What is a Fire Risk Assessment?
A Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) is a systematic engineering study that identifies fire hazards, evaluates the likelihood and consequences of fire scenarios, and recommends practical measures to reduce fire risks. Fire Risk Assessments help industries comply with PESO, OISD, NFPA, API, and other applicable safety standards while protecting personnel, assets, and business continuity.
At iFluids Engineering, we provide Fire Risk Assessment services for oil & gas facilities, LNG terminals, refineries, petrochemical plants, fertilizer plants, chemical industries, pipelines, storage terminals, LPG facilities, power plants, and other high-hazard industrial facilities across India.
Why is a Fire Risk Assessment Important?
A Fire Risk Assessment helps industries:
- Identify potential fire and explosion hazards
- Evaluate fire scenarios using engineering analysis
- Protect personnel and critical equipment
- Support PESO and OISD compliance
- Improve emergency preparedness
- Reduce business interruption
- Optimize fire protection systems
- Support insurance and regulatory approvals
- Improve overall process safety
Recognized for excellence.
PROJECTS DELIVERED ACROSS THE GLOBE
When is a Fire Risk Assessment Required?
A Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) is required whenever there is a potential risk of fire or explosion that could impact personnel, assets, or business operations. It is typically conducted during the planning, design, operation, or modification of industrial facilities to identify hazards, evaluate risks, and implement effective fire protection measures.
Fire Risk Assessments are commonly required for:
- New facility design during Concept, FEED, and Detailed Engineering
- Plant expansions and brownfield modifications
- Oil & gas, LNG, refinery, petrochemical, chemical, LPG, and power generation facilities
- PESO licensing and regulatory compliance
- OISD safety requirements for petroleum installations
- HAZOP and Process Safety Management (PSM) implementation
- Insurance risk assessments and third-party engineering reviews
- Periodic safety audits and facility risk reassessments
- Major equipment or process modifications
- Before commissioning new or upgraded facilities
Conducting a Fire Risk Assessment at the appropriate project stage helps organizations reduce fire and explosion risks, improve emergency preparedness, protect critical assets, and ensure compliance with applicable safety regulations and industry standards.
Fire Hazard Analysis vs Fire Risk Assessment
A Fire Hazard Analysis (FHA) identifies fire hazards, ignition sources, flammable materials, and potential fire scenarios within a facility. A Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) builds on this analysis by evaluating the likelihood and consequences of fire scenarios to determine whether the risks are acceptable and to recommend mitigation measures. Both studies are important for oil & gas, LNG, refinery, and petrochemical facilities, but they serve different engineering objectives.
| Attribute | Fire Hazard Analysis | Fire Risk Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Identify fire hazards | Evaluate fire risks |
| Primary Output | Hazard register | Risk assessment report |
| Assessment | Qualitative | Qualitative & Quantitative |
| Typical Stage | FEED | Detailed Engineering & Regulatory Approval |
Fire Risk Assessment Methodology
A Fire Risk Assessment follows a structured engineering methodology to identify fire hazards, evaluate credible fire scenarios, assess potential consequences, and recommend effective risk mitigation measures. At iFluids Engineering, our assessments are performed in accordance with NFPA, API, OISD, and other applicable industry standards to support safe facility design and regulatory compliance.
Step 1: Hazard Identification
Identify flammable materials, ignition sources, hazardous inventories, and process conditions to establish the basis for the assessment.
Step 2: Fire Scenario Development
Develop credible fire scenarios, including pool fires, jet fires, flash fires, and vapour cloud explosions, based on facility layout and operating conditions.
Step 3: Consequence Modelling
Evaluate the impact of each fire scenario using engineering modelling to determine thermal radiation levels, overpressure effects, and potential impacts on personnel and assets.
Step 4: Risk Evaluation
Assess the likelihood and consequences of identified scenarios against applicable risk acceptance criteria to determine the overall level of fire risk.
Step 5: Mitigation Recommendations
Recommend practical measures such as fire protection improvements, layout modifications, emergency response enhancements, and operational controls to reduce fire risks.
Fire Risk Modeling Tools and Computational Platforms
Accurate prediction of fire hazards requires advanced modeling software:
- ANSYS Fluent – Flame spread and smoke simulation in congested areas.
- PHAST (DNV) – Fire, explosion, and dispersion consequence analysis.
- FLACS (Gexcon) – 3D modeling for vapor cloud explosions and fire propagation.
- ALOHA (USEPA) – Simplified toxic and flammable release analysis for regulatory use.
- FDS (NIST) – Fire dynamics and evacuation modeling.
These tools ensure results are transparent, regulator-accepted, and technically defensible.
Benefits of Fire Risk Assessment
A Fire Risk Assessment helps organizations:
- Improve personnel safety
- Protect critical assets
- Reduce fire and explosion risks
- Support regulatory compliance
- Improve emergency preparedness
- Optimize fire protection systems
- Reduce operational downtime
- Strengthen process safety
Fire Risk Assessment Deliverables
A Fire Risk Assessment provides a comprehensive evaluation of fire hazards, potential consequences, and practical risk reduction measures. At iFluids Engineering, each assessment is tailored to the facility’s process conditions, regulatory requirements, and project objectives.
