Bsi bip 2111 2008

Fir engine ring is, h weve, a disciplne that impinges o , an has t aditio aly draw n f om, many other disciplnes, ele trical engine ring, chemical engine ring, law, psych log , p ysics a

to fre sa fety

guide to fre sa fety

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T his editio p blshed in the U K in 2 08 b

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Bri ti sh Li brary Catalo ui ng i n Pu li cati on Data

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An to Karen for loving me a ains al o ds.

Fire safety engine ring 32

Table 5.1 A simple risk-evel es imator 87

Table 7.2 E xit an escape ro te capacities re ommen ed in guidanc

Table 7.3 Staircase capacities commo ly re ommen ed in means of

2.1 The fre t iangle: remov l of any comp nent o viates the risk

3.7 Causes of fre in re reatio al an other cultural servic s

3.10 Causes of fre in resaurant, p blc h uses, clu s, etc 2 0 6

6.2 Ty pical h t-w ork permit (a aiable fom the Fire Prote tio

7.5 R eq irement for dead en s 1 7

10.3 T he Health an S fety (S fety Signs an Signals) Regulatio s

10.7 Fire-fghting eq ipment signs (red an w hite) spe ifed in

The auth r w ishes to than the folow ing for their as is anc :

P r ofes or A R Ev ert on, Emeritus Profes or of Fire Law, U niver ity of

Cent al Lancashire, for review of Chapter 1

P r ofes or D Dr y sda le,for review of Chapter 2

Mr S Da w s, C.S To d & A ssociates, for review of Chapter 2, 5,1 , 14

Mr S.T Ev a ns, Amerex Fire Internatio al Ltd, for review of Chapter 1

s atisical data for use in Chapter 3

M r s K Ha est ie , for review of Chapter 1, 2 an 3, an for drafing

M r P Ha mbln, P.M Hambln & As ociates, for review of Chapter 23

M r R.Ha mmo d, Co c pt Design, for review of Chapter 14

M r M Hoa r e, C.S To d & As ociates, for review of Chapter 1

M r P La t ha m, Griff Fire, for review of Chapter 1

M r A Lew is, Fire Prote tio A ssociatio , for review of Chapter 3, 4, 5,6

Dr E.W Ma r c ha nt, for review of Chapter 1 , 17 an 2

M r D.F Ma so , C.S To d & As ociates, for review of Chapter 1

M r T P r et io s, for co tib tio of material for Chapter 2

M r G Shiel, C.S.To d & A ssociates, for review of Chapter 7 , 16, 1 , 2

M r C Wa t t s, for review of Chapter 9

Each y ear, despite the co s ant efors of c nt al government, fre an rescue

servic s, fre insuranc companies, profes io al fre adviser an a plet hora of

other interes ed b dies, aro n 5 0peo le die in fres in t he U nited Kingd m,

w hie aro n 1 ,0 0 peo le are injured by fres T he majority (ab ut 7 5–80

pe c nt) of these fatal an n n-fatal casualties oc ur in dwel ngs, rathe

than plac s of w ork The reaso s for this inclu e the en anc d risk of injury

if fre oc ur w hen peo le are asle p, the absenc of legislative co t ol over

old peo le,w ho are, s atisicaly, at greater risk f om fre than yo ng peo le,

f om plac s of w ork N everheles , in 2 0 for example, 5 peo le died an

1,50 w ere injured in fres in n n-d mes ic b idings In ad itio , an ofen

very serio s fre incident as t hey sh p, t a el, eng g e in re reatio al act ivit ies

or r side in car h mes The ne d for fr pr cautio s is, the efor , easiy

esablshed in mos b idings

Fir also r sult in se io s e o omic los es The mos o vio s of these is

dire t dama e to pro ery I is esimated that, in 2 0 , the v lue of pro er y

dama ed by fre w as £1.3 bi io

1

W hie this inclu es u insured dama e to

pro ery for w hich the ow ner w ould hav e re eiv ed n re ompense, it ex clu es

the in ire t or co seq ential los es sufered by in us ry an commerc d e

to the los of pro t folow ing a major fre Alth ugh co seq ential los (or

‘b sines inte ru tio ’) can be insur d, the ef e t of a se io s fr o the

futur r ven e earning of a b sines can be diffcult to q antify I is ofen

claimed that a signifcant n mber of companies c ase tading within a few

year of a major fre U nd u tedly, a large fre can result in los of co f enc

by cusomer , lo g -t erm los of b sines an ult imately los of jo s T he v alue

of los b sines as a result of fres in 2 0 w as esimated to be £ 3 mi io

T he m anag em ent of fr e risk an t he eng ine r ing of fre safet y m easures are n w

identifed as disciplnes in their ow n right U ndergrad ate an p s grad ate

the Ins itutio of Fir Engine rs Fir engine ring is, h weve, a disciplne

that impinges o , an has t aditio aly draw n f om, many other disciplnes,

ele trical engine ring, chemical engine ring, law, psych log , p ysics an

faci ties for formal ed catio of practitio e s in the feld of fr safety ar

ex an ing, as is the co ifcatio of fre-engine ring k ow ledge

T he p rp se of this b o is to provide a basic guide to this complex su je t

for the n n-spe ials, such as the faci ties mana er, the per o nel mana er,

resp nsibi ties for fre safety in b idings I is, h w ever, h ped that it w il

also provide a basic r fe enc for c rtain fr safety practitio e s, such as

w hen they fr t enter this feld

T he ap roach ad pted in this b o is to divide the su je t into a n mber of

discrete comp nent , each of w hich is co sidered separately T he breadth of

the to ics discus ed is such that it is n t p s ible to co sider any o e to ic in

