Fire Training Legislation
Our training courses cover a brief background of the legislation surrounding fire safety and use case studies to illustrate how people can get it wrong to set the scene.
Some further background reading…
Fire legislation in the UK was built up over many years in piecemeal fashion. It was often the result of a government response to serious fires. This approach is commonly known as stable door legislation (closing the door after the horse has bolted) and was often due to the huge pressure on the government to appease and reassure the public that a similar tragic incident would not happen again.
As time passed it became increasingly difficult for both the people that needed to comply with the law, and those that were there to enforce it, this approach eventually saw over 130 different pieces of legislation relating to fire. The move from a ‘prescriptive’ to a ‘risk-based’ regime occurred initially with the introduction of the Workplace Regulations in 1997. The Workplace Regulations put additional responsibilities on employers to ensure that they had undertaken a Risk Assessment and that if they employed more than five members of staff, the significant findings were to be recorded.
This risk assessment was not in place of, but in addition to, the requirements of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, which principally was enforcement through certification.
The government began to recognised that there was a huge onus on those trying to comply with the many pieces of legislation and those that were to enforce it, and introduced the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005. The order came into force in October 2006, replacing over 70 pieces of fire safety law. It was similar to the Workplace Regulations in terms of the management of Fire Safety through a Risk Assessed approach; however, its coverage was far wider now covering all non-domestic premises in England and Wales with just a few exceptions.
Some examples of premises that now found themselves under this umbrella included:
• An employer or self-employed person with business premises
• Part of a dwelling where that part is solely used for business purposes
• Charitable or voluntary organisations
• Any contractor with a degree of control over a premises
• Any premises providing accommodation for paying guests
• The communal parts of blocks o f flats and houses in multiple occupation
Responsibility lies with the employer, occupier or the owner (ultimately the person that has control of the premises), who must carry out a Fire Safety Risk Assessment and implement measures to maintain the safety of the occupants.
Historically, legislation focused on the effective evacuation of the occupants. The Workplace Regulations, and subsequently the RRO Fire Safety Order, placed additional requirements on those responsible, requiring them to put in place measures to prevent the outbreak of fire in the first instance. The person responsible was also required to mitigate the risk of a fire spreading, by actively driving the risk down through risk-based management, which would include the training of staff.
The government recommends a five-step approach to undertaking the risk assessment, which includes:
1. Identify fire hazards
2. Identify people at risk
3. Record, plan, inform, instruct, and train
4. Review
5. Evaluate, remove or reduce, and protect from risk
The RRO signified not only a move to a simplified regime for enforcement, but also a shift of the ownership of the risk from the Fire & Rescue Service to the person responsible for the building. Historically, it was up to the Local Enforcement Fire Safety Officer to visit and detail what he/she required; however, it is now down to the Responsible Person to put in place a suitable and sufficient solution, based on the risk in their building. If the measures are not satisfactory the Fire Safety Officer may give guidance on how to rectify them or serve an enforcement notice to ensure compliance if the risk is high.
The old prescriptive standards became more of a set of ‘benchmark’ standards that could be applied flexibly based on various factors such as occupancy, building construction etc.
Part of the ethos behind this was that as it was the building managers that were in the premises on a daily basis, they would be aware of the dynamic nature of risk in the building. It therefore followed that they would be best placed to manage their buildings safely through the responding to this changing risk in their risk assessments.
Many companies bring in external specialists to undertake a risk assessment, resulting that may result in an extensive document that might live on a shelf. It can lead to the manager not being involved and understanding and interpreting the content, for example why certain doors need to be kept closed and certain areas to be kept free from the combustibles.
To allow managers to undertake their own risk assessments the government produced a suite of guidance documents specific to the different types of premises.
These can be viewed for free online or purchased from stationers. They include:
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – A short guide to making your premises safe from fire
• Offices and Shops
• Factories and Warehouses
• Sleeping Accommodation
• Residential Care Premises
• Educational Premises
• Small and Medium Places of Assembly
• Large Places of Assembly
• Theatres, Cinemas and Similar Premises
• Open Air Events and Venues
• Healthcare premises
• Transport Premises and Facilities
• Animal Premises and Stables
• Means of Escape for Disabled People (Supplementary Guide)
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Guidance Note No. 1: Enforcement
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Guidance Note No. 2: Determination of Disputes by the Secretary of State
Fire Training is a key factor of ensuring building and staff safety, do not hesitate to contact us to get your staff the very best onsite staff fire training.
