Home » Fire safety legislation

Fire Safety Legislation

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Introduced in October 2006, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (commonly known as the FSO 2005) places an emphasis towards risk reduction and fire prevention, requiring employers, building occupiers and owners to identify and eliminate or control fire risks within their premises and to ensure it is safe for everyone to use.

The Fire Safety Order applies to most places with very few exceptions, the main one being single private dwellings. There is also a new requirement that if you have any type of Licence in force for your premises you must record your fire risk assessment. In particular, this will impact on responsible persons who own or operate any bars and restaurants that need a license under the Licensing Act 2003, and any owners of houses in multiple occupation (HMO's) that need a license under the Housing Act 2004.

Where persons are employed to work, it is a requirement under the Fire Safety Order to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is carried out by a nominated competent person. Where there are five or more employees, the findings of the risk assessment must be recorded in writing.

In summary,

What must I do to comply?

In order to comply with the Fire Safety Order you must:

• carry out a fire risk assessment identifying any possible dangers and risks;
• consider who may be at risk,
• remove or reduce the risk from fire as far as is reasonably possible and provide general fire precautions to deal with any possible remaining risk,
• take measures to ensure there is suitable protection if flammable or explosive materials are used or stored,
• create an emergency plan to deal, and
• review your findings as necessary.

Who is responsible for meeting the Fire Safety Order?

Under the Fire Safety Order, anyone who has control of premises or anyone who has a degree of control over certain areas or systems may be a ‘responsible person'. For example, this may be:

• the employer for those parts of the premises staff may go to,
• the managing agent or owner for shared parts of premises or shared fire safety equipment such as fire warning systems or sprinklers,
• the occupier, such as self-employed people or voluntary organisations if they have any control, or
• any other person who has some control over a part of the premises.

For the vast majority of cases, the responsible person will be obvious. However, there may be times when a number of people have some responsibility.

How do I meet the Fire Safety Order?

The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment, or appoint a competent person to conduct the fire risk assessment on their behalf.

The Order differs from previous legislation in that you must consider everyone who might be on your premises, including employees, visitors etc. You must pay particular attention to people with special needs or a disability, those who may need special help should a fire occur.

If your premises have been designed and built in accordance with existing Building Regulations, your structural fire precautions should be acceptable. Of course, you will still need to carry out a fire risk assessment and make sure that you monitor, maintain and test all fire safety facilities for prevention and protection of fire.

For more information on fire safety legislation contact excell today.