Need Helpful Advice About Your Fire Safety & Risk Management Plans?

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the associated Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 came into effect and replaced over 70 pieces of fire safety law.

To reduce the risk of a fire occurring and to reduce the damage a fire may cause. It will also reduce the risk of injury or death to your employees / residents / public in the event of a fire. Having a fire risk assessment will reduce the risk of fire on your premises and help reduce the chance of any potential fire affecting an adjacent building. Finally, you need a fire risk assessment because it is a legal requirement to carry out a fire risk assessment.

Yes, the risk assessment process will reduce the risk of a fire occurring and the damage it could cause, as well as making your workplace or property a safer place complying with the Regulations. Insurance companies will ask to see a copy of the fire risk assessment if you have a fire. Without it, a claim may be disputed.

Yes, if you are a landlord or an owner/occupier of business, non-domestic or residential premises, persons running a B&B, guesthouse or let a self-catering property and are responsible for fire safety you are known as the ‘responsible person’ needing to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO). Additionally, if you are buying a leasehold or a freehold property where there is shared land or facilities, your conveyancer or solicitor will ask the seller for a copy of the Fire Risk Assessment.

The law requires you to carry out a fire risk assessment and following the assessment, implement appropriate fire safety measures to minimise the risk to life.

A fire risk assessment is a process involving the systematic evaluation of the factors that determine the hazard from fire, the likelihood that there will be a fire and the consequences if one were to occur. A WRM fire risk assessment will produce a report between 30 and 40 pages long providing comprehensive and clear findings which are easy to understand. The key findings are summarised in a Risk Assessors Summary and any Major Concerns are listed separately, an action plan is provided to assist you in planning the implementation of any measures required and a level of risk is identified. The report satisfies regulatory requirements and is acceptable for insurance purposes. WRM will produce either a cloud-based or PDF version for you (depending on the contract). You will also receive a fire safety policy template, an emergency plan template, and a logbook to record the results of tests and maintenance on fire safety equipment.

WRM staff will assist and support you in your understanding, providing you with guidance to sign off any action points raised. You will need to work systematically to rectify actions identified in a timely manner to achieve compliance.

No, the assessment is only 1 of the fire safety duties that are required to be complied with. However, if a comprehensive assessment is undertaken it will provide a sound starting point to you achieving compliancy.

No, but it is your responsibility to keep your assessment under review and continually comply with the rest of the regulations. However, if there are any changes made internally within the premises or significant business changes then it becomes a legal requirement to renew your fire risk assessment. All clients should they wish, are eligible to receive our complimentary renewal reminder letter to notify you that your annual visit is due from one of our inspectors to ensure you are complying.

There are likely to be a range of measures possible in individual premises, but our assessors will be able to determine which will be the most appropriate and cost effective for you.

Probably, they are the enforcing authorities for the Regulations and are required to develop risk-based inspection regimes within their areas. However, they will give you notice and if required, we can liaise with them on your behalf.

Yes, The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states “The responsible person must ensure that employees are provided with adequate fire safety training, this must include suitable and sufficient instruction on the appropriate precautions and actions to be taken by the employee in order to safeguard themselves and other relevant persons on the premises and be repeated periodically where appropriate” If a fire breaks out in the workplace, everyone needs to know what to do immediately. The correct training can save lives and substantially minimise damage to property.

In cases where a risk exists and it is not being managed, Fire Authorities have a statutory duty to enforce compliance with the Regulations and they may serve a notice on you. In serious cases, penalties of a fine of up to £5000 (for each offence) on summary conviction in a Magistrates Court. Or an unlimited fine, or up to two years imprisonment, or both on conviction or indictment in a Crown Court, can be issued. Fines up to £400,000 and prison sentences have been issued.