Who the Order applies to.

 

This order applies to:

 

• Workplaces / Factories / Offices
• Places of Assembly
• Sports & Entertainment Facilities
• Health Facilities
• Shops / Retail
• Educational Premises

• Sleeping & Residential Care Accommodation

The duties of the Responsible Person.

Their responsibility is to:

 

“Take all reasonable steps to safeguard any relevant person, whether staff or visitor, from the risks and dangers of a fire.”

 

To this end it is the duty of the Responsible Person to take ‘General Fire Precautions’. The Order states these are:

 

• Measures to reduce the risk of fire on the premises and the risk of the spread of fire on the premises.
• Measures in relation to the means of escape from the premises.

• Measures for securing that, at all material times, the means of escape can be safely and effectively used.

• Measures in relation to the means for fighting fires on the premises.

• Measures in relation to the means for detecting fire on the premises and giving warning in case of fire on the premises.

• Measures 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.

(ii) measures to mitigate the affects of the fire.

The Fire Risk Assessment.

To enable them to carry out these precautions adequately, the Responsible Person must make a suitable and adequate assessment of the fire risks to which relevant persons may be exposed. This is a Fire Risk Assessment. The purpose of the assessment is to identify the fire precautions that need to take to comply with the requirements of the order. The conclusions of the assessment need to be recorded and acted on and should be reviewed by the responsible person regularly.

 

The Fire Risk Assessment will include evaluation of the following areas:

 

• Identification of any fire hazards including hazards from dangerous substances

• Which persons are at risk in and around the premises
• Evaluation of the risk of a fire starting and the risk to persons from fire

• Evaluation of the current fire safety precautions in place and whether they comply with legal requirements. This will include assessment of safety signage, emergency lighting and any fire alarm system and detection devices.

The Preventative and Protective Measures set out in the Order.

The conclusions of the risk assessment must be responded to immediately and may involve actions in the following areas:

 

• Fire Safety Arrangements – “The Responsible Person must make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate, having regard to the size of his undertaking and the nature of its activities, for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventative and protective measures”.

 

• Elimination or Reduction of Risks from Dangerous Substances – “Where a dangerous substance is present in or on the premises, the Responsible Person must ensure that the risk to relevant persons related to the presence of the substance is either eliminated or reduced so far as is reasonably practicable”.

 

• Fire-fighting and Fire Detection – the Responsible Person must ensure that the premises are “equipped with appropriate fire-fighting equipment and where necessary, fire detection and alarms.” He must also make sure any “non-automated fire-fighting equipment so provided is easily accessible, simple to use and indicated by signs.” In this the Responsible Person must nominate a Competent Person to implement these measures.

 

• Emergency routes and exits – the Responsible Person must ensure that emergency exits from premises are adequate, “indicated by signs” and are kept clear and suitable for prompt escape in the event of a fire. The order also states that “emergency routes and exits requiring illumination must be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in the case of failure of their normal lighting.”

 

• Procedures for Serious and Imminent Danger and for Danger Areas – in cases of imminent danger the order states that the Responsible Person must “establish and … give effect to appropriate procedures including safety drills”. The Responsible Person must also notify relevant persons of the nature of the hazard and ensure they either immediately stop work to proceed to a place of safety, or are “prevented from resuming work in any situation where there is still a serious and imminent danger.”

 

• Maintenance – “Where necessary the Responsible Person must ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices provided in respect of the premises under the order … are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in efficient working order and in good repair at all times.”

 

• Safety Assistance – the Responsible Person must “appoint one or more Competent Person to assist him in undertaking the preventive and protective measures.”

 

• Provision of Information to Employees and Others – the Responsible Person must provide relevant persons with “comprehensible and relevant information” on the identified risk to them and the safety measures in place.

 

• Training – the Responsible Person must ensure that his employees are provided with “adequate safety training” at the time when they are first employed or on their being exposed to new or increased risks. The training must include suitable and sufficient instructions, be repeated periodically where appropriate, be adapted to take account of any new or changed risks, be provided in a manner appropriate to the risk identified by the risk assessment and be carried out during work hours.

The records that must be kept.

In all these activities the Responsible Person must ensure that appropriate records are kept such as:

 

• Copies of the fire risk assessments
• The current fire safety policy & procedures
• Details of any training and drills

• The routine maintenance records of the fire alarm systems, emergency lighting and extinguishers.

How the Order is enforced.

The enforcement of the Order is usually the responsibility of the fire and rescue authority for the area in which the premises are.  The inspectors have the power to:

 

• Enter any premises and inspect any premises which he has reason to believe it is necessary for him to enter for the purpose of enforcing the order.
• To make any inquiry as may be necessary to find out whether the provisions of the Order have been complied with, and who the is Responsible Person on the premises.

• To inspect any records.

• To require any person having responsibilities in relation to the premises to give him such facilities and assistance about anything that the responsibilities of that person include.

• To take samples of any articles or substances

• Also in the case of any article or substance which appears to him to have caused, or is likely to cause, danger to the safety of relevant persons, the inspector can have the article dismantled or subjected to any “process or test” as long as the article is not actually destroyed.

 

In situations where the preventative and protective measures in place are not up to standard, or the Responsible Person has failed to comply with the order, one of three notices may be served to the Responsible Person, depending on the level of risk or danger to relevant persons on the premises:

 

• Alterations Notice - this notice will probably require the Responsible Person to notify the enforcing authority before making any specified changes which could result in a significant increase in risk. The Responsible Person may also be required to take all reasonable steps to notify the term of the notice to any other relevant person, and keep appropriate records of the preventative and protective measures taken.

 

• Enforcement Notice – this notice may include directions as to the measures that must be taken to remedy any failure to comply with the order.

 

• Prohibition Notice – this notice will be given where the enforcing authority is of the opinion that use of the premises involves a risk so serious that use of the premises must be prohibited or restricted. The notice may restrict the use of all or part of the premises until the risks have been remedied.

 

Further to this it is an offence for any Responsible Person to fail to comply with any requirement imposed by the order and this may result in a fine or prison sentence depending on the nature of the offence.

Related Downloads

Fire Safety Guides.

The full Order:

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, October 2006

Download

Fire Safety Guides:

Offices & Shops Guide

Download

Entry Level Guide

Download

Educational Premises Guide

Download

 

Healthcare Facilities Guide

Download

Factories & Warehouse Guide

Download

 

Who is responsible for compliance with the Order.

The person that could be responsible would be:

 

• The owner of the premises
• The employer
• The occupier
• Or any person in control of the premises