Legislation Surrounding Fire Safety

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is a piece of legislation passed by the government that requires all businesses and charitable organisations that own their own premises to follow a set procedure in ensuring that premises is adequately protected against the risk of fire. The entire legislation can be found at http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firesafety/firesafetylaw/. Meanwhile, these are the main points of the new legislation and how to make sure you abide by them.

First of all, every company needs to appoint a responsible person to carry out a fire risk assessment. The full assessment can be found at the above link, but essentially it needs to identify and mitigate the risks of fire in and around the company’s premises. Failure to carry out one of these assessments could place your company in hot water should the authorities find out.

Moreover, the legislation makes it your responsibility, as the owner of the business or person responsible for the premises, for the safe evacuation of every single person onsite in the case of a fire. This includes visitors, employees and anybody else that may be onsite should an evacuation be necessary!

To accomplish this there are a few things you should bear in mind. Firstly, a fire alarm system needs to be installed that alerts the entire building if a fire breaks out. In addition, clear emergency exits marked with clear signs need to be in place. Fire safety signs should not only indicate the nearest emergency exits, they should also contain the procedures visitors and employees should follow in the case of a fire.

On the point of fire safety signs, these should be displaced at convenient and relevant places around your building. There should be at least one of every floor, particularly in stairwells, by entrances and exits and next to the lifts or elevators in the building. They should not only detail the evacuation plan but a concise list of ‘dos and don’ts’ in the case of a fire.

Essentially, the new legislation is designed in order to allow a competent person who has limited experience or training in fire safety to complete the fire safety assessment of the building. If the building or premises you operate in is particularly large or complex, it may be necessary for you to enlist the help of a specially trained expert. For more information, visit the aforementioned link or get in touch with your local fire fighting authority.