a depth bey on that req ired by the generals How ever, guidanc is given

o so rc s of fur her informatio for the reader w ith an interes in spe ials

aspe t of the su je t

T he divisio of fre safety into in epen ent to ics is ne es ary in a textb o ;

it is n t the man er in w hich fre safety sh uld be ap roached in an actual

b iding.F r example, the absenc of an automatic fre dete tio sys em in a

relatively large b iding in w hich peo le sle p w ould result in a p or san ard

cor id r of the same b iding wo ld, in it elf, be co sidered u ac eptable,

as w ould the absenc of emergency lghting However, the overal efe t of

these thre defciencies is much greater than the simple sum of the in ivid al

defciencies; a fre d ring t he nig ht ma dev elo , u det ect ed, u t il t he cor id r

are completely smo e log ed, so that means of escape are impas able an ,

in any case, diffcult to use be ause the n rmal lghting has faied d e to fre

dama e to the cables of lght ing circuit Many fre disas er ha e arisen f om

an u for u at e combinat io of ap arent ly in epen ent defe t , at leas some

o e of w hich, if re tifed, w ould hav e amelorat ed t he sit uat i n in w hich t hose

A corolary to the ab ve as er io is that it is p s ible to design an engine r

an int eg rat ed ‘packa e’ of fre pre au o s that enables o e or more fre safet y

o je tives to be achieved This is the co c pt of ‘fre engine ring’ w hich is

already re og niz d by leg islat i n an the man er in w hich it is enforc d, b t it

is lkely t hat , in t he fut ure, t he sco e for t his ap roach w il co t i ue t o ex pan

(se Chapt er 2 ) A lready, it is w el ac ept ed t hat complanc w it h t he g oals set

by b iding regulat i ns can be achieved by a fre engine ring ap roach, rather

than solely by the rigid, prescriptive ap roach, albeit that, for mos proje t,

the t aditio al ap roach w il ofen suffc On a more ro tine level, the fre

risk as es ment that legislatio req ires be car ied o t for exis ing b idings

sh uld n t involve in exible ap lcatio of guidanc ; the actio plan that

emanates fom the fre risk as es ment sh uld be pro or io ate to the risk

Unfor u ately, there is s i much to be learned ab ut the inter elatio ships

betw een the many forms of fre pre autio s, an fre engine ring is a mater

for the spe ials Befor departing from s an ard solutio s, the r ade is,

t herefore, adv ised t o se k ex per o inio an t he v iews of enforc ing aut hor it ies;

or efe t o overal fre safety, early co sultatio w ith al interes ed par ies,

the pro er y, is s ro gly advocated

1 The Economic Cos o Fire: Esimates fr 20 4 P blshed by the Offc of the

Dep ty Prime Minise (n w Commu it ies an Local Gov ernment)

Fi re safety legi slati on

Hisoricaly, mos fre safety legislatio has arisen f om spe ifc fre disas er

F r example, it is w idely held that the Factories A ct 1 61 arose as a result of

the fre at a mi in Keighley some fve year before Eq aly,it is said that the

fre at Hen er o s depar ment s ore in Liverp ol in 1 6 g ve rise to the fre

safety req irement imp sed by t he Offc s, Sh ps an R aiw ay Premises A ct

1 63 E ven t he o e t ime corner t one of U nit ed Kingd m fre safet y legislatio ,

the Fire Pre autio s A ct 1 7 1, w as said to be enacted as a result of 1 deaths

in a fre at he Rose an Crow n Hotel, S fro Walden in 1 69 In the 1 80s,

the Fir S fety an S fety of Plac s of Sp rt Act 1987 folowed the fr at

Bradford fo tbal s adium in 1 8 , whie the Fire Pre autio s (Su -sur ac

R aiw ay St at i ns) R eg ulat i ns 1 8 arose as a result of t he fre at King’s Cros

Sometimes, it is n t new legislatio that folows a disas er, b t a signifcant

in guidanc p blshed in su p rt of the Buiding Regulatio s in 2 0 was

in uenc d by the death of a female fre-fghter in a fre in retai premises In

Scotlan , folow ing a disasro s fre at a residential care h me in 2 0 , the

B iding (Sco an ) R eg ulat i ns spec ifed, for t he fr t t ime, t hat esiden al care

h mes ne d to be prote ted by an automatic fre su pres io insalatio *

This ap roach to the legislative co t ol of fre safety caused much fre safety

legislatio to be pie emeal an fa mented over many de ades I w as o ly

* In Englan an Wales, this is n t man atory if a sprin ler system is pro ided

However, c rtain design f e d ms in residential c re premises have, sinc 2 0 ,

be n a c pted u der the guidanc that su p rts the rele ant b iding re ulatio s; an

example is that bedro m d or ned n t be self-closing

in 2 0 , w ith the coming into forc of the Regulatory Reform (Fire S fety)

su seq ently, N or hern I elan ) that there has be n major ratio alzatio of

a great w at he of fre safet y legislatio , somew hat akin to that achieved in t he

more general feld of health an safety in 1 7 4, w hen the Health an S fety

at Work etc A ct w as int o uc d

fom t he re omm en at i ns of t he Holroy d R ep r in 1 7 0 T he rep r re om

-men ed t hat fre safety legislat io sh uld be divided int o tw o main branches;

o e dealng w it h new b idings (an b iding w orks in t he form of ext en ing

or mat erialy alt ering an ex ist i g b iding ), whie t he ot her deals w it h oc cu ied

premises T his is largely t he cur ent it uatio an remains t he Governmen s

intent for the lo g te m futur In Englan an Wales, new b idings an

m ajor alt erat i ns t o ex ist i g b iding s are req uir ed t o com ply wit h t h e Buiding

