Fire Safety Law and Guidance - England and Wales

Fire Safety Law and Guidance - England and Wales

BAFE is a national fire safety register but recognise there is varying legislation between the United Kingdom’s four constituent countries.

Fire Safety Law in England and Wales

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, commonly discussed as the RRO, Fire Safety Order or FSO, is the fire safety legislation England and Wales must obey (plus any associated legislation/regulations e.g. Welsh Government combustible cladding on high rise buildings ban).

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made (external link)

Part 2 of this legislation, Fire Safety Duties, sets out the important obligations the ‘Responsible Person’ (e.g. employer/premises manager) must fulfil and continue to maintain.

These include:

  • Making a “suitable and sufficient” Fire Risk Assessment and keeping this up to date. - The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Part 2, Article 9
  • Where appropriate, equipping the building with fire fighting equipment (e.g. fire extinguishers and/or fire suppression and extinguishing systems) and fire detectors and fire alarms. - The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Part 2, Article 13
  • Providing clear emergency exit routes and where required, any illuminated emergency signage must be “of adequate intensity in the case of failure of their normal lighting.” - The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Part 2, Article 14
  • Ensuring any provisions or systems in place “are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.” - The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Part 2, Article 17

All requirements can be found by reviewing the legislation in full.

Find competent, Third Party Certificated providers to help meet your obligations

If you require help to fulfil your fire safety obligations, you can find Third Party Certificated providers that can deliver appropriate services by using our search feature - this is free to access and can be found here

When using this, you should specify your requirement what you specifically require in the options available (e.g. Fire Risk Assessment). The results will show organizations who are BAFE Registered and Third Party Certificated (via a UKAS Accredited Third Party Certification Body) to provide this service.

In multiple GOV.UK Fire Safety Guidance Documents it states:

“Third-party certification schemes for fire protection products and related services are an effective means of providing the fullest possible assurances, offering a level of quality, reliability and safety that non-certificated products may lack. This does not mean goods and services that are not third-party approved are less reliable, but there is no obvious way in which this can be demonstrated.

Third-party quality assurance can offer comfort both as a means of satisfying you that goods and services you have purchased are fit for purpose, and as a means of demonstrating that you have complied with the law."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-offices-and-shops (external link)

Every effort is made to ensure that the information provided is accurate and up to date.

No legal responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions.