire spread; and
- Accessibility and facilities provided for the fire service.
Typically, a fire strategy will be produced at the design stage of a building in conjunction with architectural plans and is required as part of a building control submission. The document will also provide details of occupancy levels permitted within the building against the provision of horizontal and vertical means of escape and levels of compartmentation.
The requirement for a fire strategy is not only applicable to new builds; they can also be produced for existing buildings. These are often known as ‘retrospective fire strategies’. As mentioned above, a fire strategy document forms an essential basis for conducting the fire risk assessment, and it is important to note that a fire risk assessment cannot deviate from the fire strategy.
JR Associates can prepare suitable & sufficient Fire Strategies alongside Retrospective Fire Strategies.
Fire Engineering
Fire Engineering is the application of scientific and engineering principles, rules [Codes], and expert judgment based on an understanding of the phenomena and effects of fire and of the reaction and behaviour of people to fire to protect people, property and the environment from the destructive effects of fire.
These objectives will be achieved by a variety of means, including such activities as:
- the assessment of the hazards, risks of fire and its effects,
- the mitigation of potential fire damage by,
- proper design, construction and layout
- use of buildings, materials used, structures, industrial processes, transportation systems and similar
- the appropriate level of evaluation for the optimum preventive and protective measures necessary to limit the consequences of fire,
- the design, installation, maintenance and development of fire detection, fire suppression, and fire control. Also fire related communication systems and equipment,
- the direction and control of appropriate equipment and workforce in the strategy and function of firefighting and rescue operations,
JR Associates can provide the following fire engineering services.
• Designing buildings with fire safety in mind
• Designing equipment used to fight fires
• Inspecting older buildings and structures for potential hazards
• Making recommendations for fire safety systems and procedures
• Liaising with local authorities, construction professionals, and architects about fire safety
• Keeping up to date with new fire regulations and laws
• Inspecting equipment, buildings, and materials to make sure they are safe
• Use computer modelling to understand how fires start and spread
Planning For Means of Escape
The ability of the occupants of a building to evacuate to a place of ultimate or total safety in the case of fire is a fundamental aspect of fire safety. In more complex buildings, this will usually require the appointment of trained staff to assist other occupiers, e.g. those who may not be familiar with the building.
A “means of escape” can be defined as a structural means whereby a safe route is provided for people to travel from any location in a building or structure to a place of safety without outside assistance. Each workplace should have a fire emergency plan that all employees and visitors must be aware of. There should also be procedures in place to test or exercise the evacuation procedures and to ensure that any person needing specific assistance is identified and appropriate evacuation plans adopted.
JR Associates can complete suitable planning for Means of Escape purposes.
Fire Risk Assessment
In England and Wales, if you are an employer, owner, landlord, managing agent or occupier of a business or other non-domestic premises, the responsibility for Fire Safety and Fire Protection rests with you. As such, you are defined as the ‘Responsible Person’. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force on the 1st of October 2006. It was the most significant change to Fire Safety legislation in over 35 years, detailing what you must do to comply with the law. The Responsible Person must ensure that a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment is completed for the premises he controls. For the risks to be fully assessed with nothing being overlooked, it is a duty to appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the preventative and protective measures (Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Article 18.-[1]). JR Associates has now completed over 3,500 fire risk assessments to comply with this requirement on behalf of our clients.
JR Associates can carry out suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessments in England & Wales under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 alongside Scotland under The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and The Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and in Northern Ireland under The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010.
The comprehensive document includes plans and photographs.
Fire Compartmentation Surveys & Fire Door Surveys
If you have had a Fire Risk Assessment on your premises, one of the action points on your “Fire Action Plan “could be a Significant Finding to have a Fire Compartmentation Survey undertaken. This tends to be where the Fire Risk Assessor has identified numerous breaches in fire compartment walls, ceilings and floors and feels that the fire compartments within a building are likely to be compromised in a fire situation. A Fire Compartmentation Survey is intrusive and involves investigative works within roof spaces, ceiling and floor voids, as well as within service rises, behind boxings, etc. The objective is to assess whether the existing fire compartment walls (including doors within them), floors and ceilings within the property will likely restrict the potential spread of fire and smoke for the required period (i.e. the time needed to enable escape).
