The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into effect in October 2006 and replaced over 70 pieces of fire safety law. The Order applies to all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, including the common parts of blocks of flats and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (opens in new window) came into effect in October 2006 and replaced over 70 pieces of fire safety law. The Order applies to all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, including the common parts of blocks of flats and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
The law applies to you if you are:
- responsible for business premises;
- an employer or self-employed with business premises;
- responsible for a part of a dwelling where that part is solely used for business purposes;
- a charity or voluntary organisation;
- a contractor with a degree of control over any premises;
- providing accommodation for paying guests.
Under the Order, the responsible person must carry out a fire safety risk assessment and implement and maintain a fire management plan. Further information on what you need to do when carrying out a risk assessment is available in the 5-step fire risk assessment checklist below.
In addition, more detailed advice and guidance on the implementation of a fire risk management plan can be found in the series of guidance documents available below. The more technical guidance documents have been produced with specific types of business premises in mind.
If, having completed a fire risk assessment, you need more practical advice or information; you may feel more comfortable employing a fire safety specialist to help you. Companies providing fire safety services are listed in local directories. Alternatively you may be able to ask your insurer for a recommendation.
The Fire Safety Act 2021
The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarifies the parts of a premises that are covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (or “the Fire Safety Order” or “FSO”).
The Fire Safety Order applies to all non-domestic premises in England and Wales. These include buildings with two or more domestic premises such as blocks of flats, although individual flats themselves are excluded.
The Fire Safety Order was originally designed to apply to workplaces, and this meant that how it applied to residential buildings was not entirely clear. As a minimum, it applied (and still does) to the “common parts”, areas for the use of all residents like hallways, staircases and landings. The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarifies that where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises, the areas to which the Fire Safety Order applies include:
- The building’s structure and external walls (including doors, windows and anything attached to the exterior of those walls, such as balconies, cladding, insulation and fixings) and any common parts.
- All doors between domestic premises and common parts such as flat entrance doors.
These areas should therefore be considered as part of the fire risk assessment carried out by a Responsible Person for a building. Where this work contacted out, Responsible Persons must still make sure that those engaged to complete the fire risk assessment include those elements detailed above, as the Responsible Person is responsible for complying with the Fire Safety Order.
The Welsh Government has issued guidance on the Fire Safety Act 2021 under article 50 of the Fire Safety Order. This guidance is to assist Responsible Persons and Duty Holders understand and discharge their duties.
It explains:
- Fire safety responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
- Responsibilities under the Fire Safety Order.
This guidance is available on the Welsh Government Website here
Fire Safety Risk Assessment Guidance (PDF, 219Kb)
Fire Safety Risk Assessment Form (docx, 685Kb)
For more information on business fire safety and guidance, please visit the gov.uk website by using the links below:
Fire Safety in the Workplace (PDF, 1Mb)
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (opens in new window)
Means of Escape for Disabled People (opens in new window)
Guide 1 - Offices and Shops (opens in new window)
Guide 2 - Factories and Warehouses (opens in new window)
Guide 3 - Sleeping Accommodation (opens in new window)
Guide 4 - Residential Care Premises (opens in new window)
Guide 5 - Educational Premises (opens in new window)
Guide 6 - Small & Medium Places of Assembly (opens in new window)
Guide 7 - Large Places of Assembly (opens in new window)
Guide 8 - Theatres, cinemas and similar premises (opens in new window)
Guide 9 - Open Air Events & Venues (opens in new window)
Guide 10 - Healthcare Premises (opens in new window)
Guide 11 - Transport Premises & Facilities (opens in new window)
Guide 12 - Animal Premises & Stables (opens in new window)
Welsh Government Guidance
A guide to making your guest accommodation safe from fire’ (opens in new window)
A guide to making your small non-domestic premises safe from fire (opens in new window)
A guide to making your small block of flats safe from fire (opens in new window)
What is a fire risk assessment?
A fire risk assessment is an organised and methodical look at your premises, the activities carried on there and the likelihood that a fire could start and cause harm to those in and around the premises.
The aims of the fire risk assessment are:
- To identify the fire hazards.
- To reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low as reasonably practicable.
- To decide what physical fire precautions and management arrangements are necessary to ensure the safety of people in your building if a fire should start.
The Findings of your Fire Risk Assessment must be recorded in all cases.
(This changed in October 2023, previously only the significant findings were required to be recorded when certain criteria were met).
The record should typically include the following (this is not exhaustive):
- the areas in and around the building/premises which have been considered as part of the process, including, where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises, the building's structure, and external walls systems
- the fire hazards and risks identified
- any group of persons identified as being especially at risk
- the measures which have been/will be taken to remove, reduce or protect from risk
- the information, instruction, and training which people need and how it will be given
- the details of any persons appointed by the RP to assist with the assessment
- the date the assessment was carried out or reviewed
- any other information as required by the FSO or any regulations made under it
A Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor
The Law says that your Fire Risk Assessment must be suitable and sufficient and that it must be carried out by a competent person/persons. A competent person is defined as someone with enough training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to be able to implement these measures properly. This person may be you, however, if either before or after reading the guides you feel that you do not have an appropriate knowledge or understanding of fire safety and the risk to people from fire to comply effectively with your legal duties you will need to appoint a specialist to carry out the risk assessment for you.
