Ark Workplace Risk ™

Changes To Fire Legislation – How Did They Affect You?

Useful findings from government review of new fire legislation

A recently issued report entitled “Initial Evaluation of the Effectiveness of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005” showed some interesting findings on the implementation of the new regulatory regime.
The report was based on interviews with enforcers, representatives from the fire industry and 45 businesses of various sizes and from various sectors
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), introduced in October 2006 was intended to simplify fire law and to replace over 70 pieces of legislation. An initial advertising campaign was held across England and Wales to let “responsible persons” know their responsibilities. The new legislation was replicated in Scotland by the introduction of the Fire (Scotland) Act and associated regulations, while Northern Ireland awaits its new legislation to give the UK as a whole a risk based fire safety regime.

What were the report's main findings?

On the whole, the report is positive, with most of the respondents suggesting that the new direction is an improvement over the complex rules and regulations that it replaced. However, there were a number of areas that required to be addressed;

Awareness of Responsibilities

Interestingly there appeared to be a “size matters” issue over organisational awareness of the change. The larger companies were more knowledgeable than the smaller ones. Many smaller companies appeared to have difficulty in assessing their responsibilities. This was particularly evident with multi-occupied premises

A need for consistency of enforcement across Fire & Rescue Authorities (FRA)

Unfortunately it has not always been the case that what is acceptable to the authorities in one part of England will be accepted in another part

A wish for clarity over competence of advice available to meet requirements

While most of those indicated were happy with the quality of advice they received, the variable quality of the risk assessments that would be carried out by non-specialists under the FSO was raised as a concern. It was often felt that in house staff lacked the experience to carry our suitable fire risk assessments

More tailored guidance from the centre

The guidance available from Government was well thought of but felt to be too complex for many small companies

So, what will enforcers look to in the future?

Many Fire Authorities appear to be happy to give support and advice. However, the following section of the report may indicate a change in direction as time passes. The report states

"Some FRA felt that as time passes and the requirements of the FSO are no longer new, businesses should be offered less discretion and that they were therefore likely to shift to a more enforcement based approach, with greater pursuit of prosecutions"

It raised some concerns with us that while many Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA) were happy to continue giving advice and helping organisations meet their legal responsibilities, others felt that if they gave advice it could compromise their position as enforcers.

What should I do to protect my business?

• Make sure you comply with the legislations by having a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment as part of your overall strategy for managing health and safety in the workplace.
• Make sure your in house staff are fully trained on all fire safety matters
• Take a look at the competence of your employees to carry out fire risk assessments, and if you are in doubt, employ competent advisors to help you through the maze
• Keep you assessments reviewed and up to date to take account of any change in personnel, processes or buildings.

Remember

Risk assessment is a dynamic process; it cannot be done once and placed on the shelf.

How can Ark help?

Ark have fully qualified and experienced fire risk assessors who have worked in industry and as enforcers
We can carry out a fire risk assessment for you or
We can review your existing Fire Risk assessments to make sure they comply

You can work with Ark to

Develop your management policy and procedures,
Train staff and
Audit the effectiveness of your existing systems

If you have any concerns over this or any other aspects of current fire safety legislation, contact Ark where you can discuss your concerns with qualified and competent fire risk assessors. Our assessors have a successful track record in negotiations with local fire and rescue services.

Safer With Ark

Your life made easier: whether you need a competent consultant to lead you through the complexity of the legislation , or you simply want to have risk assessments carried out for you, just use the easy form below or call us on +44 (0) 20 7397 1450 .