Changes to Fire Safety Law:
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order

Introduction to the RR(FS)O

The RR(FS)O represents the biggest overhaul of Fire Safety Legislation in decades; the order will come into force in October 2006 and will cover all non-domestic/commercial premises in England and Wales.

The main focus of the order will be to abolish ‘Fire Certificates’ which will no longer have any legal standing, and to place the responsibility for complying with fire safety firmly with the ‘responsible person’.

The ‘responsible person’ as classified within a workplace could be the employer, owner, occupier or nominated suitably qualified person who has overall control for the on-going fire safety of the premises.

Who does it affect?

This legislation will affect you if:

• you are responsible for a business premises
• you are an employer
• you are self-employed with business premises
• you are a charity or voluntary organisation
• you are a contractor with a degree of control over any premises.

If you are any of the above there potentially will be a responsibility for you to carry out a ‘fire risk assessment’ on your premises/place of work.

Responsibilities

The RR(FS)O, as mentioned previously abolishes ‘Fire Certification’ of premises by the Fire Authority, the onus for ensuring on-going fire safety compliance of buildings falls to the ‘building owner/occupiers/responsible person’.

This responsibility to provide a fire risk assessment will:

• emphasise methods of preventing fires and reducing risks
• make it your responsibility to ensure the safety of everyone who uses your premises and in the immediate vicinity
• remove the need for fire certification
• require you to record a written assessment if you employ more than five people in the company
• focus on all relevant persons, in particular people that are at special risk, such as the disabled and people with special accessibility needs.

Fire Risk Assessment

The fire risk assessment document should contain the following information:

• an assessment of the means of escape from the premises
• an assessment of the suitability and location of fire fighting equipment
• an assessment of the access and provisions for the Fire Brigade
• maintenance records for all fire fighting facilities, emergency lighting and automatic fire detection systems
• fire strategy floor plans
• a recognised fire action/emergency action plan which highlights the management policies and strategies for means of escape
• staff training records in accordance with the fire action/emergency action plans.

This summary has been provided by HCD Group who can be contacted through Jon Davies on 07801 032 950 or Steve Highwood on 07815 855 250

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