At present, fire safety provision is scattered amongst many pieces of legislation, which is sometimes inconsistent and can be difficult to understand. This leads to three key issues, identified by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) as:

• An unnecessary burden on business, which may contribute to business failures;
• Avoidable fires resulting in economic loss and possibly deaths and injuries; and
• A reduction in the efficiency of local and enforcing fire authorities.

The aim of the reform, therefore, is to simplify and rationalise existing legislation to create one simple fire safety regime that will ultimately save time, money, effort and most importantly lives.

The RRFSO requires that all premises must have:

• A responsible person – this is either the employer, occupier or owner of the building who must carry out a fire risk assessment, provide adequate ‘general fire precautions’, consider the safety of all relevant persons, record both the significant findings and the control measures taken and provide adequate training for staff.
• A competent person – this person must have "Sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to properly assist in undertaking the prevention and protection measures". This person will assist the responsible person to fulfil his/her duties (it is possible to have a competent responsible person). If there are not any suitable candidates for the role of competent person, then third party assistance is advised.
• A risk assessment for the premises.

Under the forthcoming RRFSO, therefore, Local Fire Authorities will no longer be responsible for providing Fire Certification of premises. Instead, they will solely inspect premises with respect to their fire risk assessments, ensuring that: they have been conducted by an appropriate responsible person; they are comprehensive and accurate; and that they are up to date.

The requirements of the RRFSO can and will be enforced by relevant fire authorities and, if it is highlighted by the relevant authority that there has been a failure to comply, then the authority must enforce its relevant provisions as far as is reasonably practicable and serve an enforcement notice. Failure to heed the enforced provisions may lead to closure of the business and premises or prosecution and then ultimately fines and/or a custodial sentence for the responsible person.

"Premises" includes any place and, in particular, includes -

1. any workplace
2. any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft
3. any installation on land (including the foreshore and other land intermittently covered by water), and any other installation (whether floating, or resting on the sea bed or the subsoil thereof, or resting on other land covered with water or the subsoil thereof); and
4. any tent or moveable structure.

This will mean, therefore, that by the 1st October 2006, all local government buildings and council offices in England and Wales will have to conform to the requirements of the RRFSO. This will obviously be a difficult and involved task and could be especially arduous for the larger, more complex facilities. Fortunately, this has been recognised by the Local Fire Authorities and there will be a ‘bedding in period’ as people adjust and adapt to the new legislation. It will NOT, however, slip in quietly and be forgotten about, as happened with the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations eight years ago.

Local Fire Authorities are gearing up legally to cope with the changes. There will be an increase in enforcement activity and, as previously mentioned, the RRFSO is a key part of how the Fire and Rescue Service will operate in the future and therefore it cannot and will not be ignored.

There will be a web-based service entitled ‘e-fire’ (www.e-fire.gov.uk6), a national project also funded by ODPM, which will provide online facilities for premises operators to help them to comply with their legal obligations under the RRFSO. There will also be a ‘self assessment’ tool within e-fire that will allow users to send their risk assessment to the Local Fire Authority for comment and appraisal. This is due to go ‘live’ in April 2006.The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) has also produced a short guide7with the RRFSO in mind, designed to aid responsible persons in undertaking risk assessments and making sure their premises are safe from fire.

If further help is needed, then it may be necessary to employ the services of a third party, such as a fire consultant or organisation. It is worth noting, however, that it is not sufficient to commission a fire risk assessment and keep it on file - it will have to form part of an overall strategy for fire safety, which will be the task of the responsible person.

The ultimate aim of the RRFSO is to allow adaptable, risk based, fire safety management so that measures can be put in place to suit the building, its occupiers and users. By focusing on reducing risk, it follows that the occurrence of fire will be diminished, allowing a more efficient fire service. It is hoped that this approach will improve business continuity and community safety by allowing the fire service to continue focusing on fire prevention rather than fire intervention.

• Chiltern International Fire has more than 30 years’ experience of fire safety management and offers research, testing and consultancy services. For further information telephone 01494 569800 or email .

  References

1. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 SI 2005 The Stationery Office 2005
SI 2005 The Stationery Office 2005
2. Fire Precautions Act 1971, The Stationery Office 1971 ISBN 0 10 544071 X, The Stationery Office 1971 ISBN 0 10 544071 X
3. Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 SI 1999/1877 The Stationery Office 1999 ISBN 0 11 082882 8
, The Stationery Office 1971 ISBN 0 10 544071 XSI 1999/1877 The Stationery Office 1999 ISBN 0 11 082882 8
4. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 SI 2005 The Stationery Office 2005 – Taken from Part 1, Article 2: Interpretation
SI 2005 The Stationery Office 2005 – Taken from Part 1, Article 2:
5. Guides to Fire Safety (expected publish date Jan 2006) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) see: www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore
6. www.e-fire.gov.uk
7. A Short Guide To Making Your Premises Safe From Fire (publish date TBC), Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA).
, Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA).