Fire is one threat to a business, or organisation, that it does not have complete control over. There are so many external factors that it is impossible to fully mitigate every circumstance that may produce a fire. Therefore, a risk-based approach to fire safety is necessary – starting with the legal requirements.
Fire is mentioned as a risk in the following laws:
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
- Building Safety Act 2022
All of them require the risks related to the possibility of fire be investigated, known and, where possible, mitigated and minimised.
The upshot of the combination of all of these laws is that any registered business premises must have a Fire Risk Assessment completed on it. Failure to obtain one immediately means you are not meeting your regulatory requirements.
The Fire Risk Assessment will identify weaknesses apparent in the premises and a risk factor assigned to each one. The higher the risk the shorter the time to resolve, or reduce, the risk is.
There are roles within an organisation that have accountability for Health & Safety, including fire safety, starting at the top with the Managing Director, or CEO. Their failure could lead to a charge of Corporate Manslaughter being made to them directly. Any person not following policies and procedures, particularly relating to fire safety, may also face charges such as negligence. In short, fire safety is everyone’s responsibility.
The Relationship.
Just because you cannot completely control when, where, or how a fire may start that affects your workplace, it doesn’t mean you can ignore the risk of one starting. Your responsibility is to protect the staff, visitors, suppliers, clients, etc. in your building at all times, and this is no different in the case of protecting them against fire.
Your responsibility is to ensure, that should one start, they all have the best opportunity to evacuate the building unharmed. Herein we find the first clues. How can you recognise when a fire has started that may affect your workplace and how can that threat be communicated. It doesn’t have to be a all signing – all dancing – automatic alarm system with individual manual call points alongside hard-wired detectors. I mean it’s going to be great if you’ve got that, but the problem is many fire-based regulations cannot forcibly be back dated.
So, a building built in 1970 will not automatically need to have all of the preventive measures mentioned in the above Acts. Nevertheless, the building owner will need to have resolved the major fire risks to continue to utilise the building as commercially operational premises. Again, in short, there are still things you must do to eliminate the major risks when considering fire safety even if your premises were built before the Acts became law.
Tenants and Managers.
Multi occupancy commercial premises abound in the UK and each building has a landlord. Each landlord must identify a building manager for that commercially registered building. The building manager has the responsibility to ensure that everyone in the building has appropriate policies and procedures so that the minimal requirements of the above Acts are followed.
Each tenant must nominate on person to be responsible for collaborating with the building manager, or their representative, on a regular basis to prove they are following the appropriate legal framework and the contents pertinent to their type of premises.
The building manager may be kind enough to arrange a Fire Risk Assessment for the whole building, which all the tenants will be responsible for contributing to in some way, shape, or form. The building manager and the tenants must all take note of the findings regarding communal areas and each tenant (including any area utilised by the landlord alone) must work with the assessor to agree a timeline to resolve any major risks found within their area of the building.
Common Issues.
Not trying to place any indication of importance on what is found in a Fire Risk Assessment, here is a list of some common issues:
- Doors marked as fire doors are not fire rated.
- Doors marked as fire doors are not fitted with the appropriate glass.
- Doors marked as fire doors are not fitted with automatic closing mechanisms.
- Communal walkways and/or areas are blocked.
- Fire exits are blocked (either on the inside or outside).
- Insufficient fire equipment (extinguishers, blankets, etc.) are found in the premises, or each area,
- Incorrect fire equipment is found in the premises, or each area,
- Insufficient lighting in internal communal areas.
- Insufficient emergency lighting in the premises.
- Insufficient identification of hazards, like stairs, or steps.
- Insufficient signage for safe exit routes.
- Insufficient procedures for emergency evacuations.
- Insufficient examples of completed emergency evacuations.
Not addressing these types of issues once they have been highlighted in a Fire Risk Assessment can be a factor in deciding whether you, as a director or senior manager, have been negligent. This measure of negligence is made according to the likelihood that the measures, laid down in law, have been commercially ignored.
The final factor, which is when some of the more detailed investigations take place, is the impact of any perceived, or potential negligence. An event that passes with only minor injuries will, in all likelihood, mean less stringent actions being taken than an event that results in a fatality.
Are You Safe.
If you are concerned about what is happening in your building, talk to us. We can provide you with the background information you will need to improve the standards of fire safety in your building, or the building in which you are a tenant.