Our Fire Risk Assessment Deliverables Include:
- Facility and process description
- Hazard identification and hazardous inventory review
- Identification of credible fire scenarios
- Fire consequence and thermal radiation analysis
- Fire and explosion risk evaluation
- Fire protection system assessment
- Risk ranking and ALARP evaluation (where applicable)
- Mitigation recommendations and action plan
- Comprehensive Fire Risk Assessment report with engineering conclusions
Each report is prepared in accordance with applicable project standards and supports engineering design, regulatory compliance, and informed safety decision-making.
Standards and Codes Followed
Our Fire Risk Assessments are conducted in accordance with internationally recognized engineering standards and client-specific requirements. The applicable standards are selected based on the project scope, facility type, and regulatory authority.
| Standard | Scope |
|---|---|
| NFPA 30 | Flammable and combustible liquid storage |
| NFPA 72 | Fire alarm and detection systems |
| API RP 752 | Management of hazards associated with occupied buildings |
| API RP 753 | Portable buildings and temporary structures |
| OISD-116 | Fire protection requirements for Indian petroleum installations |
| IP 15 | Fire and explosion hazard management |
| IEC 60079 | Hazardous area classification |
| OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 | Process Safety Management (PSM) |
| ISO 45001 | Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems |
Following internationally recognized standards ensures technically sound assessments, regulatory compliance, and reliable engineering recommendations.
Regulatory Requirements in India
Fire Risk Assessments are often required to support engineering design, statutory approvals, and process safety management for high-hazard industrial facilities across India.
Our assessments help organizations comply with:
- Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) requirements
- Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) guidelines
- Process Safety Management (PSM) requirements
- Fire protection design verification
- Plant expansion and brownfield modification projects
- Safety audits and insurance risk assessments
- Engineering reviews for new and existing facilities
We support Fire Risk Assessment studies for oil & gas facilities, LNG terminals, refineries, petrochemical plants, fertilizer plants, chemical industries, LPG facilities, storage terminals, and power plants across India.
Why Choose iFluids Engineering?
iFluids Engineering delivers technically robust Fire Risk Assessments that help industries identify fire hazards, reduce operational risks, and meet applicable regulatory requirements. Our multidisciplinary process safety team combines engineering expertise with advanced modelling tools to deliver practical, project-specific solutions.
Why Clients Choose Us
- Proven experience delivering projects across India and international markets
- Experienced Process Safety and Fire Protection Engineers
- Specialized expertise in Oil & Gas, LNG, Refineries, Petrochemical, Chemical, and Power sectors
- Fire Risk Assessments aligned with NFPA, API, OISD, IEC, and other international standards
- Advanced fire consequence and risk modelling using industry-recognized software
- Practical engineering recommendations to improve fire safety
- Support for FEED, Detailed Engineering, Brownfield Modifications, and Regulatory Approvals
- Comprehensive reports with clear risk mitigation strategies
Looking for Expert Fire Risk Assessment Services?
iFluids Engineering provides Fire Risk Assessment services that help organizations identify fire hazards, evaluate risks, and support compliance with applicable industry standards. Speak with our engineering team to discuss your project and receive a tailored proposal.
Frequently Asked Questions
A fire risk assessment for an oil & gas facility covers hazard identification, credible fire scenario development covering pool fire, jet fire, and VCE cases, consequence modelling, thermal radiation and overpressure contour mapping, risk evaluation against API RP 752 criteria, and a mitigation action register structured for PESO, QatarEnergy, or ADNOC submission.
A fire hazard analysis identifies what can burn, where, and at what intensity qualitative output. A fire risk assessment quantifies probability and consequence, producing risk contours and an ALARP demonstration. Major oil & gas projects require both: the fire hazard analysis defines the scenario set; the quantitative assessment delivers the risk-based design basis.
FERA is required when explosion overpressure is a credible consequence alongside fire offshore modules, congested onshore process units, FPSO topsides, and LNG facilities all qualify. QatarEnergy mandates FERA for all offshore HSE Cases. A study without the explosion modelling component does not satisfy QP-REG-S-001 or PFEER requirements.
OISD-116 sets fire protection design parameters for Indian refineries and processing plants. PESO requires a documented report aligned with OISD-116 for licence applications and renewals. Studies must also reference NFPA 30 for flammable liquid scenarios and API RP 752 for occupied building risk. iFluids has delivered OISD-116-compliant work for IFFCO, Konkan LNG, and other Indian operators.
A typical refinery scope 8-12 process units, consequence modelling, API RP 752 building assessment, and OISD-116 gap analysis requires 10-14 weeks from data receipt to draft report. FERA scope for the same facility adds 3-4 weeks for modelling and frequency analysis. iFluids provides a scoped timeline at proposal stage.
