Fire Safety Order

The Regulatory Reform (Fire safety) Order 2005

Anyone responsible for a premises (except a private single dwelling) in England and Wales must take action from 1 October 2006 to comply with new fire laws.

From that date, fire safety law will be covered by one piece of legislation in most premises and fire certificates will be abolished.

The emphasis will be on preventing fires and reducing risk with a 'responsible person' designated to ensure the safety of everyone who uses the premises including carrying out checks on fire protection equipment and facilities and producing a risk assessment.

To help business, the Government has reinforced the comprehensive suite of guidance already published with a new, interactive feature on the Fire Gateway website (www.fire.gov.uk) which allows users to self-assess the risk to their premises.

The Order will repeal the Fire Precautions Act 1971and revoke the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 as amended.

This appendix is a brief guide to the Order, for further information, the legislation should be consulted.

Application

The Order applies to all premises with the exception single domestic dwellings and certain specialist sites.

 

Responsible Person

The 'responsible person' will be responsible for carrying out the duties under the Order and may be the employer in the case of a workplace, the person who has control of the premises, to the extent for which they have that control, or the owner.

 

Duties under the Order

The responsible person must carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment of the general fire precautions and take measures :-

(a) to reduce the risk of fire and fire spread on the premises;

(b) In relation to the means of escape from the premises;

(c) to secure that, at all material times, the means of escape can be safely and effectively used;

(d) in relation to the means for fighting fires on the premises;

(e) in relation to the means for detecting fire on the premises and giving warning in case of fire; and

(f) in relation to the arrangements for action to be taken in the event of fire on the premises, including:-

(i) measures relating to the instruction and training of employees; and
(ii) measures to mitigate the effects of the fire.

 

Enforcement

Other than some specialist premises, The Fire Authority will be the Enforcing Authority under the Order. The Fire and Rescue Service , on behalf of the Fire Authority may at any reasonable time, arrange to audit the premises and risk assessment in order to confirm compliance with the Order.

It will be the duty of the Fire and Rescue Service to work with the responsible person to ensure a safe premises, however, options for enforcement in the case of non-compliance include:_

(d) a notification of deficiencies
(e) an enforcement notice
(f) an alterations notice
(g) a prohibition notice

In the case of statutory notices, the responsible person has a right of appeal to the court within 21 days.

 

Guidance

To support the legislation, The Department for Communities and Local Government has produced a suite of guides which are available for purchase from The Stationery Office or free to download by clicking here.

 

Further information

For further information regarding the above, contact your local office of North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.