New fire safety regulations have recently been passed that will affect all workplaces in England and Wales. While many workplaces have the basic precautions in place, there are many that don't. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, as it is known, is designed to turn almost all the earlier pieces of UK fire safety legislation into one all-inclusive law.

Fire Safety Terms

Once you know the basics, such as how to assess the risk and what fundamental safety measures are required, fire safety is not a difficult topic, and the new fire safety regulations will be easy to implement. Here is a short précis of the important parts of the Order that concern all those who run a business or institution situated in a building, based on key words used and their meanings:

• Responsible Person: the person who owns or controls the business or premises
  
• Competent Person: this could be an employee or an outside contractor appointed and trained to carry out fire fighting duties, contact the emergency services, and assist in evacuations
  
• Enforcement: failing to satisfy the applicable articles of the Order may result in a fine or up to two years imprisonment
  
• Fire Risk Assessment: if the responsible person employs 5 or more people, or if the premises are licensed, or if the inspector wants it, this vital plank of the Order must be officially documented

The Fire Safety Order will apply to all buildings in use, except domestic premises and some kinds of premises that are a specific risk and where other regulations apply. The Fire Safety Order placed duties on a 'responsible person' not only to protect employees but members of the public. Consistent with most of the new regulations regarding health and safety, the Fire Safety Order requires that a Risk Assessment be done.

It is important to consider how a fire would affect the people in the building, starting with those immediately at risk from the fire. One of the reasons for Fire Risk Assessment is to lessen the chances of fire occurring. A fire prevention plan should be easy to put together and should be a matter of common sense for most workplaces. There are a number of general fire precautions required by the regulations.

Fire safety at work is always vitally important. Don’t attempt to deal with fire yourself: if there is a fire, get out, stay out and call 999. The Fire Brigade has guidance notes on different fire safety at work topics. It’s also good practice and makes good business sense to improve fire safety in the workplace. You should phone or stopover at your local fire and community safety centre during regular office hours, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm if you’re worried about a fire risk, which may be a hazard to life.

Together with the steady move away from prescriptive fire safety to a performance based approach in recent years, there has also been the shift of responsibility for shaping satisfactory fire safety provisions in the workplace from the fire officer to the employer. The Fire Precautions Act 1971 has until now been the main legislation concerning fire safety, and has proved very useful in reducing fatalities in the premises it has controlled.

Fire safety regulations before 1971 were contained in the various Acts that governed individual occupations and premises. The Fire Precautions Act of 1971 combined the fire sections of the Factory Act and the Office Shops and Railway Premises Act, and brought in new premises like hotels. Hotels and boarding houses were the first class of premises to be designated under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, which came into force in 1972.