R egulatio s (N ort hern I elan ) 2 0 In E nglan an Wales, o completio

of t he b iding w ork, fre pre aut io s are co t roled by t he se o d ‘branch’ of

legislatio in t he form of t he R egulat ory R eform (Fire S fet y ) Order 2 05 (A

simiar sit uat io exis s in Scotlan an N ort hern I elan ) T here is, h w ever,

a form of bridge (fr t int ro uc d in 2 07 ) bet w een t he t w o branches, in t hat

t he b iding w ork, or o oc u at i n of t he b iding or ex t ensio (w hichever is

earler),suit able fre safet y informat io is pas ed o to t he resp nsible per o

(as def ed in t he R eg ulat or y R efor m (Fir e S fet y ) Or der )t o enable t hat per so

t o o erat e an maintain t he b iding or ext ensio safely

by the b iding co tol offc r (BCO) of the local auth rity or by a priv te

se tor ap roved inspe tor (AI) The BCO or AI co sult with the fr an

rescue aut horit y co c rning v rio s fre pre au o s In Scotlan , the Buiding

there are n priv te se tor b iding co t ol b dies, such as ap roved inspe

-tor ; resp nsibi ty for enforc ment of b iding regulatio s res s solely w ith

local auth rities

Buiding R egula tions 2000

The Buiding Regulatio s 2 0 ap ly to vir ualy al new b idings, material

alteratio s to exis ing b idings an material changes of use of b idings (as

def ed in the R egulat io s) in E nglan an Wales How ever, c rain b idings

are exempt f om co t ol, an these inclu e the folow ing:

b idings to w hich the Ex losives Act 1 57 an 1 84 ap ly ;

entered by peo le, su je t to adeq ate separatio f om other b idings;

a-•

tio

Buiding co tol b dies d n t ha e any p w er to ap ly the Regulatio s to

Crow n b iding s How ev er, governm ent p lcy is t hat Crow n b iding s sh uld

comply w ith the Regulatio s

Buiding regulat i ns co tain n det aied t ech ical req irement Inst ead, they

are cas in so-caled ‘fu ct i nal form ’, co t aining o ly fu ct i nal req irement s

that are, in efe t, simply fu damental fre safety o je tives

In E nglan an Wales, there are jus fve fu ctio al req irement relating to

fre safet y T hese are set o t in Par B of Sched le 1 t o the Buiding R egulat i ns

20 0, an are g eneraly refer ed t o as Regulatio s B1, B2, B3, B4 an B5 T he

req irement of each Regulatio are n w discus ed in turn

Re gula ti on B1

This req ires that al b idings to w hich the R egulatio s ap ly are designed

an co s ructed so that there are:

adeq ate means of giving early w arning of fre; an

T he means of escape mus be such that they can be safely an efe tively used

at al material times

Th s, the measur s ad r s ed ma n t be lmited to s ructural measur s;

in many types of b iding, emergency escape lghting ma be ne es ary (se

Chapte 9) I sh uld be n ted that the r q ir ment for early warning of

fr , which was o ly intro uc d into the Regulatio s in 2 0 , brings fr

inclu es material alteratio s to such sy stems, for w hich ap rov l u der the

Regulatio s is ne es ary

B2 is co c rned with measur s to r s rict the spr ad of fr ove inte nal

sur ac s, such as wals an c i ngs The req irement is that materials used

their sur ac s an ,in some cases, that, if ignited, the rate of heat release w il

be reaso able in the circums anc s

I sh uld be n ted that Regulatio B2 d es n t ap ly to f or coverings, an

that an alteratio to lnings is n t a material alteratio for which ap rov l

u der the Regulatio s is ne es ary

B3 is co c rned w ith measures to lmit the spread of fre w ithin the b iding

an to prevent sructural colapse d e to fre I req ires that:

in the event of fr , the b iding wi r main s able for a ‘r aso able

•

c rt ain large b idings be su divided into fre-resist i g compart ment s an /

•

or be provided w ith suitable automatic fre su pres io sys ems;

co c aled spac s be lmited to prevent hid en fre an smo e t a el;

•

par y w als be fre resis ing

•

Re gula ti on B4

B4 is c onc rned wit h t he prev en o of fre spread f om o e b iding t o an t her

I req ires that ex ternal w als provide adeq ate fre resis anc , an that ro f

be adeq ately resisant to spread of fame, to achieve this o je tive

Re gula ti on B5

B5 req ires ac es to the b iding an other measures to as is the fre an

rescue servic , alth ugh,s rictly, o ly measures to ensure safety of lfe These

below gro n ) measur s to faci tate fr -fghting, such as fr -fghting

s air , lo bies an , in some cases, lfs,plus fre mains (se Chapter 16);

•

describes, in te h ical detai, the w ay in w hich t he fu ctio al req irement of

the fve regulat i ns can be sat isfed T his p blcatio , A pproved Document B,

def es, for ex ample, perio s of fre resis anc ac ording t o t he siz an use of

the b iding an makes referenc to v rio s British Stan ard tes s

Howeve, the designe is n t o lged to ad pt the solutio s desc ibed in

the Ap roved Document, o ly to satis y the fu ctio al req irement of the

R eg ulat i ns T he desig ner m ay dev elo a difer ent olu o , or wish t o co v inc e

the b iding co t ol offc r or ap roved inspe tor that, in the circums anc s,

N ever heles , complanc w ith A pproved Document B w ould ten to satis y

the Regulatio s E qualy, if an alternat ive ap roach is folow ed, it is ne es ary

to demo s rate that the per ormanc req irement is si satisfed

Alternative ap roaches to the guidanc co tained in the ap roved d cument

comprise:

use of an alt ernat iv e re ogniz d g uidanc d cum ent or spe ial oc u ancies

•

(for example, the Ap roved Document it self re ommen s the use of ot her

guidanc d cument in the case of h spitals, sch ols, enclosed sh p ing

c nt es, as embly b idings an b idings co taining o e or more atia);

use of a generaly ap lcable guidanc d cument, such as the relev nt par

•

of BS 5 8 ;

a ‘fre engine ring solutio ’ (se Chapter 2 )