In addition to a Fire Compartmentation Survey, the Responsible Person may also require a Fire Door Survey. A Fire Door survey establishes the condition and suitability of a Fire Door whilst also providing context and risk ratings based on the implications of any failure of doors on the general fire safety of a building. The inspection outcome is a detailed report describing any faults with each door inspected, along with a risk rating so that any work required can be approached on a risk-related basis.
JR Associates can carry out suitable and sufficient Fire Compartmentation Surveys and Fire Door Surveys with documents containing plans and images.
Fire Policies
A Fire Safety policy is a document that sets out an organisation’s commitment to ensuring the safety of all of the Relevant Persons on its premises in the case of a Fire. The policy should Clearly define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities about Fire Safety and develop and implement appropriate Fire Safety procedures and arrangements to safeguard all persons affected by their operations. Specifically, measures to control the risks and consequences of fire to enable them to reach, so far as reasonably practicable, a place of ultimate safety.
JR Associates can prepare suitable & sufficient Fire Policies.
Building Floor Plans
Following the introduction of The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, it is a requirement buildings of 7 storeys or more or greater than 18m are provided with suitable floor plans containing the below items. JR Associates (Safety) Ltd can provide single line drawings via Microsoft Visio to achieve the below.
6.—(1) The responsible person in relation to a high-rise residential building must prepare a plan for each floor of the high-rise residential building.
(2) The floor plans must, together, identify the location of all lifts and identify if the lift is one for use by firefighters or an evacuation lift, and the key fire-fighting equipment in the whole building.
(3) If the plans for two or more floors of a high-rise residential building would be the same in all material respects, the responsible person may comply with the obligation under paragraph (1) in relation to those floors by preparing a single plan that clearly indicates the floors to which the plan relates.
(4) The responsible person must also prepare a single-page building plan identifying the following—
(a)the environs of the building;
(b)details of the use of the building, for example for commercial or residential purposes;
(c)access for fire and rescue appliances;
(d)the dimensions of the building;
(e)information on the number of storeys of the building and the number of basement levels (if any);
(f)information regarding the presence of maisonettes or scissor section flats;
(g)inlets for dry-rising mains;
(h)inlets for wet-rising mains;
(i)the location of shut-off controls for any sprinklers;
(j)access points for the building;
(k)the location of the secure information box;
(l)the location of the controls for any smoke control system;
(m)the location of any firefighting shaft;
(n)the location of main stairways in the building;
(o)the location of the controls for any evacuation alert system.
Training and Support
Article 21.— states that The responsible person must ensure that his employees are provided with adequate safety training. – The training should cover everything from preventing Fires and following correct procedures to staying safe and escaping in the event of a blaze. You should have an emergency plan to cover what needs to happen in a Fire. The training programme should cover where employees must go and the safest routes. In some circumstances, staff may have specific roles regarding other occupants within the premises (In the case of Residential Care, for instance), including Fire Marshals who should be trained in the correct actions and procedures to follow.
It is a duty to provide staff with basic knowledge of operating Fire Extinguishers and ways of preventing Fire from spreading further when it is safe to tackle Fire rather than evacuate. Advanced training for specific employees on fire fighting and other emergency tasks, such as shutting down dangerous equipment and ensuring everyone has left the premises.
JR Associates can provide the necessary Emergency Action Procedures and the associated training, such as Fire Marshal Training.
DSEAR Assessments
Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 requires employers to assess the risks of Fires and Explosions that hazardous substances may cause in the workplace. The aim is to protect employees and other people who may be put at risk, such as visitors to the workplace and members of the public. The Regulations complement the requirement to manage risks under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. DSEAR applies to workplaces where dangerous substances are present, used, or produced. It is a requirement that all work premises undertake a Risk Assessment covering processes that may involve the use of materials that could cause a risk of harm to employees from Fire, explosion or energetic releases. This covers flammable gases, solvents, vapours, dust, incompatible chemicals and self-heating (spontaneous ignition).
JR Associates can provide suitable and sufficient DSEAR risk assessments.