Articles

Fire Safety Reforms

Fundamental changes to fire safety law will come into effect in April 2006 under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Businesses should review their responsibilities under the new rules and make preparations now.

The new fire safety regime replaces fire certification with the imposition of direct duties on employers to carry out a fire safety risk assessment and to take precautions for the safety of both employees and non-employees at the employer’s non-domestic premises.

The Order sets out specific matters that ought to be considered in the risk assessment, including risks and measures to be taken in respect of dangerous substances at the premises, any risks for young children, and principles of prevention to be applied, but this does not limit the general duty to take appropriate care.

Although businesses will no longer need a fire certificate, operating instead on a system of self-regulation, the local fire and rescue authority will continue to inspect premises and ensure adequate fire precautions are in place. The authority’s inspectors will have wide-ranging powers for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Order, including a power to enter and inspect premises, take samples of materials found, interview individuals, and require the delivery up of documentation. The authority will have the power to issue alteration notice requiring changes to the premises, enforcement notices requiring remedial action for any breaches of the Order, and prohibition notices requiring that any use or activities specified in the notice are prohibited or restricted until appropriate redial action is taken.

The Order sets out a number of criminal offences for failure to comply with its provisions and the terms of any notice issued by the fire and rescue authority, which are punishable by fines or imprisonment for up to 2 years or both. Individual officers and senior executives as well as managing members of a business may also face prosecution if they have consented to or connived in the commission of the offence by the business or if the failure to comply has arisen from their negligence.

Even if you are planning to sell your business or its premises in the near future, it is important to appreciate that a prudent purchaser will require evidence that you have complied with the Order and any notices and will impose contractual obligations and liability on you for any failure to do so. The purchase price is also likely to be adversely affected.



For further information on this or other aspects of commercial property law, please contact law@nash.co.uk.