•

T he perormanc req irement d es, of co r e, relat e o ly t o healt h an safet y,

an n t to prote tio of pro er y Th s the fre resis anc of, for example,

many single-sorey b idings in E nglan an Wales ma be q ite sh r , an

compar ment siz s w ere at o e time u lmited This led to co c rn reg rding

single-sorey w areh uses In co t as , n lmit is advocated for other single-s orey

multis orey b idings, other than offc s an car parks for lght vehicles

Onc a b iding is e e ted, o going co trol of fr safety is, in the case of

nearly al b idings ot her than dw el ngs, efe t ed in E ng lan an Wales by the

R eg ulat ory Reform (Fire S fety ) Order 20 5 (se p 8) How ever, the Buiding

R eg ulat i ns co t rol ‘material alt eratio s’ t o a b iding, i.e any alterat i n that

w ould adver ely afe t the fre safety of the exising b iding as co t oled by

Regulatio s B1, B3, B4 or B5 Th s if, for example, part of a fr -r sis ing

enclosure, req ired by the Buiding Regulatio s at the time of co s ructio ,

w ere complet ely removed by an oc u ier as par of an alt eratio , the oc u ier

wo ld be guity of an ofenc , u les the alte atio had be n ap roved by

local auth rity b iding co tol or by an ap roved inspe tor

Simiar principles to th se of the Buiding Regulatio s 2 0 ap ly in b th

In Sco an , t he Buiding (Sco an ) R egulatio s 2 0 are set o t in fu ct i nal

form within Se tio 2 of Sched le 5 to the Regulatio s, b t co tain an

ad it i nal m ajor req uiremen namely t he provisio of an aut omat ic lfe-safet y

fre su pres io sys em; this req irement ap les, h w ever, o ly to enclosed

sh p ing c nt es, residential care b idings, sheltered h using an high-rise

fat s On the other han , the req irement o provide fre w arning sy stems o ly

ap les to dw el ngs, residential b idings an enclosed sh p ing c nt es

T he Scot t ish regulat i ns also req ire t hat design an co st ruct i n of b idings

be such that ele t rical inst alat i ns d n t be ome a so rc of fre (In E ng lan

an Wales, co t ol over safety of ele tical insalatio s o ly exis s in respe t

of d mes ic premises.)

The Regulatio s in Scotlan are su p r ed by tw o te h ical han b o s (o e

w hich is simiar to that of Ap roved Document B in E nglan an Wales

In N orhern I elan , the Buiding Regulatio s (N or hern Ielan ) 2 0 are

virtualy identical to the Buiding Regulatio s in Englan an Wales The

w ording of the fu ctio al req irement w ithin Regulatio s E2–E 6 is simiar

to that in Regulatio s B1–B5 of the Buiding Regulatio s 2 0 respe tively

can be fo n in Te h ical Bo klet E, p blshed by the Northe n Ir lan

Depar ment of Financ an Per o nel Is re ommen atio s are very simiar

(b t n t absolutely identical to th se in Ap roved Document B

Loc a l a c t s

I wo ld be incor e t to as ume that, in designing a b iding, o ly the

natio aly ap lcable legislatio discus ed ab ve ap les In some ar as of

categories of premises, such as high b idings an large s ora e b idings

Perhaps t he mos w el k ow n local legislatio is t hat co t ained in Se tio 2

B iding (n e L on o ) R eg ulat i ns 1 8 ] T his leg islat i n em pow er L on o

dis rict surveyors to r q ir spe ial fr safety measur s, such as sprin le

prote tio , in c r ain high b idings, or in large u compar mented b idings

local act are n t generaly co c rned with means of escape for oc u ant ,

b t w ith measures that w il lmit the extent of fre spread an as is the fre

b iding regulatio s, the ne d an jusifcatio for them to be ad res ed in

local act is n t entirely logical I is lkely that, in the lo g term, fre safety

provisio s of local act w il be repealed as par of any fur her reshaping of

fre legislatio I sh uld, h w ever, be n ted that v rio s local act ha e n w

be n amen ed by the Regulat ory Reform (Fire S fety ) Order 2 05 to prevent

overlap betw een the tw o branches of legislatio

Ex ist ing buidings in Engla nd A nd Wa les: T he Regula t or y

Ba ckground

respe t of fre safety ) virt ualy al legislat i n t hat had previo sly made spe ifc

req irement in respe t of fre safety in oc u ied b idings in Englan an

previo sly req ired fre c r ifcates, is ued by the fre an rescue auth rity,

for many commo plac s of work in Great Britain; exis ing fre c r ifcates

c ased to ha e efe t fom the date that the Regulatory Reform (Fire S fety )

