FIRE & ELECTRICAL SAFETY BE PROACTIVE IN PREVENTION
Steve Martin, Head of the Fire and Security Association (FSA), discusses the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 and the best ways of ensuring compliance with it.
In many cases, a proactive approach to fire safety can help mitigate the risk of fires starting and spreading and, in doing so, reduce the danger of lives being lost, occupants being traumatised and possessions being damaged. The challenge, though, lies in developing the plans and processes that help make this ambition a reality – particularly when there are so many factors to consider.
One piece of legislation was introduced to help make this easier. When the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order (RRO) came into force in 2005, it replaced the plethora of laws and regulations that governed fire safety with one single regulatory Order. In doing so, the government hoped it would result in one fire safety regime that could be understood and administered easily, and that it would lead to a reduction in the number of people being affected by fires.
This is evident from the strong emphasis on risk reduction and fire prevention that lies at the heart of the RRO, and is delivered through the role of 'Responsible Person' - an individual who is legally required to ensure the organisation complies with the Order. The Responsible Person is required to identify where the risks of fire are within a premises, who is most at risk from them and how these risks can be managed and mitigated - as well as developing an emergency plan for use if a fire breaks out.
This is an ongoing activity as the emergency plan and the risk assessments have to be continually reviewed to ensure they reflect the needs of all users and visitors and any operational changes to the business, structural changes to the building or changes of user – particularly if the building suddenly becomes used by vulnerable individuals.
This may sound like a large workload for one person, but when you consider the fact they will be the point of contact for the relevant enforcing fire authority, and it will oversee all
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fire policies, procedures and training (including fire drills), it makes sense to have this consolidated into one role within the business.
“A PROACTIVE
APPROACH TO FIRE SAFETY CAN HELP
MITIGATE THE RISK OF FIRES STARTING, AND SPREADING, AND
REDUCE THE DANGER OF LIVES BEING LOST.”
And that role should come with a budget and the support from senior management to use it. Breaches of the RRO are punishable by fines and/ or imprisonment of the Responsible Person for up to two years, so whoever is appointed to the role needs to be able to instigate the changes they feel are necessary without having to wait for funds to be approved or diverted from other parts of a company’s budget.
But it doesn’t end there. The Responsible Person is given the right support and advice while
carrying out their role from appropriate third parties. Anyone brought in to work alongside them needs to be able to demonstrate to the Responsible Person they are advising can be certain that they are competent to the required standards and that their advice will ensure their business complies with the RRO. Typically, those carrying out fire risk assessments would be expected to hold the BAFE SP 205 Certification, while those maintaining existing fire systems would be expected to hold BAFE SP203 certification. Another option would be to look for membership of a relevant trade association as a means of demonstrating competence to standards and commitment to best practice.
With the right internal, external and financial support, the Responsible Person is well placed to take a proactive approach to RRO compliance and to be able to demonstrate a business’ commitment to reducing the risk of the risk of its people suffering if a fire breaks out by having the right systems and processes in place to discover and extinguish it before it gets out of control.
www.fireandsecurityassociation.co.uk
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