New Fire Legislation Part Two
Focus on Fire Risk Assessment and Guidance
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (hereafter referred to as “the 2005 Order”) was approved on 7th June 2005 under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001, and is due to commence in April 2006.
The 2005 Order is the primary piece of fire safety law in non-domestic premises and replaces the previous systems of fire certification. Instead, it sets a duty on employers to ensure the safety of employees and non-employees by taking such fire precautions as may be reasonable in the circumstances. This duty means that the premises must be safe and that a fire risk assessment has been carried out. The enforcement authority is the fire authority for the area in which the premises is located, although certain special premises fall under the remit of the Health and Safety Executive. The following statutes have been repealed:
| • | Fire Precautions Act 1971; |
| • | Fire Precautions (Loans) Act 1973; |
| • | Smoke Detectors Act 1991; |
| • | Fire Certificate (Special Premises) Regulations 1976; |
| • | Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 (as amended); |
| • | Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997; and |
| • | Fire precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 1999. |
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Fire Safety Reform
The proposed sweeping reform of general fire safety legislation in England and Wales will affect employers and virtually all those responsible for non-domestic premises. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO) for England and Wales is expected to come into force on 1st April 2006. It will attempt to simplify, rationalise and consolidate existing legislation.
With around 100 separate pieces of fire safety-related legislation, it is inevitable that overlapping and confusing inconsistencies arise in existing fire safety provisions. These can bewilder the professional, never mind the lay person. The RRFSO proposals aim to remove multiple and overlapping fire safety provisions and replace them with a single fire safety regime, which will hopefully reduce the burden of complexity.
So what are the major changes?
Before 1997 fire safety legislation and supporting technical guidance was generally prescriptive in content. It was also the responsibility of the enforcing authority to assess designated premises and stipulate the type and level of fire safety provisions necessary, as well as advising the responsible person of those requirements and to inspect any subsequent works. For many workplaces this would result in a Fire Certificate under the Fire Precautions Act 1971.
The introduction of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 ended this tradition by placing responsibility for compliance substantially with the employer. These Regulations also heralded the introduction of the fire risk assessment as the main tool for assessing the safety of persons in a place of work in particular regard to general fire arrangements.
Since the introduction of the Workplace Regulations (as amended), both items of legislation have run concurrently, although these are based on two different principles, fire certification and risk assessment, respectively. The Fire Precautions Act 1971 applies to hotels, factories, offices, shops and railway premises, which meet certain criteria, while the subsequent Workplace Regulations apply to all premises where people are employed.
Other pieces of legislation cover workplaces and buildings in general, but the two listed above are predominant. What this amounts to is that many premises are subject to legislation based on two totally different philosophies: prescriptive or risk-based.
Fire safety legislation will evolve by way of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001, and it is proposed that issuing fire certificates under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 will cease. The reform of fire safety-related legislation will be based on the principle of risk management, which has already been established under the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (as amended). As the regime will be based on risk assessment the responsibility for fire safety will rest with the person responsible for the premises.
It is clear that fire safety will rely less on fire safety professionals. For example some residential care homes in the past may have had a requirement for a Fire Certificate which would detail the Fire Precautionary measures they Must have to operate their business, and be subject to Commission for Social Care Inspector and Fire Brigade Inspection. Under the new regime the need for Fire Certificates will be removed and more responsibilities will fall on the buildings owner, occupier and employer. Fire precautionary measures would be detailed as a result of the Fire Risk Assessment Process. This means that employers, building owners and occupiers will have to acquire a greater understanding of fire protection systems installed in their properties. The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers’ Association has expressed concerns about the transitional arrangements associated with the repeal of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, and the implementation of the new regime.
These concerns relate to:
| • | when exactly brigades should stop issuing fire certificates; |
| • | how brigades should inspect and audit building owner/occupier risk assessments; and |
| • | how they will make the transition from providing guidance to building owner/occupiers on risk assessment to enforcement. |
With such revolutionary changes it is only natural for there to be more questions than answers. However, it is likely that Fire Authorities will develop and introduce a risk grading system for premises to determine the need for, and frequency of, future fire safety inspections.
