incorporated those figures into our study, which takes in the official figures from 2009 to March 2019 and my own cases between 1 October 2006 to date. All offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order [FSO] are prosecuted under Article 32. The most common offences relate to failures to comply with Articles 8 to 22, but breaches of other articles may also lead to an offence being committed. For any breach of Articles 8 to 22 (or 38) to become an offence, the breach must have placed relevant persons at risk of death or serious injury in case of fire.
Articles 8 to 22
The vast majority of articles prosecuted under the FSO relate to breaches of Articles 8 to 22. Other offences might relate to breaches of prohibition or enforcement notices (Articles 30 and 31) or to A27 (such as obstructing an officer in his duties). To prove an offence in connection with these articles, it is only necessary for the prosecution to prove that the articles were breached and not that they necessarily led to a risk of death or serious injury.
Top five articles
Article 14 Those government statistics relating to the charges prosecuted under the FSO show clearly that the most common breaches are found on emergency routes and exits. Between 2009 and 2018, defendants were convicted of breaching Article 14 (A14) on 464 occasions. This represents 22.8% of all charges prosecuted under the FSO. The statistics in relation to my own cases also reflect that A14 is the most commonly prosecuted article in those cases I have been involved with, as it represents 32% of all charges prosecuted. The main reason for this is that A14 covers numerous aspects of emergency routes, including the following: • the need to keep exit routes clear •
the requirement to lead as directly as possible to a place of safety
• an adequate number of emergency routes and exits
18 MAY 2020
www.frmjournal.com
FSO in focus L
AST OCTOBER, the government published its statistics for fire safety enforcement from April 2018 to March 2019. We have now
Warren Spencer describes how the different articles within the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order are reflected in the statistical findings
• the opening of emergency doors •
locks on emergency doors
• signage • emergency lighting
A breach of any one of these requirements could lead to a charge under A14.
Article 8 The second most common offence nationwide relates to the breaches of A8. This involves the duty to take ‘general fire precautions’, defined in A4, which contains elements of duplication with Articles 9 to 22. For this reason, many fire authorities prosecute all matters under A8, as it contains a number of the requirements outlined in Articles 9 to 22 without increasing the number of charges to put before the court. One area that is not covered in Articles 9 to 22 is
a requirement to take measures to reduce the risk of fire, and the risk of the spread of fire on the premises. Any issues relating to fire separation and protection are usually therefore prosecuted under A8. The other notable aspect of A8 is that it imposes a ‘strict liability’ upon employers to take such general fire precautions as necessary to ensure the safety of employees. Failure by employers to comply with this article
will automatically lead to a conviction, because there is no due diligence defence to A8(1)(a) (see A33). The FSO replaced the Fire Precautions Act 1971 as the enforcing legislation for fire safety matters in 2006, and it adopted an approach similar to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which required employers/those responsible for premises to carry out risk assessments, identifying and minimising risk of harm.
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