FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I work from home do I have to carry out a fire safety risk assessment in respect of my home?
No. The legislation is not intended to cover those working from home if the principle use of the premises remains a private dwelling. If, however, the premises form part of a business (even though there may be no employees) or a room/rooms are made available to paying guests on a commercial basis, such as in a guest house or a bed and breakfast, then the premises is no longer considered a private dwelling and may be subject to the fire safety legislation for as long as they are used for that purpose.
Which premises are exempt from fire safety risk assessment?
Private dwellings are generally exempt from the requirement to carry out a fire risk assessment. The following premises are also exempt - ships in dock, aircraft, locomotives,rolling stock, trailers or semi-trailers, licensed vehicles, mines, offshore installations, borehole sites, agricultural and forestry land. All other premises are legally required to carry out a fire risk assessment of their business.
How often will my premises be inspected?
This will be the decision of the local fire service and they will adopt a risk based approach. For example if you run a hotel or a bed and breakfast it is highly likely that you will be inspected once a year. If, however, your fire risk assessment and your fire safety arrangements are in place when the fire safety officer inspects your business and they are impressed with your knowledge and fire safety arrangements then they now have the option to defer the next inspection until a maybe two or three years. This decision will be based on the fire safety officer’s perception of the risk of fire within your property. This is a very good incentive for businesses to improve their standard of fire safetyas regular visits by fire safety officers can prove an inconvenience as well as costly on occasion.
If you run a shop or office, it may be that you don’t see a fire safety officer for a number of years due to your property being classed as a lower risk, if, however, there is a fire and you have not completed a fire risk assessment and taken the necessary steps to make the workplace safe in the event of a fire you are now much more likely to be prosecuted under the new fire safety regulations.
As an employer I have to ensure the safety of my employees so far as is reasonably practicable. What are the minimum acceptable fire safety standards which should be applied to meet those requirements?
There are no minimum acceptable standards which can be applied, however, there are guidance documents that can be referred to so as to assist in making the premises safe
A duty to ensure safety so far as reasonably practicable means that the sacrifice in terms of time, effort, expense, and any other disadvantages associated with the provision of fire safety measures must be weighed against the magnitude of the fire risk if they were not taken. Only where the sacrifice involved in taking a particular fire safety measure is grossly disproportionate to the benefit that would be gained will it be easy for the person with the fire safety responsibilities to show that it was not reasonably practicable for him or her to take that measure.
What training or knowledge is required for those with responsibilities under the fire safety legislation?
Everyone who has responsibilities must be aware of them, the training and knowledge required will be different for each person depending on their individual circumstances. Formal training is not required as guidance documents are issued by the government to assist.