Fire Strategies
With more responsibility placed on employers, building owners and occupiers, together with the obligation to adopt a risk-based approach to fire safety, it may also prove beneficial to construct a fire safety strategy for the premises. This can be extremely helpful in ensuring that the building and its safety-related components are better understood.
Initially, this may appear to be an extra burden for the employer or building owner. But over time it is common for the internal configuration of buildings, works processes and staff numbers to change considerably. While any particular risks should be identified and remedied during the risk assessment process it is possible for certain safety elements to be overlooked.
A fire strategy forms one of the most important and fundamental components of any building design. Its importance cannot be overestimated if the client, insurer, building control, and finally, the relevant fire authority are to be satisfied. Above all, it is necessary to ensure that any fire strategy will provide a more than acceptable degree of safety to the building users, whether a fire has occurred or not. Any strategy must also consider prevention of fires and separation of risks from the outset.
Fire strategies, to include scale drawings, should unambiguously detail the type of fire safety facilities intended for a building, along with their respective specifications. The way the system operates (cause and effect), whether active or passive, should also be clearly stated in the strategy. All buildings are different, although individual types of buildings fall into certain categories. These obviously vary but could include:
| • | industrial premises, which may lead to high-bay storage and abnormal fire loads or manufacturing/processing risks; |
| • | healthcare or hospital establishments creating risks associated with human incapacitation and the implications associated with horizontal escape; and |
| • | office, shop, public or commercial premises, which may lead to risks associated with high population densities or building unfamiliarity. |
The list quoted above is not exhaustive but provides a general view of the risks associated with more common buildings. It is also worth mentioning that lots of buildings incorporate different categories of risk: office areas sited within storage or healthcare premises, for example. So it is possible that, while trying to achieve common fire safety objectives when preparing a fire strategy, the approach may have to vary considerably depending upon the nature and use of the building.
Management procedures will also have a vitally important role to play. Management is an area that is beginning to draw greater attention, as confirmed by the inclusion of a specific section in BS: 5588 Part 12 Managing Fire Safety. So we must think about management as the fire strategy is being developed – and not as a mere afterthought.
Completing a fire risk assessment will go a long way towards meeting basic legal responsibilities. But sometimes it is necessary to take one step further and carry out a complete review of the premises, safety systems and equipment to ensure that they are still appropriate for the risks that are present. The result could help define how the building is actually constructed and how this interacts with fire safety equipment and systems. A clear fire safety strategy can then be detailed and implemented for the building’s future use.
A building may, for example, utilise ‘staged’ as opposed to ‘simultaneous’ evacuation because of the number of persons occupying it. Over time, population densities may vary considerably which may not warrant a staged evacuation principle. More plant might have been introduced, requiring interfaces with the automatic fire and detection installation. In either case, fire alarm cause and effect would have to be altered. While fire strategies are normally provided at the design stage of any new-build construction project, it is not uncommon to prepare a fire strategy retrospectively when a building or premises undergoes significant alteration. So the purpose of any retrospective fire strategy is to carefully plan and describe in detail the strategic fire safety approach to be followed during the subsequent use of any building (or alteration or extension) to ensure that fire-safety measures in the building’s design successfully fulfil their objectives.
With the imminent and revolutionary changes in fire safety legislation fast approaching, there is no doubt that building owners, occupiers and employers will have to bear more responsibility for fire safety matters.
While many will be familiar with the fire risk assessment process, it may prove beneficial to prepare a fire safety strategy to fully understand buildings and the fire safety systems and equipment contained therein.
The main purpose of any fire strategy is to clearly demonstrate to all concerned parties that all potential hazards and risks have been given due consideration and that safe, acceptable and substantiated solutions have been provided. Fire strategies help provide a holistic approach to fire safety and will undoubtedly help the fire risk assessment process.
