The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO) 2005, which became law in October 2006, requires that a ‘Responsible Person’ is appointed to deal with fire safety for every building, or proportion of a building in their control. Where multiple ‘Responsible Persons’ are appointed in a building they must liaise and co-operate with each other to optimise the overall fire safety of the building.
The ‘Responsible Person’ has several duties placed upon them. These are:
- To arrange for fire risk assessments to be carried out by a ‘Competent Person’.
- To ensure that fire precautions are implemented throughout the building, or proportion of the building, for which they are responsible.
- To ensure that any preventative measures are implemented by a ‘Competent Person’.
- To provide information on fire safety to employees or other people they might be responsible for.
- To establish the procedure for contacting the emergency services and inform them of special or unusual hazards.
- To liaise with other ‘Responsible Persons’ where there are more than one in a building.
The RRFSO is enforced by the Fire Authorities by means of conducting inspections, responding to complaints and fire investigations. Failure to meet the duties of the Order could result in;
- the issue an improvement notice
- the prevention of certain acts or processes within part of, or the whole of the building
- parts or the whole of the building being closed
- in more serious cases where a fire has occurred resulting in death
- a corporate manslaughter case could be brought
Our Service
We will undertake Fire Risk Assessments on existing buildings to allow individuals / groups to satisfy the requirements of the RRFSO. On completion of our inspection a report will be produced and presented to the ‘Responsible Person’ (client) outlining what fire precautions or preventative methods are required, to ensure that their responsibilities are met.
We will also provide fire safety training for any individual or group who may be a ‘Responsible Person’ to raise awareness of their duties and provide guidance for compliance.
