Member Article

New fire safety regime - don't get burned

With Watson Burton

The new Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) came into force on 1 October 2006 and aims to simplify fire safety law by consolidating it into just one piece of legislation. The Fire Precautions Act 1971 (FPA) has been completely repealed, the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 revoked and the Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 will be overruled by the RRO in the case of overlap.

Those who have kept their fire safety precautions up to date should have little further burdens imposed upon them by the RRO, but its wider scope means those previously unaffected may find themselves with new duties. While the FPA applied to premises which were workplaces or put to a designated use, the RRO’s application is expanded to include vacant buildings, outside areas (paths, car parks) and communal areas of residential premises. The person ultimately responsible for ensuring fire safety was predominantly the employer but now also includes the occupier, owner or controller of premises. The people to whom they owe a duty of care is also expanded to cover those lawfully on or within the vicinity of the premises as well as employees, with separate duties owed to firefighters. Duties include: to implement general fire safety precautions, to maintain premises and equipment, to keep records, carry out risk assessments and to cooperate with other responsible parties in a shared building.

Fire certificates lose their legal effect under the RRO so greater emphasis will now be placed upon risk assessment. Even the smallest change of use can alter the risk presented and effectively negate the protection afforded by previous assessments: this makes it essential for those moving into a new building to conduct their own risk assessment.

The fire and rescue authority can issue any of the following enforcement notices: alterations notice (to high risk properties), enforcement notice (where the responsible person has failed to comply with the RRO) and prohibition notice (where a high risk use must be prohibited). Penalties for breach can be criminal (a fine or imprisonment) or civil (breach of a duty owed under the RRO).

To meet this new legislation head on, those affected should either take expert advice or consult the guidance issued by the Department for Communities and Local Governments and review their existing regime in light of the changes. In addition, while fire certificates are now legally ineffective, they should nevertheless be retained as a useful starting point for risk assessments.

If you have any queries in relation to this article, please contact Lucy Bond at Watson Burton LLP by e-mail at lucy.bond@watsonburton.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .