Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

The Order is a reform of all the current fire safety law, which is contained in over 100 separate pieces of legislation. The main change is an emphasis towards risk reduction and fire prevention.  Fire certificates have now been abolished and cease to have legal status.  Under the RRFSO the “responsible person” for each premise will be required to carry out a fire risk assessment and take steps to reduce or remove the risk.  Fire risk assessments will also have to take into consideration the effect a fire may have on anyone in or around premises.  This will need to be kept under regular review.

The new RRFSO will apply to the voluntary sector and self-employed people with premises separate from their homes.

The reform applies to England and Wales, although separate legislation for Scotland has been introduced.. 

A short guide to making your premises safe from fire is available.  This booklet provides simple and practical guidance to small and medium-sized business on how to conform to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  This can be downloaded free of charge at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firesafety/firesafetylaw/aboutguides.

The short guide has also been translated into Chinese, Welsh, Turkish, Urdu and Guajarati.  They can be downloaded at http://www.cfoa.org.uk/cfoa_public/default.asp?id=500.

A set of fire safety risk assessment guides are also available for free download, at the above website or can be purchased online for £12 at the same site.  They can also be obtained at any good bookshop.

The guides will tell you what you have to do to comply with fire safety law, help you to carry out a fire risk assessment and identify the general fire precautions you need to have in place.

You will need to take account of where you handle and store flammable substances and determine the necessary precautions to minimise the likelihood of them being involved in a fire.

The guides are written so that a responsible person, with limited formal training or experience, should be able to carry out a fire risk assessment.  If you read the guide and decide you are unable to apply the guidance then you should seek expert advice.

More complex premises will probably need to be assessed by a person who has comprehensive training or experience in fire risk assessment.

However these guides are appropriate for more complex, multi-occupied buildings to address fire safety issues in individual occupancies.

• Guide 1   - Offices and shops
• Guide 2   - Factories and warehouses
• Guide 3   - Sleeping accommodation
• Guide 4   - Residential care premises
• Guide 5   - Educational premises
• Guide 6   - Small and medium places of assembly
• Guide 7   - Large places of assembly
• Guide 8   - Theatres and cinemas
• Guide 9   - Outdoor events
• Guide 10 - Healthcare premises
• Guide 11 - Transport premises and facilities
• Guide 12 - Animal premises and stables

In addition to the above guides, a supplementary guide - 'Means of Escape for Disabled People' can be downloaded free of charge at the same website, or purchased for £5.  The guide is a supplement to be read alongside the above guides.  It provides additional information on accessibility and means of escape for disabled.

Further information on the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 can also be found at the Fire Gateway website http://www.fire.gov.uk.  To help ensure your premises comply with the legislation, an online self-assessment form is available.  This consists of a series of fire safety related questions which should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.  At the end of the process, you will have the option to view your results and any suggestions for improvement that may be applicable by means of an online form which you can print or save for future reference.