Fire Risk Assessment - Do you know the regulations?
 

Excerpts from the HSE website, indicate that fire safety has recently changed from Fire Brigade responsibilities to the owner / landlord of the property. Because of this, our assessors are finding that many organisations do not have the right solutions to fire assessment in their buildings, and subsequently will be non compliant.  If there were to be a fire or incident in the building, prosecutions may be brought by the HSE should such assessments not be fully compliant.

General fire safety in England and Wales is delivered through compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (‘the Order’). In Scotland, fire safety duties are contained in Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, as amended, and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

The legislation implements a risk based approach to fire safety in community, industrial and business premises. It requires the responsible person (usually the employer, owner or occupier) to carry out a fire safety risk assessment and implement appropriate fire precautionary and protection measures, and to maintain a fire management plan.

Fire and Rescue Authorities are the principal enforcers and have a statutory duty to enforce the requirements of the legislation.

Further information on the purpose and application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales is available on the CLG and Welsh Assembly Government websites, along with detailed guidance on how to ensure compliance in a range of businesses premises:

Fire and resilience [1]
Fire and rescue [2]
The legislation in Scotland is broadly equivalent but with some differences in respect of application, terminology and the detailed provisions. Information on the Scottish legislation and its guidance documents can be found on:

FireLaw: Are you aware of your responsibilities? [3]
HSE no longer have responsibility for premises under the Fire Certificate (Special Premises) Regulations 1976 (FC(SP)R). This has been revoked with effect from 1st October 2006 since the commencement of Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2006.

In the majority of cases, responsibility for enforcement of fire safety legislation in respect of “special premises” has transferred from HSE to the relevant local fire and rescue authority. 
 

Sources of information

Advice on carrying out a fire risk assessment, including a 5-step risk assessment checklist and detailed guidance for businesses, is available on the CLG website and, for Scotland, on the fire law website – see links above. If you require information in Welsh, please visit:

Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru/Welsh Assembly Government[6]
Advice for employers (particularly those with small and medium sized businesses) and the self-employed on the basic requirements of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations can be found in the HSE leaflet:

HSE: ‘Fire and explosion – How safe is your workplace?’[7]
Fire Protection Association (FPA) is the UK’s national fire safety organisation. It identifies and draws attention to fire dangers by providing information and advice through leaflets; publications and visual aids; a library/information service; training courses; seminars and conferences.

You can find out more about FPA on their website at or you can contact them at:

London Road
Moreton in Marsh
Gloucestershire
GL56 0RH
Tel: 01608 812500
Website: www.thefpa.co.uk/

GBNS assessors are all fully trained and accredited by the FPA, and can provide the levels of reassurance that only a competent person can provide.  For more details please call 01371 810700 or click here.