Order (the ‘Fire S fety Order’) came into efe t.T he Fire Cerifcates (Spe ial

E xe utive, w ere also repealed

T he repeals also inclu ed the Fire Pre aut io s (Work lac ) R egulatio s 1 97

an t hose part s of t he Mana ement of Healt h an S fet y at Work R egulat i ns

1 9 that made req irement of a mana erial nature in respe t of fre safety

(othe than in r spe t of fr safety within in us rial proc s es, etc which

remain, in efe t , par of general req irement s of health an safet y legislat i n)

How ever, this n w repealed legislatio w as originaly bro ght into forc to

satis y the req irement of tw o E uro ean dire tives, namely the Framew ork

the Co nci of Minis e s in Brus els in 1989 In r pealng the legislatio

u der w hich these dire tives were implemented in Great Britain, it w as s i

ne es ary for any new legislative r gime to implement the r q ir ment of

the dire tives, w hich relate to health an safety (nclu ing safety f om fre)

of employ ees in w ork lac s

F r this reaso , the req irement of the Fire S fety Order, in respe t of fre

pr cautio s, ad pted virtualy the exact wording of the Fir Pr cautio s

n t be co c rned w ith this backgro n to t he w ording used in the Fire S fety

Orde, it ma as is with an insight into the somewhat co voluted, an in

some cases v gue, w ording of the Fire S fety Order;much of the w ording is,

in efe t, se o d generatio w ording f om the Framew ork Dire tive an the

The main p rp se of the Fire S fety Order w as n t, h w ever, to implement

the E uro ean dire tives, as this had already be n achieved I is merely that,

in reshaping fre safety legislatio , it w as ne es ary to maintain the req

ire-ment of the dir ctives The p rp se of the Fir S fety Orde, which was

created using the p wer granted by the Regulatory Reform Act 2 01, w as

taken t he form of a mult it ude of disparat e leg islat ive inst rument s, into a single

legislative ins rument

Th s, the efe t of the Fire S fety Order is to imp se, in o e order, an almos

u iver al d ty of fre safety care o almos al n n-d mes ic premises The

int en o of t he G ov ernment or many y ear , folow ing government cru ny in

1 9 , c ar ied o t in ac ordanc wit h der eg ulat i n init iat iv es T he ‘In epen ent

co fusing, to the extent that it imp sed u ne es ary b rdens o b sines es

S fety Order w as the Government’s resp nse to that re ommen atio

At the time of w riting, the coming into efe t of the Fire S fety Order is q ite

re en A s y et , t here is n relev nt case law T he somew hat v ag ue nat ure of t he

langua e used in much of the Fire S fet y Order is such that, u ti there is case

law, t he b u daries of it s sco e an the man er in w hich c r ain req irement

mus be interpreted w il be a mater for debate Whie, to as is reader , the

auth r has en ea o red to interpret, w here ne es ary, c r ain aspe t of the

Order, ultimately o ly the Co r s can determine mater of interpretatio

Scope o the Fi re S afe ty Orde r

Be ause t he Fire S fet y Order efe t ively repealed al other leg islat i n (or par s

of leg islat i n) u der w hich fre pre au o s in ex ist i g b idings w as primariy

co t oled (with the n table exc ptio of the Fire Pre autio s (Su -sur ac

Raiw ay Statio s) Regulatio s), the sco e of the Order is ext emely broad I

sh uld be n t ed, fr t ly, t hat t hat t he req irement s of t he Order g eneraly ap ly

to ‘pr mises’ Howeve , the te m pr mises is somewhat al encompas ing,

sinc the def itio of premises, given in Aricle 2 of the Order, inclu es ‘any

plac ’ an , in par icular, inclu es:

any w ork lac (so ensuring that o lg tio s u der the relev nt Euro ean a)

dire tives are satisfed);

any vehicle, ves el, aircraf or h vercraf;

b)

c)

f ating, or r s ing o the seabed or the su soi the eof), or r s ing o

other lan covered w ith w ater or the su soi thereof); an

any tent or moveable s ructure

d)

N ot w iths an ing t his very broad int erpret atio of premises, A rt icle 6 of the

Orde then d es ap ly some lmitatio s to the ap lcatio of the Orde by

ex c lu ding t he folowin g prem ises (b t o ly t hose pr em ises) fr om t h e ap lc at i n

u der the dire tio of the maser; d ring w ork o the ship in, sa , a dry

d ck, the ship w ould, therefore, fal w ithin the sco e);

felds, w oo s or other lan of a foresry or a ricultural u der aking, b t d)

w hich is n t inside a b iding an is sit uated aw ay f om t he u der aking’s

main b idings;

air raf, locomotives or rol ng s ock, traie s or semitraie s used as a e)

means of t ansp r or a vehicle for which a lc nc is in forc u der the

Vehicle E x cise an Regist rat i n A ct 1 94 or a vehicle ex empt ed f om d t y

Wit h reg rd to d mesic premises, these are def ed as ‘premises oc u ied as

a priv te dwel ng ( nclu ing any g rden, y rd, g ra e, o th use, or othe

ap urt enanc of such premises w hich is n t used in commo by t he oc u ant s

of more than o e such dw el ng’) T he w ording in parentheses is par icularly

imp rant, sinc ,by exclu ing, f om the def itio , commo par s of blocks

of fat s an simiar premises, such as h uses in multiple oc u at i n (se p 4 ),

suc h c omm on par t s fal w it hin t he sco e of t he Fir e S fet y Order (T he c om m on

par s of blocks of fat are, h w ever, exclu ed f om the eq iv lent legislatio

in Scotlan an N or hern Ielan ) I sh uld also be n ted that, by vir ue of

A rticle 3 (10) of the Fire S fety Order, a pro ibitio n tic (se p 29) ma

be served o a h use in multiple oc u atio (HMO), an this p w er is n t

lmited to p rely the commo par s of the HMO

The term ‘priv te dwel ng’ is n t def ed in the Fire S fety Order Clearly,

main residenc of any single per o or single h useh ld N ever heles , there

remain c rain ‘grey areas’ ab ut w hich there can ot be absolute c r ainty

w ith ut future case law

In ivid al chalet o a h lda park are n t co sidered to be exclu ed f om

the sco e, n r, arguably, w ould cara ans o a simiar site, sinc these co ld

pro ably n t be reg rded as priv te dw el ngs (u les in priv te ow ner hip)

They ma in efe t be reg rded in totalty as a f a mented h tel,an sh uld

n more be exclu ed than the in ivid al gues bedro ms w ithin a h tel

A t t he ot her en of the spe t um, co sider a cot tag e, ow ned by a single famiy

an used o ly oc asio aly as their h lda h me I, for several w eeks a y ear,

they ch ose to rent it to third par ies, d es it c ase to be a priv te dw el ng?

Arguably, n t At what s a e d es the single h lda cota e, from which

the famiy earn some mea re income, if exten ed in the level of commercial

g in, or if ex ten ed to tw o or more cota es used as an income for the famiy,

Simiarly, w it hin a h spit al, t he ov ernig ht esidenc of an o -cal d ct or clearly

comes within the sco e of the Fir S fety Orde The fat oc u ied by the

car take in a block of fat as their main r sidenc , an for which r nt is

paid, is, arguably, a priv te dw el ng an o t ide the sco e of the Fire S fety

Order The same argument might be ap led to dw el ngs ow ned by a priv te

sch ol an oc u ied by st af as their sole or main residenc s Wo ld, h w ever,

this sit uatio alter if the caretaker or the sch ol saf paid n rent, are o -cal

o t side t heir n rmal w orking h ur , are co st rained t o be present w it hin t heir

dw el ngs at c r ain times an ha e faci ties, such as CCTV mo itor for the

site, in their dw el ngs

W hereas, o the o e han , it is ac epted that the dw el ngs of h mew orker ,

w ho w ork for their employ er f om a ro m w ithin their ow n, priv tely ow ned

dw el ng, are o t side t he sco e of t he Fire S fet y Order (b t ma n t be o t side

the sco e of t he Health an S fety at Work, etc A ct an s atutory provisio s

u der the A ct), an it is also ac epted that the presenc of g s fter , carer

an v isit i g n r ing st af d es n t make a dw el ng int o a w ork lac , co ld t he

hy pothetical circums anc s described for the caretaker an sch ol s af, turn

t heir dw el ngs int o faci ties provided for use in co ne t i n w it h a w ork lac ,

an henc par of a w ork lac , as def ed in the Fire S fety Order

In the case of mos of the othe pr mises to which the Fir S fety Orde

d es n t ap ly, other legislatio co tin es to imp se relev nt req irement

in respe t of fre safety F r example, marine legislatio deals w ith fre safety

o ships, whie p blc se vic vehicle lc nsing an taxi lc nsing gene aly

deals with fr pr cautio s in these forms of transp rt used by the p blc

(There ma , h wever, be a form of ‘lo p ole’ in respe t of, sa , a b s used

of ente taine s, sinc , even when it is parked o priv te lan an used as

sle ping ac ommo atio , the lc nc for the vehicle is ‘in for e’ (u les an

suspen the lc nc )

Simiarly, the ex clu ed ofsh re inst alat io s are th se w ithin t he sco e of t he

exclu ed mines ar th se within the sco e of the Mines an Quar ies Act

to prevent ex losio s) an the exclu ed b reh le sites are th se w ithin the

sco e of the Bor h le Sites an Ope atio s Regulatio s 19 5, Sched le 2,

w hich makes req irement in respe t of fre pre autio s

T he fre safety d t ies imp sed by Par 2 of t he Fire S fet y Order (se p.1 ) are

p we s to se ve n tic s d n t ap ly to b idings oc u ied by the Crown,

alth ugh some of these p w er d ap ly to b idings ow ned by the Crow n,

b t oc u ied by other

D uty holde rs a d compe te nt pe rsons

T he Fire S fety Order into uc d v rio s def ed gro ps of per o s (some of

w hom w ere previo sly the su je t of either the Fire Pre autio s (Work lac )

Regulatio s or the Mana ement of Health an S fety at Work Regulatio s)

w ith w hom the Order co c rns it elf,namely the:

resp nsible per o ;

competent per o s to use fre-fghting eq ipment;

•

•

I is primariy t he ‘resp nsible per o ’ o w hom the Fire S fet y Order imp ses

req irement an d ties Ac ordingly, it is imp r ant to co sider, for every

answer to this can be fo n in Ar icle 3 of the Fire S fety Order F r mos

premises w ith w hich reader w il be involved, the def itio w il be relatively

s raightorw ard, sinc , in the case of a w ork lac , Ar icle 3 def es the RP as

‘t he employ er’ T his w il be t he b dy corp rate – t he company or org nizat i n

t hat employ s peo le t o w ork in t he premises It h uld be n t ed, h w ever, t hat ,

in the case of prose u o for an ofenc u der the Order, a dire tor, mana er,

company se retary or simiar offc r of the company co ld be prose uted as

w el as, or ins ead of, the b dy corp rate if the ofenc had be n commited

w ith that per o ’s co sent, co niv nc , or as a result of their neglgenc

premises (Henc , d mest ic serv nt s or h mew orker are n t prot ect ed by the

provisio s of the Order.) By def itio , u der the Order,a w ork lac means

any premises, or pars of premises, made a aiable to o e or more employ ees

T his inclu es any plac w it hin premises t o w hich an employ ee has ac es w hie

