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NEW FIRE REGULATIONS FROM 1ST
OCTOBER 2006
As
part of Central Governments commitment to reduce death, injury and
damage caused by fire the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has
changed fire safety law with the introduction of the Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO) which came into effect on 1st October 2006.
Previously there were over 100 separate pieces of legislation dealing
with fire safety, which included:
The
main change in the law is the move towards the prevention of fire rather than
the extinguishment (although this will still be the primary function of
your local Fire and Rescue Service).
The
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order applies to the following
categories of premises:
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Offices and shops;
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Premises that provide care, including care homes and hospitals;
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Community halls, places of worship and other community premises;
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The
shared areas of properties several households live in;
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Pubs, clubs and restaurants;
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Schools and sports centres
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Tents and marquees;
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Hotels and hostels; and
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Factories and warehouses.
It
will not apply to;
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Peoples private homes, including individual flats in a block or house.
Fire
Certificates (issued under the Fire Precautions Act 1971) have now been
abolished and no longer have legal status. Under the RRFSO a
“Responsible Person” needs to be appointed for each premises.
This person
is now required to carry out or arrange to be carried out
an assessment of the risks of fire and take such steps as are
necessary to reduce or remove the risk.
This
risk assessment will need to consider amongst other things;
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The
safety of employees and visitors to a premises if a fire
was to occur
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The
protection of property from fire and the job security of employees
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Fire-fighter’s and other emergency services should they have to enter
a property to perform their duties
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The
impact that a fire may have on nearby property and the environment
In
addition to the Risk Assessment, the Responsible person must:
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Consider who may be especially at risk
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Get
rid of or reduce the risk from fire as far as reasonably practicable and
provide general fir precautions to deal with any possible risk left.
This will include the following;
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Take other measures to make sure there is protection if flammable or
explosive materials are used or stored
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Create
a plan to deal with any emergency and, in most cases, keep a record of
findings
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Review
the findings when necessary
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Some Frequently
Asked Questions
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Q
Who can be designated as the “responsible person”
Q. How will the new order differ from the current requirements of
the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 or the Fire
Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 1999? |
A
Under the 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 it could be:
A. The new order and the two set of regulations are broadly very
similar; however the new order is expected to extend the range or
premises to which it will apply for example, houses in multiple
occupation, self employed, voluntary organisations etc.
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Q. If my premises have been issued with a Fire Certificate under
the requirements of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 or I have received
and exemption certificate will the new order apply? |
A. Yes, the new Order will apply to these
premises, and the conditions imposed by an exemption certificate.
Fire Certificates will no longer be issued by the Fire Authorities
upon enactment of the new Order. However, it will be accepted that
where a fire certificate is in force and reflects current standards
this can be used as part of the fire risk assessment process for the
building.
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Q. What is a Fire Risk Assessment? |
A. A fire risk assessment is an organised
look at what, in your work activities and workplace, could cause
harm to people. You can then consider whether you have taken enough
precautions or should do more to avoid harm. You need to decide
whether a hazard is significant and
if you have in place satisfactory precautions so that the risk is
acceptably low. If not you need to identify ones that will reduce
risk to an acceptable level
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To
carry out a Fire Risk Assessment there are five steps that you need
to take:
Step
1 Identify
the potential hazards in the workplace.
Step 2 Decide who (e.g. employees, visitors) might be in danger
in the event of a fire in the workplace or while trying to escape
from it, and note the location.
Step 3 Evaluate the risk from hazards and decide whether your
existing fire precautions are adequate.
Step 4 Record your findings and actions taken.
Step 5 Keep assessments under review.
It
is important that you carry out your fire risk assessment in a
practical and systematic way to identify hazards in your workplace.
This is not a desktop exercise and you should preferably use
a scaled plan of your premise to indicate the hazards and to
identify the persons who may be at risk.
To
find out more about Fire Risk Assessment’s you may find the
following publication of use;
Fire Safety An
Employers Guide. This can be obtained from a wide variety of
sources but probably the easiest is The Health and Safety Book Store
Tel 01787 881165 or via the internet
www.hse.gov.uk
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Q. What else is the nominated responsible person required to do?
“ensuremeans of escape
routes are readily available at all times”
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A.
Other than undertaking the risk assessment, and recording it if
you are a ‘responsible person’ with more than five employees, you
must:-
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train your
employees to ensure they know what to do in the event of a fire
occurring;
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inform your
employees and other ‘responsible persons’ of the ‘significant
findings’ of your fire risk assessment that may affect the safety
of persons from the premises in the event of a fire;
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provide
suitable and sufficient fire-fighting equipment and training for
employees in its use;
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ensure all
escape routes from your premises are clearly indicated and readily
available at all times when the premises are occupied;
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ensure that a
means for alerting people in the event of a fire is provided,
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take account of
the risks
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impacting upon
other persons who may be required to resort the premises (public,
people with disabilities, contractors, fire-fighters, etc)
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ensure that all fire safety measures provided within the premises
are maintained and readily available
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Q.
Are Fire Certificates still being issued? |
A. Yes, the Fire Precautions Act 1971 is still in force,
therefore fire certificates are still being issued. However, from
the 1st October 2005 transitional arrangements are to be introduced.
Premises that require a fire certificate will apply for a
certificate in the normal manner, and any work that is required to
bring the premises up to a satisfactory standard of fire precautions
must be carried out.
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Q.
How do I find out more about the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety)
Order? |
A. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) web site
www.odpm.gov.uk is a good starting point.
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Q. How can I make arrangements to discuss the specific requirements
of the order and the duties that will be place on me or my company |
A. By contacting Health and Safety Advisory Service Ltd:
Tel 01793 618943
Email
dave@healthandsafetyadvisory.co.uk
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To
support the order a number of guidance books have been published to assist
those responsible for implementing the requirements of the order. These
guides cover all the different types of premises that the order
applies to.
The guides can be purchased from a wide variety of
sources or can be downloaded free of charge from the Office of the
Deputy Prime Ministers Web Site
www.odpm.gov.uk guildes
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