Fire Safety Law
The fire safety laws across the UK are designed to provide a minimum fire safety standard in all non-domestic premises.
The following are the principal pieces of legislation and standards which govern fire safety throughout England and Wales.
While the Fire Safety Order 2005 may not necessarily be the easiest document to navigate to the uninitiated, we've broken down some key sections to help you understand the law and help make your responsibilities easier.
Where does the law apply?
Well, pretty much everywhere, really.
After coming into effect on October 1st 2006, The Regulatory Reform Order applies to nearly all premises and covers almost every type of building and structure.
There are very few exceptions, so the chances are that your property or place of work must adhere to the law.
Am I responsible?
To some degree everyone is responsible. But the main responsibility falls on the person or persons who; Control the premises, control activities on the premises or employs anyone on the premises.
This person(s) are responsible for keeping anybody legitimately on site safe from fire.
In many cases, responsibility may be shared between several people but it is NOT the responsibility of the fire service or any other statutory body.
So what do I need to do?
First and foremost you are legally required to have a risk assessment. While there are templates available online to complete yourself, we would strongly suggest having an external risk assessor compile an assessment for you. This way you can rest easy knowing you have a comprehensive and accurate document to work with. It is recommended that this risk assessment be reviewed annually. However, if you have a solid external assessment to work with and there have been little to no building or business changes in the last year, the reviewing procedure should be a breeze.
Remember; Fire Risk Assessments are mandatory and you must keep a written risk assessment if your business has more than 5 people on site.
Is there anything else I need to do?
I'm afraid so.
UK law also states that equipment such as your fire alarm, extinguishers and emergency lighting must be ‘adequately maintained’. With regards to fire alarms, this should take the form of a weekly test (by the site responsible person) and regular servicing by a professional.
The Government recommends that a fire alarm system should not go more than 6 months without being inspected by a competent person. For larger sites, it is advised that this be reduced to 3 months.
Enforcement.
Enforcing the law predominately comes down to your local fire authority. They're responsible for looking into complaints, carrying out investigations and where necessary targeted inspections.
They will endeavor to prosecute instances of poor fire safety management, which can result in an unlimited fine or up to 2 years in prison.
It's also worth noting that they have the power to prevent the use of certain parts of a premises or shut down sites completely.
So you can appreciate how important it is to keep on top of your fire safety.
How can you help?
Asgard Fire are able to provide you with comprehensive servicing of your fire safety equipment, fault finding, remedial work and impartial advice.
Need to replace and old panel? - No problem.
Need additional extinguishers? - Easy.
Need a little advice or training on what you already have? - Sure thing.
Just give us a call and we'll be happy to help.