at work I also inclu es the means of ac es to or egres f om the plac of

w ork (e.g fo t pat hs ex t ernal t o t he b iding or commo part s w it hin premises

in multiple oc u atio ), other than p blc roads

I is o vio s f om t he ab ve def itio s, t hat, t hus far, w e ha e n t co sidered

def itio of w ork lac How ever, if t he premises are n t a w ork lac , A rticle

3 def es the R P as the per o w ho has co tol of the premises (as oc u ier

u der aking (for pro t or n t) This def itio , a ain,is very broad in nature

an efe tively encompas es vir ualy al premises, other than single-famiy

dw el ngs, that are n t already captured w ithin the def itio of w ork lac ,

premises of volu tary org nizatio s w ith n employ ees, etc

How ever, les, for any premises other than dw el ngs, there be any diffculty

in f ding an RP, A rticle 3 has a furher ‘catch al’ for situatio s in w hich the

premises are n t a w ork lac an the per o in co t ol of the premises d es

n t ha e co t ol in co ne t i n w it h t he car y ing o by that per o of a t ade,

b sines or u der aking In such circums anc s, the R P is def ed by Art icle 3

as the ow ner of the premises In practic , it is very diffcult in e d to ima ine

a situatio in w hich this w ould arise, alth ugh the ow ner w il ofen already

be the RP by vir ue of ha ing co t ol for the p rp ses of his/her b sines

T he RP is the primary d tyh lder u der the Order, an can never escape this

d t y (e.g by deleg t ing to other ) How ever, in ad itio to (b t never inst ead

of) t he R P, t he req irement s imp sed o t he R P in respe t of fre safet y an fre

pre autio s are also imp sed o every other per o w ho has, to any extent,

co trol of the pr mises, so far as the r q ir ment r late to mate s u de

this other per o ’s co t ol

Ar icle 5(4) of the Order gives a fur her clue as to wh such per o s might

tenancy, an o lg tio of any extent in relatio to maintenanc or repair of

any premises ( nclu ing anything in or o the premises), or an o lg tio in

r latio to the safety of the pr mises The pe so is, h weve, o ly tr ated

as this other per o ha ing co t ol of premises to the extent that the ab ve

o lg tio s exten

tenant ’ leases or tenancy a r ement , the owne s (an by virtue of their

co tact w ith the ow ner, the mana ing a ent ) are n rmaly resp nsible for

maintenanc , repair an safety of the commo par s Ofen these par ies are

alarm sys em an /or automatic sprin ler ins alatio T hus, it w ould ap ear

that in these cir ums anc s, they ar r sp nsible for the adeq a y of fr

pre autio s in the commo par s an for the adeq ac y of the b iding-w ide

fre prot ect i n sy stems E qualy, t he t enant s (as R Ps) w ould also be resp nsible

for sh rcomings in these fre pre autio s if they afe ted per o s using their

premises (Duties in respe t of premises in multiple oc u atio are discus ed

later in this chapter.)

I sh uld also be n ted that fre prote tio sys ems maintenanc co t actor

ma ha e d ties of car u de the Orde, at leas in r spe t of their

main-tenanc work They ar , in efe t, a pe so ha ing co trol by virtue of a

co t act for maintenanc of something (the relev nt fre prote tio sysem)

in the premises

Article 1 (1) b) of the Fir S fety Orde r q ir s that the RP n minate a

suffcient n mber of competent per o s to implement the fre proc d res, so

far as they r late to ev cuatio of the r lev nt pe so s from the pr mises

(This Article is extracted from the Mana ement of Health an S fety at

of pe so s to implement proc d r s for se io s an imminent dange ) In

practic , therefore, there wi , in mos premises, be a ne d to n minate fre

Competenc is def ed in Article 1 (3) as ha ing suffcient training an

pro erly tained

Article 1 (3) of the Fir S fety Orde r q ir s that the RP mus , whe e

ne es ary, t ake measures for fre-fgh ng in t he prem ises, adapt ed t o t he nat ure

of the activities car ied o t, the siz of the u deraking an of the premises

I is also req ired that competent per o s are n minated to implement these

eq ipment a aiable to them are adeq ate, taking into ac o nt the siz of,

an the spe ifc hazards involved in, the premises

T hus, for virt ualy al premises, in pract ical t erms, t here w il be a ne d t o det

er-mine w ho is t o use t he fre-fg ht i g eq ipment (p rt able fre ex t ing uisher an /

or h se re ls) T his co ld simply refe t v ery commo fre proc d res, w hereby

w hoever discover a fre ma tackle the fre w ith a fre extinguisher if safe to

d so – it co ld then reaso ably be argued that any one w ho discover a fre is

‘n minated’ to take fre-fghting measures I w ould ne d then, to be ensured

that al oc u ant of the premises w ere adeq ately t ained to d so

T his A rticle d es, h w ever, aford fexibi ty to the RP A n adeq ate n mber

of per o s might o ly be a pro orio of employe s, w ho are n minated to

use t he fre-fght ing eq ipmen w hie other employ ees, n t so n minat ed, are

ins ructed never to use the fre extinguisher I sh uld also be n ted that the

req irement hinges o the nec es ity to n minate peo le

T he req uirement imp sed by t his A rt icle in t he Fire S fet y Order is car ied over

fom t he n w repealed Fire Pre au o s (Work lac ) R egulat i ns an ex t en ed

to prote t relev nt per o s; in the case of the Fire Pre autio s (Work lac )