The further assist you in choosing a competent Fire Risk Assessor download the National Fire Chiefs Council Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor (PDF, 409Kb).
How do I carry out a fire risk assessment?
A fire risk assessment will help you determine the chances of a fire starting and the dangers from fire that your premises present for the people who use them and any person in the immediate vicinity.
Much of the information for your fire risk assessment will come from the knowledge your employees, colleagues and representatives have of the premises, as well as information given to you by people who have responsibility for other parts of the building. A tour of your premises will probably be needed to confirm, amend or add detail to your initial views.
It is important that you carry out your fire risk assessment in a practical and systematic way and that you allocate enough time to do a proper job. It must take the whole of your premises into account, including outdoor locations and any rooms and areas that are rarely used. If your premises are small you may be able to assess them as a whole. In larger premises you may find it helpful to divide them into rooms or a series of assessment areas using natural boundaries, e.g. areas such as kitchens or laundries, bedrooms, offices, stores, as well as corridors, stairways and external routes.
Under health and safety law (enforced by the HSE or the local authority) you are required to carry out a risk assessment in respect of any activities in your premises and to take or observe appropriate special, technical or organisational measures. If your health and safety risk assessment identifies that these activities are likely to involve the risk of fire or the spread of fire (for example in the kitchen or in a workshop) then you will need to take this into account during your fire risk assessment and priorities actions based on the level of risk.
You need to appoint one or more ‘competent persons’ (this could be you) to carry out any of the preventive and protective measures required. This person could be an appropriately trained employee or, where appropriate, a third party.
Fire risk assessment
Your fire risk assessment should demonstrate that, as far as is reasonable, you have considered the needs of all relevant people, including disabled people.
Step 1 - Identify the hazards within your premises.
You need to identify:
- sources of ignition such as naked flames, heaters or some commercial processes;
- sources of fuel such as built-up waste, display materials, textiles or overstocked products; and
- sources of oxygen such as air conditioning or medicinal or commercial oxygen supplies.
Step 2 – Identify people at risk
You will need to identify those people who may be especially at risk such as:
- people working near to fire dangers;
- people working alone or in isolated areas (such as in roof spaces or storerooms);
- children or parents with babies; and the elderly or infirm and people who are disabled.
Step 3 – Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect from risk
Evaluate the level of risk in your premises. You should remove or reduce any fire hazards where possible and reduce any risks you have identified. For example, you should:
- replace highly flammable materials with less flammable ones;
- make sure you separate flammable materials from sources of ignition; and
- have a safe-smoking policy.
When you have reduced the risk as far as possible, you must assess any risk that is left and decide whether there are any further measures you need to take to make sure you provide a reasonable level of fire safety.
Step 4 – Record, plan, instruct, inform and train
In this step you should record, plan, instruct, inform and train. You will need to record the dangers and people you have identified as especially at risk in step 1 and step 2. You should also record what you did about it in step 3. A simple plan can help you achieve this.
You will also need to make an emergency plan, tailored to your premises. It should include the action that you need to take in a fire in your premises or any premises nearby.
You will need to give staff, and occasionally others, such as hotel guests or volunteer stewards, instructions. All employees should receive enough information and training about the risks in the premises. Some, such as fire marshals, will need more thorough training.
Step 5 – Review
You should make sure your fire-risk assessment is up to date. You will need to re-examine your fire-risk assessment if you suspect it is no longer valid, such as after a near miss and every time there is a significant change to the level of risk in your premises. This could include:
- if you store more materials which can catch fire easily;
- a new night shift starting; or
- a change in the type or number of people using your premises.
Click here to download the Fire Risk Assessment Template Guide (PDF, 219Kb)
Designed to assist the ‘Responsible Person’ in coordinating and maintaining a fire safety record to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
It contains advice as well as space to record all aspects of your Fire Safety Regime. When your log is full for any section, simply reprint that page and add it to your logbook, it is recommended that the logbook is kept in a loose-leaf format for ease of adding new pages.
The logbook should be kept up to date and readily available for inspection or audit by the Fire & Rescue Service as and when required.
It should be noted that it is an offence for a person to knowingly make a false entry.
Download the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service Fire Safety Log Book (PDF, 1.6Mb)
The Welsh Government in consultation with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and PACEY (Professional Advice for Childcare and Early Years) Cymru, has produced a useful guidance document: Fire safety: guidance for childminding premises.
The guide provides information on how best to reduce fire risk in your home and covers escape routes, fire escape plans, smoke alarms, sleeping accommodation and other general precautions. The actions you should take will depend on the circumstances of your home, its occupants, and the children you look after. As a childminder, you should try to protect anyone on your premises from harm caused by fire. Carrying out a fire risk assessment is a crucial part of the overall fire safety of your property. Accompanying the document is an easy-to-use fire risk assessment template designed specifically for childminders and their homes that can be edited to suit your needs.
The Care Inspectorate Wales expects you to undertake a fire safety risk assessment to comply with the requirements relating to fire precautions in the Child Minding and Day Care (Wales) Regulations 2010, as amended and the National Minimum Standards for Regulated Childcare for children up to the age of 12 years. This applies equally to both new registrations and existing services.
The three Welsh Fire and Rescue Services fully support this guidance and encourage anybody who is a childminder to download the documents.
Go to https://gov.wales/fire-safety-guidance-childminding-premises-html to download a FREE copy of the guidance document and the accompanying fire risk assessment template.