NEW FIRE SAFETY LEGISLATION

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A SHORT GUIDE TO

MAKING YOUR PREMISES SAFE FROM FIRE

NEW FIRE SAFETY

LEGISLATION

The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010

Fire Safety legislation changed

on 15th November 2010.

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INTRODUCTION

This booklet provides simple and practical advice to people responsible for ﬁ re safety in small and medium sized businesses. It provides guidance on how to make sure that you are meeting the requirements of Part 3 of The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010.

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

The new legislation, which came into force on 15th November 2010, seeks to replace and simplify existing fi re safety legislation in non-domestic premises using a modern risk based approach to fi re prevention. Put simply, it means that any person who has some level of control in premises must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fi re and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fi re.

WHAT CAN THIS BOOKLET DO?

This booklet will lead you through a step-by-step process to achieve the safest possible outcome without, in most cases, the need for any specialist or formal knowledge.

Achieving ﬁ re safety is often a matter of common sense, but it is essential you set aside enough time to work through the necessary steps. In more complicated premises or those with many people at risk, such as care homes, hospitals or large cinemas, you may need more expert help.

WHERE DOES THE LEGISLATION APPLY?

The ﬁ re safety legislation applies to virtually all premises and covers nearly every type of building, structure and installation.

EXAMPLES INCLUDE:

• Ofﬁ ces and shops;

• Premises that provide care, including care homes and hospitals;

• Pubs, clubs and restaurants;

• Places of worship;

• Educational establishments including schools;

• Theatres and cinemas;

• Sports centres and other community premises;

• Hotels and hostels;

• Guest houses and B&B accommodation;

• Shared areas of properties common to several households;

• Houses in multiple occupation;

Fire Safety legislation changed on 15th November 2010.

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• Factories and warehouses;

• Tents and marquees;

• Transport premises and facilities;

• Animal premises and stables;

• Open air events and venues.

It does not apply to people’s private homes, including individual ﬂ ats in a block or house.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE LEGISLATION?

You must:

• Carry out a ﬁ re risk assessment identifying any possible dangers and risks;

• Consider who may be especially at risk;

• Eliminate or reduce the risk from ﬁ re as far as is reasonably possible and provide general ﬁ re precautions to deal with any remaining risk;

• Take additional measures to make sure there is protection if ﬂ ammable or explosive materials are used or stored;

• Create a plan to deal with any emergency in the event of ﬁ re;

• If you have fi ve or more employees, or require a licence or registration, you must record the signifi cant fi ndings of the risk assessment and any actions you have taken to remove/

reduce the risk;

• Review the risk assessment when necessary.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MEETING

THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LEGISLATION?

The legislation applies to anyone who has control of premises or anyone who has a degree of control over certain areas. For example, it could be:

• The employer for some or all parts of the premises;

• The managing agent or owner for shared parts of premises or shared ﬁ re safety equipment such as ﬁ re warning systems or sprinklers;

• The occupier, such as self employed people or voluntary organisations if they have any control;

• Any other person who has some control over part of the premises.

There may be premises where a number of people have shared responsibility for ﬁ re safety.

If you are the person responsible for ﬁ re safety, you must make sure you carry out a ﬁ re risk assessment, although you can pass this task to some other competent person. However, you will still be responsible for meeting the requirements of the legislation.

The person responsible for ﬁ re safety, either on their own or with any other person deemed responsible, must, as far as is reasonably practical, make sure that everyone on the premises can escape safely if there is a ﬁ re. This is different from previous legislation in that you must consider everyone who might be on the premises, whether they are employees, visitors or members of the public. You should pay particular attention to people who may have a disability or anyone who may need special help.

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FIRE SAFETY RISK ASSESSMENT

This can be defi ned as “an organised and methodical look at premises, the activities carried on there, and the likelihood that a fi re could start and cause harm to those in and around the premises”. Whilst there are no fi xed rules about how the fi re risk assessment should be carried out, it is nonetheless important to adopt a structured approach that ensures all signifi cant risks are addressed.

Fire risk assessment is a ﬁ ve step process:

IDENTIFY THE HAZARDS

This means looking for sources of heat, fuel and oxygen which together might lead to a ﬁ re. You need to identify:

• Sources of ignition such as naked ﬂ ames, heaters or some commercial processes;

• Sources of fuel such as built up waste, display materials, textiles or overstocked products;

• Sources of oxygen such as air conditioning, medicinal or commercial oxygen supplies.

IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE AT RISK

You will need to identify anyone who may be affected, e.g:

• People working near to ﬁ re dangers;

• People working alone or in isolated areas;

• Maintenance staff, contractors, passers by and people present outside normal working hours such as cleaners and security guards;

• Visitors and members of the public;

• Individuals and groups who may be especially at risk, e.g.

young or inexperienced workers, people with mobility or sensory impairment, pregnant workers, etc.

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EVALUATE, REMOVE, REDUCE AND PROTECT FROM FIRE RISK

This involves evaluating the level of risk in your premises.

You should remove or reduce any ﬁ re hazards where possible and reduce any risks you have identiﬁ ed, e.g. you should:

• Replace highly ﬂ ammable materials with less ﬂ ammable ones;

• Make sure you separate ﬂ ammable materials from sources of ignition;

• 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 ﬁ re safety.