Fire Risk Assessment and Guidance Principles
The 2005 Order imposes a statutory duty upon the responsible person to take such general fire precautions as to ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) the safety of any of his or her employees and other persons at risk while on the premises. In this context, “responsible person” are those persons in control of the premises.
Risk refers to the risk to the safety of persons from fire. Risk assessment means a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the purpose of identifying the general fire precautions that need to be taken to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed by the 2005 Order. The risk assessment must include special precautions in respect of any dangerous substances and the employment of young persons. The 2005 Order makes it clear that every such fire risk assessment should be reviewed regularly to ensure that it is still valid and that any workplace changes have been included. The 2005 Order sets out eight general principles of fire prevention in part 3 of schedule 1 and these are summarised below:
| • | the ultimate aim of fire prevention is the avoidance of fire risk; |
| • | if a risk cannot be avoided, its impact should be evaluated; |
| • | if possible, each fire risk should be tackled at the source; |
| • | all workplace fire strategies should adapt to technical progress; |
| • | where possible, dangerous fire risks should be replaced by either non-dangerous or less-dangerous methods, equipment, etc.; |
| • | the responsible person should develop a coherent overall fire prevention policy that covers technology, work organisation and any factor that affects the working environment; |
| • | the responsible person should prioritise fire protection measures for the collective benefit over similar measures for individuals; and |
| • | the responsible person should provide appropriate instructions to employees. |
With young persons (including, casual employees) the responsible person should ensure that extra factors are added to the overall risk assessment, as shown below:
| • | many young persons are inexperienced in work systems and any risks therein and may display some immaturity towards safe practice; |
| • | young workers should be encouraged to make use of protective systems within the premises; |
| • | young people should not be exposed to the same levels of physical and chemical agents as older workers, e.g. type of exposure, duration and extent; |
| • | young workers tend to have less experience in the operation of safe work processes; and |
| • | young people should receive enhanced safety training on the risks. |
In addition to the principles set out in the 2005 Order, there are the recommended steps under the British Standards benchmark PAS 79: 2005 Fire Risk Assessment. This publicly available specification (PAS) provides a series of steps for the conduct and recording of the findings of fire risk assessments. The PAS 79 enabled employers to satisfy the former fire precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 and allows a good basis for the impending duties of responsible persons under the 2005 Order. A brief outline of the nine steps is shown below:
| • | information about the premises, the occupants and the processes carried out therein; |
| • | identification of the fire hazards and the anticipated reduction or control measures; |
| • | what is the likelihood of fire; |
| • | how effective are the fire protection measures; |
| • | how good is the fire safety management; |
| • | what are the likely consequences of the fire; |
| • | what is the fire risk; |
| • | is there an action plan; and |
| • | are the fire risk assessments reviewed regularly? |
Dangerous substances
In s.2 of the 2005 Order, a dangerous substance is a generic term which refers to any substance or preparation that could be classified as explosive, oxidising, extremely flammable, highly flammable or flammable. The term refers to any substance that presents a risk, perhaps because of its chemical or physical properties or the way it is used on the premises. A substance may be a dust or particles that can form an explosive mixture with air or an explosive atmosphere. Where a dangerous substance is present on the premises, the fire risk assessment should include the following points:
| • | what are the hazardous properties; |
| • | has the supplier provided any safety information, e.g., on a safety data sheet; |
| • | what are the special circumstances of the work performed? The responsible person should assess the amounts of the dangerous substance used, issues such as storage, transport and disposal; |
| • | is there a high level of fire risk with a particular substance; |
| • | is there a risk of an explosive atmosphere; |
| • | if “yes” to the previous question, can the zone of the workplace be isolated; |
| • | is there a risk of an active ignition source, e.g. electrostatic discharges; |
| • | what is the extent of the possible effects in an accident scenario; and |
| • | is there any extra safety information needed to complete the risk assessment? |
Under the 2005 Order, the responsible person must apply measures to both control the risks and mitigate the detrimental effects of a fire.
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