Fact Sheet 14

NEW FIRE LEGISLATION FACT SHEET 14

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO) will come into force on the 1st of October 2006 and will replace the majority (over a 100 pieces) of existing fire safety legislation. Fire certificates will no longer be valid. However a fairly recent fire certificate will be a good starting point for a fire risk assessment, which forms the main ethos for the new legislation.

The new, risk-assessment based regime requires those persons responsible for premises used by the public (including the self-employed and employees) to take action to prevent fires, and protect against death and injury should a fire occur.

This is the same duty currently imposed on employers by the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997, as amended 1999.If you have previously carried out a fire risk assessment under these regulations and they have been regularly reviewed, then all you need to do is revise the assessment taking into account the wider scope of the RRFSO. Under the new Order the duty will be extended beyond workplaces to include the majority of premises to which people have access. One important change to the whole matter of fire safety is that the local fire authority must now adopt enforcement rather than an advisory role, and will be inspecting premises to check compliance with the new fire safety order.

To support the Order, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) formerly the (ODPM) are publishing eleven guidance documents of which currently eight are available, each guide will be in two parts.

The first part will explain how to undertake a fire safety risk assessment based on the five steps used in Fire Safety: “An employer’s guide” .The second part of each guide provides more specific guidance on fire precautions. The guides are written so as to be readily understood by those who have to comply with the requirements of the Order, not just fire safety experts.

They will give advice on most types of premises where the duty to undertake a fire safety risk assessment under the Order applies. The guides will address the following categories of premises:

1. Offices and shops: All employers, managers, occupiers and owners of premises where the main use of the building or part of the building is an office or shop including:

Purpose built or converted office blocks, Individual office or shop units which are part of other complexes e.g. shopping centre.The new law does not apply to offices in private domestic accommodation. The Offices and Shops guide is not applicable for the overall management of multi-use shopping areas, here the Large Places of Assembly guide will be more appropriate.

2. Factories and warehouses: All employers, managers, occupiers and owners of premises where the main use of the building or part of the building is a factory or warehouse including:

Large and small factories, Manufacturing warehouses, Storage Warehouses, Factories with warehouses

3. Premises providing sleeping accommodation: This guide addresses sleeping accommodation for staff, common areas for residents and sleeping, dining or other accommodation for guests/residents including:

The common areas of houses in multiple occupation (HMO) the common areas of flats and maisonettes. The common areas of sheltered accommodation where care is not provided. Holiday chalets, holiday flat complexes, camping, caravan and holiday parks (other than privately owned individual units)

Areas in work places where staff ‘sleeping in’ is a condition of the employment or a business requirement as in licensed premises or hotels.

This guide is not intended for domestic premises, hospitals, residential care and nursing homes and prisons and other establishments where people are in lawful custody.

4. Residential care premises: This guide is for all employers, managers, responsible persons, occupiers, employees and owners of premises where the main use of the building or part of the building is to provide residential care. It is intended for non-domestic residential premises with staff in attendance at all times and where many, most or all of the residents would require carer assistance to be safe in the event of a fire i.e. where residents would not be able to make their way to a place of safety unaided. These could include:

Residential and nursing homes, Rehabilitation premises providing residential treatment and care for addiction, Care homes and care homes with nursing (as defined by the Care Standards Act).

The guide is not intended for day-care centres with no residential clients, sheltered accommodation where no care is provided, hospitals, out-posted nursing care in single private dwellings.

5. Educational premises: This guide is for all employers, head teachers, governors, vice-chancellors, occupiers and owners of premises where the main use of the building or part of the building is for educational purposes including :

Schools including Sunday schools and after school clubs, Universities, Academies, Crèches, Adult education centres, Outdoor education centres, Music schools

This guide does not apply to residential premises such as university halls of residence, boarding school sleeping accommodation.

6. Small and medium places of assembly: This guide is for all employers, managers, occupiers, and owners of small (accommodating up to 60 people) and medium (accommodating up to 300 people) places of assembly including :

Public houses, Clubs, Village halls and community centres, Churches and other religious centres, Marquees and tents.

This guide does not apply to sports grounds or common areas of shopping malls.

7. Large places of assembly: All employers, managers, occupiers and owners of large places of assembly i.e. where more than 300 people could gather including:

Sports stadia, Exhibition and conference centres, Large nightclubs, Churches, cathedrals, other places of worship, Community centres and village halls, Common areas of shopping malls, Premises that adjoin other complexes such as shopping centres.

This guide does not apply to premises that include sleeping accommodation, theatres and cinemas and or outdoor facilities.

8. Theatres and cinemas: This guide is for all employers, managers, occupiers and owners both professional and amateur of premises where the main use of the building or part of the building is a theatre, cinema or multi-screen cinema or a combination of these. This guide also includes buildings converted to cinemas or theatres examples are:

Theatres, Cinemas, Concert halls.

This guide does not include temporary structures and marquees or tents used as theatres or cinemas.

9. Outdoor events: This guide will be for all employers, managers and persons responsible for outdoor events and venues including:

Zoos, Music concerts, Sporting events, Firework displays,Markets.

[STILL AWAITING PUBLICATION]

10. Healthcare premises: This guide will be for all employers, managers, responsible persons, occupiers and owners of premises where the main use of the building or part of the building is to provide healthcare including :

Hospitals, Medical centres, Other healthcare premises.

This guide will not be intended for use in care and nursing homes, rehabilitation premises, day-care centres with no residential clients, sheltered accommodation, out-posted nursing care in single private dwellings and staff accommodation.

11. Transport premises & Facilities: This guide will be for all managers, employers,occupiers and owners of transport premises and facilities including :

Train, bus, coach and airport transportation terminals and exchanges, Rail and road tunnels, Passenger ferry ports and facilities,Taxi stands and facilities, Shipping ports and terminals.

This guide will not apply to the offices and shops within transport premises and facilities or the actual modes of transport e.g. cars, buses, trains.

[STILL AWAITING PUBLICATION]

All the above guidance notes can be downloaded free from the (DCLG) website: www.communities.org.uk or purchased from HM stationers.

The ‘Responsible’ person who will be held ultimately responsible for the safety of employees and any relevant persons using the building; will normally be the person who owns or controls the business or premises ( where two or more such persons share a responsibility, i.e landlord & tenant they are obliged to co-operate). Unless a landlord / employer has a fire service or other appropriate background, the legislation does not expect the responsible person to have the required levels of theoretical and practical knowledge to deliver the appropriate duty of care. Therefore it stipulates in this case the ‘Responsible’ person must appoint one or more ‘Competent’ persons to help.

As part of their ‘Duty of Care’ they should source specialist fire consultants or a fire protection company for installation and maintenance of fire systems and equipment. Fire protection products and related services should be fit for their purpose and properly installed and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or the relevant British Standard. Third-party certification schemes for fire protection products and related services are an effective means of providing the fullest possible assurances, offering a level of quality, reliability and safety that non-certificated products may lack. This does not mean goods and services that are not third-party approved are less reliable, but there is no obvious way in which this can be demonstrated. Third-party quality assurance can offer the ‘Responsible’ person great comfort, both as a means of satisfying him that goods and services he has purchased are fit for purpose, and as a means of demonstrating that he has complied with the law. On appointing such contractors/suppliers evidence of their accreditation should be checked that they are valid for the service required and the person / company have the appropriate insurance.

For guidance there are fire industry standards which define competence to help ensure the appointment of suitably qualified professionals. For example, BS 5306 defines a competent technician who installs and maintains portable fire extinguishers, as one who has passed a BAFE (British approvals of Fire Equipment) approved examination.

The nominated ‘Competent’ persons within their organisation will normally be appointed Fire Marshals (Wardens) typically heads of departments / managers who have sufficient fire safety knowledge and training. It is their responsibility to ensure premises emergency plans are implemented, and procedures / tests of fire equipment and systems are in place.

All employees should receive basic fire safety induction training and attend refresher sessions at pre-determined intervals. Appointed Fire Marshals (Wardens) should receive more comprehensive training for their role as identified in the fire risk assessment, in particular the emergency plan, and additional training in the use of fire fighting equipment. Fire drills should be held at least annually and repeated as necessary and must take place during working hours.

In summary, the RRFSO is different from previous legislation in that ‘the Responsible’ person must consider everyone who might be on the premises, whether they are employees, visitors ,members of the public or even fire fighters attending a fire situation. A fire risk assessment must be carried out and any significant findings be acted on. The Fire Authority and Insurers will be inspecting the fire risk assessments to ensure that are to a satisfactory standard. An emergency fire plan must be part of the assessment and members of staff must be fully trained in their role. Fire risk assessments should be viewed as a working document and reviewed regularly, in particular should there be changes to the workplace or different processes.

Max Willey

Managing Director, Firewatch South West Ltd

01626 333122 m.willey@firewatchsouthwest.co.uk

Firewatch SW Ltd have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information in this document and believe it is correct at time of issue.All persons and companies should make their own enquiries to establish the facts before making decisions based on this information.