Fire Safety

On the 1st October 2006 the new Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force.

The Order amends or replaces 118 pieces of legislation, the most significant being the repeal of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and the revocation of Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulation 1997. Anyone familiar with the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulation 1997 will recognise much that is in the Order as it develops and extends many of the concepts from these ‘Regulations.

 

The Order applies to the majority of premises and workplaces in the UK. It does not apply to dwellings, the underground parts of mines, anything that floats, flies or runs on wheels, offshore installations, building sites or the military.

The Order firmly places a responsibility on the Responsible Person and outlines all the measures that must taken to ensure the safety of all the people he or she is directly or indirectly responsible for.

The responsible person is defined by the Regulations as:

1. in relation to a workplace, the employer, if the workplace is to any extent under his control;
2. in relation to any premises that is not a workplace:

• the person who has control of the premises (as occupier or otherwise) in connection with the carrying on by him of a trade, business or other undertaking (for profit or not); or
• the owner, where the person in control of the premises does not have control in connection with the carrying on by that person of a trade, business or other undertaking.

The responsible person main duties are to

1. make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the purpose of identifying the general fire precautions he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed on him by or under this Order.
2. 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 preventive and protective measures.

The responsible person can undertake the tasks themselves or appoint a competent person to assist them with their duties.

How we can help

Fire Assessment can be a complex issue and one that benefits from competent advice.

Safetymark have specialists who have attained the relevant professional qualifications and experience. Our fire consultants are able to carry out assessments to meet legislative requirements, and can help you develop and implement your fire safety arrangements.

Safetymark use the PAS 79 fire risk assessment methodology developed by C S Todd & Associates Ltd and published by BSI. This ground-breaking Publicly Available Specification (PAS) gives a new nine-step structured approach for conducting and recording significant findings of fire risk assessments in buildings and parts of buildings to which the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies.

For a free quotation or more information about the fire safety services we can offer, please call Mark Snelling on 01372-462277, email him or use the contact form.