New fire safety rules affecting all non-domestic premises in England and Wales came into force on 1 October 2006.
The regulations vary only slightly from what is already fire safety law. They apply to workplaces in which persons are employed to work. You will, however, be exempt from the regulations if your premises are:
- Private dwellings
- Mine shafts and mine galleries
- Means of transport used outside the workplace and workplaces in means of transport
- Agricultural or forestry land situated away from the main buildings
- Offshore installations (workplaces to which the Offshore Installations and Pipelines Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995 apply)
If your workplace is not exempt, you will come within the scope of the Regulations and, providing you have already taken sensible and appropriate fire safety measures, it is likely you may need to do nothing more. However, where anything needs to be done it should not be burdensome or costly.
Note:- If you intend to seek or are offered advice from a third party on how to conduct a risk assessment or assess your provision of fire safety equipment, you should remember that even after obtaining that advice it is solely your responsibility to consider the suitability of the advice and the need whether or not to act on it.
The regulations come in 6 main parts and place the following requirements on you:
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1. Risk Assessment
You must assess the fire risk in the workplace (either as part of your general review of health and safety risks which you already carry out or, if you wish, as a specific exercise).
As your fire precautions will depend on the risk, you will need to ask the question;-
Will anyone be hurt if there is a fire?
A note must than be made of what you have found. If you employ five or more people you will then have to keep a formal (written) record of the significant findings and any measures you propose to deal with them.
You will need to tell your staff, or their representative, about your findings and, if you share your workplace with others, you will need to check that they know about any significant risk you have identified. Finally you will need to review your assessment from time to time.
If you do not have control over all parts of the premises then the person who does have the control (perhaps landlord, owner or other employer) has to make sure the Regulations are complied with in such parts.
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2. Fire detection and warnings
You must check that a fire can be detected in a reasonable time and that people can be warned properly.
3. Means of escape in case of fire
You must check that people who may be in the the building can get out safely and quickly in the event of a fire.
4. Provision of firefighting equipment
You must check that you have enough firefighting equipment of suitable type to tackle a small fire.
5. Planning for an emergency and training your staff
Check that those in the building know what to do if there is a fire. You can reduce the chance of injury if your staff have appropriate information and training.
6. Maintenance and testing of fire safety equipment
You must regularly check and maintain your fire safety equipment, including your firefighting equipment, your means of detecting and giving warning in case of fire, your means of escape and your emergency lighting.
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7. Further Information
A series of guides have been produced to assist responsible persons. These guides can be found at the Department for Communities and Local Government website. Please follow the link on the main page.
Additionally, the Loss Prevention Council of the Fire Protection Association have produced a guide for employers entitled 'Fire Risk Management in the Workplace' which gives examples of how to carry out risk assessments.
Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service has a statutory duty for the supervision and control of compliance with the Regulations and, to that end, Fire Officers will carry out a regular and random inspection procedure in which your premises may be included. You are reminded that failure to comply with the Regulations could, in serious cases, render you liable to prosecution.
For information on obtaining a copy of the Home Office guidance and other booklets or if after you have carried out the assessment, you are in any doubt about the need to provide particular fire precautions measures, or require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at Reception@northantsfire.org.uk or by telephone on 01604 797000.
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