RECORD, PLAN, INSTRUCT, INFORM AND TRAIN

• Record the signifi cant fi ndings and actions taken to remove/reduce the risk from fi re;

• Develop and implement an appropriate emergency plan;

• Inform and instruct relevant persons on the actions to be taken in the event of ﬁ re;

• Deliver training to employees, particularly those with speciﬁ c duties, e.g. ﬁ re marshals.

THE FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT MUST BE REVIEWED

• At regular intervals;

• Whenever it is no longer valid, e.g. after a signiﬁ cant incident or “near miss”;

• If there has been a signiﬁ cant change in the workplace, e.g. changes to plant, equipment, processes, substances used, personnel, etc.

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GENERAL FIRE PRECAUTIONS

In this short guide, it is impossible to give detailed guidance for every type of premises. However, the minimum you should consider will include the following:

A FIRE DETECTION AND WARNING SYSTEM

• You must have a suitable ﬁ re detection and warning system.

This can range from a shouted warning to an electrical detection and warning system;

• Whatever system you have, it must be able to warn people in all circumstances.

SAFE ROUTES FOR PEOPLE TO LEAVE THE PREMISES

• The ideal situation is when there is more than one escape route from all parts of the premises although this is not always possible;

• If only one route is available, you may need to make it ﬁ re resisting (protected) or install an automatic ﬁ re detection system;

• The distance people need to go to escape (the travel distance) should be as short as possible. Travel distances will vary according to the type of premises. The travel distance should be measured from the farthest point in a room to the door of a protected stairway or, if there is not a protected stairway, to the ﬁ nal exit from the building;

• Stairways, corridors and areas near the fi re exits should be kept clear of obstructions and material which can catch fi re and the fi nal exit should be easy to see and get to from the

stairway at ground ﬂ oor level;

• High risk rooms should not generally open directly into a protected stairway;

• It is essential that escape routes are managed and maintained to ensure they can be used safely and remain available at all times when the premises are occupied;

• If your fi re risk assessment shows that people using any fl oor would not be aware of a fi re, you may need to consider other fi re protection measures, e.g. an automatic fi re detection and warning system.

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SUITABLE FIRE EXIT DOORS

• You should be able to use ﬁ re exit doors and any doors on the escape routes without a key and without any specialist knowledge;

• In premises used by the public or large numbers of people, you may need push (panic) bars or push pads.

OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER

• Whether you need emergency lighting;

• Suitable ﬁ re safety signs in all but the smallest premises;

• Training for your staff or anyone else you may reasonably expect to help in a ﬁ re;

• A management system to make sure that you maintain your ﬁ re safety systems.

The above guidelines are a summary. More detailed guidance for all types of premises is available from our website www.nifrs.org.

ENFORCEMENT

Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service will be the main agency responsible for enforcing fi re safety legislation in most non-domestic premises. Its role is to audit premises in order to ensure that appropriate fi re safety standards are being met. It will also look into complaints about fi re safety in premises, carry out investigations after fi res where poor fi re safety management is discovered and may carry out targeted inspections. If you do not meet the requirements of the legislation, NIFRS will provide practical advice or, if the risk is serious, issue an enforcement notice.

Except in the most serious of cases, NIFRS will work with you to achieve a satisfactory level of ﬁ re safety. Where failure to comply with ﬁ re safety duties has put people at risk of serious injury or death, or there has been a failure to comply with any notice issued under the Order, consideration will be given to prosecution.

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NEW FIRE SAFETY LEGISLATION

A SHORT GUIDE TO

MAKING YOUR PREMISES SAFE FROM FIRE

NEW FIRE SAFETY

LEGISLATION

Fire Safety legislation changed

on 15th November 2010.

INTRODUCTION

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

WHAT CAN THIS BOOKLET DO?

WHERE DOES THE LEGISLATION APPLY?

WHAT ARE THE MAIN REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE LEGISLATION?

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MEETING

THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LEGISLATION?

FIRE SAFETY RISK ASSESSMENT

IDENTIFY THE HAZARDS

IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE AT RISK

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EVALUATE, REMOVE, REDUCE AND PROTECT FROM FIRE RISK

RECORD, PLAN, INSTRUCT, INFORM AND TRAIN

THE FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT MUST BE REVIEWED

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5

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GENERAL FIRE PRECAUTIONS

ENFORCEMENT

Visit website:

www.nifrs.org

For other advice contact:

NORTHERN IRELAND FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE HEADQUARTERS

1 Seymour Street, LISBURN, BT27 4SX Tel: 028 9266 4221

AREA COMMANDS

Eastern Command

6 Bankmore Street, BELFAST, BT7 1AQ Tel: 028 9031 0360

Southern Command

Thomas Street, PORTADOWN, BT62 3AH Tel: 028 3833 2222

Western Command

10 Crescent Link, LONDONDERRY, BT47 5FR Tel: 028 7131 1162

Northern Command

21 Henry Street, BALLYMENA, BT42 3AA Tel: 028 2565 1806