Introduction to UK Fire Safety Legislation

Current fire safety statutory provisions within the United Kingdom have evolved from measures introduced slowly over many years. Most fire safety legislation was introduced as the result of a major fire or fires that killed a large number of people. It is known as stable door legislation, because it was a response to an event that has already happened

The current legislation is The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, (FSO) or TheFire (Scotland) Act 2005 came into effect in October 2006 and replaced over 70 pieces of fire safety law. This Order reforms the law relating to fire safety in non-domestic premises. It replaces fire certification under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 with a general duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of employees, a general duty, in relation to non-employees to take such fire precautions as may reasonably be required in the circumstances to ensure that premises are safe and a duty to carry out a risk assessment.

The FSO imposes a number of specific duties in relation to the fire precautions to be taken. The FSO provides for the enforcement of the FSO, appeals, offences and connected matters. It amends or repeals other primary legislation concerning fire safety to take account of the new system and provides for minor and other consequential amendments, repeals and revocations

The FSO should have come into force on the 1st April 2006 but was delayed until the 1st October 2006. It was in response to a call to rationalise and simplify fire legislation in the UK, It has been achieved by reforming and amending the previous United Kingdom`s fire safety legislation using the Regulatory Reform Act 2001. The order is designed to provide a minimum fire safety standard in non-domestic premises such as places where people work, including, shared areas, workplace facilities, and the means of access to that workplace.

All premises or parts of premises used for non-domestic purposes, which is used in connection with the carrying of a trade, business or other undertaking, for profit or not, with a few exceptions, will be subject to the FSO. It designates a person usually, the employer or the owner and he is called the Responsible Persons. The Responsible Person, is required to carry out certain fire safety duties which include ensuring the general fire precautions are satisfactory and conducting a fire risk assessment. The Responsible Persons can have competent persons assisting them to perform their legal duties. If more than five persons are employed it has to be a written assessment.

Previous general fire safety legislation

This FSO replaces previous fire safety legislation and any fire certificate issued under the Fire Precautions Act 1972 will cease to have any effect. If a fire certificate has been issued in respect of your premises or the premises were built to recent building regulations, as long as you have made no material alterations and all the physical fire precautions have been properly maintained, then it is unlikely you will need to make any significant improvements to your existing physical fire protection arrangements to comply with the FSO.

However, you must still carry out a fire risk assessment and keep it up to date to ensure that all the fire precautions in your premises remain current and adequate. If you have previously carried out a fire risk assessment under the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997/1999 and this assessment has been regularly reviewed then all you will need to do now is revise that assessment taking account of the wider scope of the FSO.

Your premises may also be subject to the provisions of a licence or registration in that case the fire authority may wish to review your risk assessment as part of the licensing approval process. Fire safety conditions within your licence should not be set by a licensing authority where the FSO applies.

Guidance on new fire legislation

 

The new, risk-assessment based regime requires those persons responsible for premises used for carrying of a trade, business or other undertaking, for profit or not (including the self-employed and also members of the public) to take action to prevent fires, and protect them against death and injury should a fire occur.

This was the same duty currently imposed on employers by the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997, but under the new FSO the duty will be extended beyond workplaces to include the majority of premises to which people have access.