In England and Wales, all work premises and the common parts of buildings that have two or more domestic settings fall under the Fire Safety Order of 2005. Don’t run the risk of leaving yourself unaware of whether or not this is your responsibility in your organisation. One way to find out is through a self-assessment questionnaire available on the Government website.
If you are in control of the premises, it is likely you are the responsible person who should ensure that a such things as a Fire Risk Assessment is undertaken and mitigating actions put in place as a result, along with the choice of Fire Extinguishers and ensuring the maintenance of general fire precautions such as Fire Safety Signage is undertaken.
Having established that you are a Responsible Person for your building, it can be a daunting prospect being in charge of the safety of others and the assets of the organisation when it comes to fire risk, fire prevention and plans for what should happen in the event of a fire. There is much legal legislation to wade through, often containing bamboozling phrasing and endless cross referencing of codes of practice so that you feel like you have entered a neverending wormhole of warnings, duties and requirements. Have you diligently followed all the addendums to the order? Does an act supersede an order? Keeping track of the task in hand can leave you holding your head in your hands and wondering exactly what you have taken on.
There is no getting away from the fact that it falls upon you to be diligent in this role and that to guarantee that you have a Fire Safety Strategy properly in place will take time that you may not feel immediately able to dedicate to the task alongside the demands of your other business demands. Equally, it is likely that, as it is for most people, you may not be equipped with the expertise this job entails full stop.
Remember, your responsibilities cover:
If you are in any doubt as to the level of training and competency you possess to develop a fire safety strategy, then that is a sign that you need help from professionals. This is the time to make a call to us at First Call Fire on 01995 61999.
We are accredited fire risk assessors and fire engineers trained to understand the potential relationship between fire and the design and complexity of your building. As consultants, we are equipped to advise on meeting Building Regulations from the most straight forward of premises to more complex circumstances.
Within a fire strategy, you could be responsible for analysing and overseeing:
It goes without saying that all of us are increasingly aware of the consequences of failures in duty when it comes to fire safety strategies. No one wants a legacy of loss of life as a result of a neglect of duty. All buildings benefit from a fire safety consultation as fire and rescue authorities can issue enforcement notices should they believe there is a failure to comply with any provisions of the Fire Safety Order 2005. They can prosecute or serve alteration or prohibition notices if they deem that a failure to comply would put people at risk of injury or death in the event of a fire.
As the Responsible Person, contracting this work to us at 1st Call Fire can bring peace of mind as we are accredited for this line of fire safety work.
With this in mind, it really is one of those jobs where you would be better off calling in our professionals at 1st Call Fire.
