Fire Safety Guidance

Since 2005 the fire safety regulations have changed beyond recognition and have been updated and overhauled. This has left many people confused as to where they stand and what they need to do to stay on the right side of the law. In these guidance notes we hope to simplify the Fire Safety Order of 2005, otherwise known as the Regulatory Reform Order of 2005(RRO) to make it all make sense and easier to understand.

The Fire Safety Order was set up in 2005 and came into force in October 2006.

Who needs a Fire Risk Assessment

ALL business premises MUST have a Fire Risk Assessment carried out. This is irrespective of how many employees a business may have. If a business has five or more employees then the assessment MUST be documented and made available for inspection by Fire Officers.

If a company has small sub-branches and offices with less than 5 people an assessment still needs to be carried out. Its the employees within the whole company that count.

shops,warehouses and factories.

Who is responsible

Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the owners or Directors of a company to have a risk assessment carried out, however it is not their responsibility for the quality or contents of the assessment. The main responsibility lies with the person who carries out the report. In the order it states that it should be carried out by a competent person. In smaller premises a manager would usually suffice but in larger offices and factories its usual to have a qualified Risk Assessor to carry out such a report.

I have a Risk Assessment - Am I now legal?

Once a risk assessment has been compiled you are halfway there. The next part of the Order states that you MUST act on its findings and rectify them in an orderly and professional manner. Its no use having a report full of faults and not acting on them!.

We at FirecellUK have risk assessors qualified through the FPA available to carry our such reports if you do not wish to compile them yourself.

Call our helpdesk for more information on 0845 130 8069 or you can use one of our assessment CD's or Downloads which you can find on our Risk Assessment tab.

Read more about Fire Risk Assessments