The details 

Gauging the levels of occupants in public buildings is a vital element of fire safety and should be covered during a fire risk assessment, although this is often overlooked. Although we were in the midst of COVID-19 during this job, maximum occupancy is always crucial to ensuring people are not put at risk.

In this instance, we completed a fire risk assessment at a popular Oxford nightclub in the city centre; on the face of it there were sufficient escapes. However, thanks to our knowledge and by referring to the correct guidance (places of assembly), we were able to drill down into the detail to provide the appropriate numbers – even though the owner wasn’t totally happy. 

The factors we took into account included door width openings and mechanisms to open, close proximity of doorways, discounting the widest escape, reducing numbers from the basement to 60 where there is only one escape, and how robustly the procedures work (taking into account intoxicated customers that may slow down the evacuation process down).

We always ask a number of questions when we’re assessing a building’s safety: “how safe is this building?”, “how would I feel if my family and I were here?”, “how quickly can people be alerted to fire?”, and “how quickly can people get out to a place of safety?”