A number of years ago, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into effect, and it is this set of regulations that governs how businesses today manage fire safety risks and protect their staff from harm.
If you are a business owner, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order applies to you. It states that you, or another person within your company who you designate as being responsible for fire safety (known as “the responsible person”), has a duty to:
• Carry out a fire risk assessment. This involves identifying potential hazards and people who are at risk, coming up with a plan to reduce or remove hazards and implementing it, as well as reviewing fire safety measures on a regular basis.
• Implement appropriate fire safety measures
• Provide your employees with suitable fire safety training. Your whole workforce needs at least basic fire safety training so that they can protect themselves and others, but you should also send a number of competent employees on fire marshal training. Your new fire marshals can then help you implement fire safety procedures – i.e. lead the evacuation of the premises in the case of fire.
