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The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 ('The Order') came into force on 1st October 2006, finally bringing to an end the confusion of a myriad of legislation dealing with fire safety matters. The Order requires the person having control of the premises (the Responsible Person) to implement general fire precautions for the safety of employees or persons who are legally on the premises or in the immediate vicinity of the premises who are at risk from a fire on the premises (Relevant Persons).
In order to decide what the general fire precautions should be, the Responsible Person is required to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks from fire to which Relevant Persons are exposed, including those posed by the use or storage of dangerous substances.
To assist in the fire risk assessment process, the DCLG has issued a series of Premises Guides that will enable the Responsible Person to more easily carry out their duties in preparing the fire risk assessment.
An initial a guide entitled 'A short guide to making your premises safe from fire' has been issued, and is aimed at providing simple and practical advice to people responsible for fire safety in small and medium sized businesses. A copy of this booklet can be obtained by selecting the following link:
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If you wish to view a PDF document you will require Acrobat Reader |
In addition to the short guide the following 11 guides are available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website:
Remember, since 1997, regulations have been in force that required all employers to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, and you should continue to ensure that any risks from fire are identified and adequate measures are put in place to remove reduce or mitigate the effects of those risks. Where the RRO is different, is that persons responsible for all premises where others resort will come under the new regulations.
What is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005?
The Government is bringing about better regulation, by regulating only where necessary and in a manner that is more suited to the needs of modern business and commerce.
The Order, made under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 replaces many of the references to fire safety in other legislation such as the Fire Precautions Workplace Regulations, Fire Precautions Act and Licensing Act with a simple, single Order. It requires any person who exercises some level of control in premises to take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and ensure occupants can safely escape if a fire does occur.
Where does the Order apply?
The Order applies to virtually all premises and covers nearly every type of building and structure and to open spaces put to certain uses.
For example:
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Offices and shops |
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Premises that provide care |
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The common areas of houses in multiple occupation |
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Pubs, clubs and restaurants |
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Educational premises |
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Healthcare premises |
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Tents and marquees |
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Hotels and hostels |
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Factories and warehouses |
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Open air public gatherings (concerts, shows etc) |
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Community Centres and village halls |
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Places of religious worship or study |
But excluding:
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Purely domestic premises occupied by a single family group |
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Open spaces put to solely agricultural and forestry use |
What are the main requirements of the Order?
The responsible person is required to:
Generally the requirements of the RRO will be little different from those already imposed under the WFPL, in that it will require the responsible person to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment, produce a policy, develop procedures, provide staff training and carry out fire drills. The RRO contains the phrase 'The responsible person must... appoint one or more competent persons to assist him ...'
It goes on to say the competent person must have '... Sufficient training, experience and knowledge...'. Where the competent person is directly employed, the responsible person must ensure that he or she is properly trained. However where the competent person is a sub contractor, it implies that the contractor should have some form of Third Party Accreditation.
Our advice sheets AS 1/2006 and AS 3/2006 gives further clarification on the competent person, and what to look for when assessing competency.
Definitions
| Responsible Person |
This is the person who owns the business (the employer); the person with control over the premises, business or activity (the occupier) or the owner of the building or their managing agent. Where two or more responsible persons share responsibility (e.g. tenant/landlord, multiple occupied building or adjacent premises) the responsible persons must co-operate, share information and collaborate to provide safety measures |
| Relevant Person |
Anyone who is legally on the premises or anyone who is not on the premises but who may be affected by a fire on the premises e.g. members of the public, workers in an adjacent premises. |
| Competent Person |
Anyone appointed by the responsible person and could be anyone from a company fire warden to a fire alarm service engineer. They may be directly employed or a sub contractor, but the important word is competent |
| Fire Risk Assessment |
The cornerstone of the RRO is the Fire Risk Assessment. This must be reviewed regularly and if necessary amended. The risk assessment must be formally recorded if the responsible person employs 5 or more people (not necessarily within the same premises) or the premises are licensed by an authority e.g. local council, environment agency etc or are subject to an 'Alterations Notice' issued by the Fire and Rescue Service |
Who is responsible for complying?
Under the Order, anyone who has control in a building or anyone who has a degree of control over certain areas or systems may be designated a "responsible person" for example:
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The employer for those parts of premises they have control over |
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The managing agent or owner for common parts of a premises or common fire safety equipment such as fire warning systems or sprinklers |
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The occupier of premises that are not workplaces such as a chairperson in a parish hall |
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Any other person who has some control over a part of a premises may be the responsible person in so far as that control extends. |
Although in many premises the responsible person will be obvious, there may be occasions when a number of people have some responsibility. Guidance on the RRO in relation to the various types of premises are available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1162101
Only those premises with no employees (e.g. family run hotels, charitable or voluntary organisations) will notice a major change in the way in which fire safety is dealt with.
How do I comply with the Order?
If you are the responsible person you must ensure a fire risk assessment is carried out although you can delegate this task to somebody else. However you will still remain responsible, in law, for complying with the Order.
The responsible person, either on their own or in co-operation with any other responsible person, must as far as is reasonably practical, ensure that everyone on the premises can escape safely in the event of a fire.
This differs from previous legislation in that there is no longer any distinction made between people who are employees, for example in a place of work and members of the public at an open air entertainment venue. It includes people who may have a disability or anyone who may need special assistance.
Fire Certificates will no longer be issued and those previously in force will have no legal status. (However, they may be used as a good starting point for a fire risk assessment). The Order requires that the responsible person takes ownership of the management of any risk in their premises.
If your premises have been designed and built, and are being used in accordance with modern Building Regulations then your structural fire precautions should be acceptable. You will still need to carry out a fire risk assessment and ensure that your risk reduction, fire prevention and maintenance routines are sustained.
The Fire Authority will not conduct your risk assessment for you. That is quite properly the responsibility of the responsible person, but we will seek to ensure that any support necessary is made available within the scope of the RRO. General advice can be made available on specific matters, however, resources may be targeted at higher risk premises in line with government guidance.
For further information on the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, or copies of the Fire Safety Risk Assessment Guides, please contact:
Or for general fire safety matters, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service can be reached on 01743 260 260
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