R egulatio s, t he ne es it y w as o ly for t he p rp se of safeg uarding employ ees

in t he ev ent of fre Under t hose R eg ulat i ns, som e employ er arg ued t hat it was

nev er ne es ary, for example in a sch ol,for anyo e to use fre extinguisher

in the event of fre in order to prote t the teacher (as the employ ees)

T his w as, arguably, a very perver e interpretatio of the legislatio A ll fres

generaly sar as smal fres T he co c pt of ev cuating a b iding in the event

of a smal fre that co ld easiy be extinguished w ith a fre ex tinguisher, w hie

awaiting ar iv l of the fr an r scue se vic to what by then might be a

serio s fre, is n w very o tdat ed U nder the Fire S fety Order, it w ould se m

to be ex pe ted that , in mos b idings, t here be, at leas, an adeq ate n mber

of per o s able to use fre extinguishing ap lanc s o a smal fre The RP

w ould ne d, in t he o inio of t he aut hor, t o go to some leng t hs t o demo st rat e

that such ar angement w ere n t ne es ary,albeit that, sa , in a single s orey

pr mises of jus o e or two ro ms with o ly two or thr e oc u ant , this

might be p s ible Ag in, the def itio of competenc is def ed in Ar icle

q ualt ies t o enable t he per o pro erly t o implement t he fre-fg ht i g m easures

T hus, any one w ho is ex pe ted to use fre ex t inguisher an /or h se re ls ne ds

to be pro erly t ained in the use of this eq ipment

Competent persons to as i st the resp nsi ble person

A rticle 1 (1) of the Fire S fety Order req ires that the RP mus ap oint o e

or more competent per o s to as is the RP in u der aking the ‘preventive

an prote tive measures’ (se p 1 ) The o ly exc ptio to this req irement

relates to self-employed per o s, or b sines par ner , w here, in either case,

there is competenc o the par of the self-employ ed per o or o e or more

of t he b sines part ner In simple terms, this means that every RP mus ha e

ac es to competent advic o complanc w ith the Fire S fety Order.Aricle

1 (2) req ires that the n mber of per o s ap ointed, an the time a aiable

to them, are adeq ate

Article 1 (8) r q ir s that, whe e RPs ha e competent pe so s in their

third pary Th s, w here p s ible, in-h use advic mus be used, rather than,

sa , ex ternal co sultant s I sh uld be n ted, h w ev er, t hat it is n t ne es ariy

this competent per o w ho mus car y o t the fre risk as es ment , alth ugh

this ma , or ma n t , be the case F r ex ample, t he in-h use competent per o

to satis ying the def itio of competent, namely ha ing suffcient training

req ired T he in-h use competent per o then might ar ange for other , such

as co sultant , to car y o t the fr risk as es ment , eithe be ause of the

n mbe of pr mises involved or be ause of the ne d for gr ate ex e tise

in fre safety than that of the in-h use competent per o ; competenc is, in

this co ne tio , generaly reg rded to inclu e re ognitio of a per o ’s ow n

lmitatio s an a w il ngnes to se k external advic w hen ap ro riate

A smal employ er w il, h w ever, ofen ne d to rely o ex ternal advic In such

a case, Ar icle 1 (4) req ires that the RP provides the external adviser w ith

suffcient informatio , inclu ing informatio ab ut dangero s su s anc s or

any factor that co ld afe t peo le’s safety I is imp r ant, therefore, that

the RP d es n t atempt simply to deleg te al co sideratio of fre safety to

a third pary

The o je tive of the Orde is primariy to prote t r elev nt per so s from

fre Relev nt per o s are any per o s wh are, or ma be, law fuly o the

premises.Th s, this w ould inclu e employ ees,visitor , co tactor ,etc an

it inclu es t he R Ps t hemselves I d es n t , h w ever, inclu e fre-fght er w hen

they aten a fre or other emergency at the premises (How ever, there is an

o lg tio to maintain eq ipment provided for the safety of fre-fghter )

R elev ant per o s also inclu e any one in t he immediat e v icinit y of t he premises

who is at isk fr om a f r e o t h e prem ises A s wel as, per haps, in c lu in g pas er s-

by, this co ld inclu e th se using commo escape ro tes fom a commercial

b iding in mult iple oc u at io , into w hich, sa , a t enan s premises o en

Pre ve nti ve a d prote cti ve me a sure s

What are t he so-caled preventive an prote tive measures w ith w hich the R P

ne ds to re eive as is anc f om a competent per o ? These are simply the

measures that ha e be n identifed, by means of the fre risk as es ment, as

the ‘general fre pre autio s’ ne ded for complanc w ith the Order

D uti e s o the RP re gardi ng f re pre ca ti ons

Hav ing det ermined w ho is t he R P for t he premises, an co sidered the v ario s

other categories of per o w ith w hom the Order co c rns itelf, w e ne d to

n w co sider w hat exactly is ex e ted of the RP in terms of fre pre autio s

T he d ties in this respe t are set o t in A rticle 8 of the Order

Article 8(1) r q ir s that the RP take such gener al fr e prec uti ons as wi

ensure, so far as is reaso ably practicable, the safety of any employe s of the

RP ‘Reaso ably practicable’ d es n t simply mean that it is feasible to take

a particular pr cautio ; it is a les o e o s b rden than ‘practicable’ The

exisenc of the risk mus be w eighed a ains the cos , efor an diffculty of

ad res ing the risk, alth ugh, in terms of cos , the siz an f ancial s atus

of the org nizatio has n real relev nc ; it wo ld be ineq itable to ex e t

o e org nizatio to remove or red c risk to employe s, whie an ther did

n t remove or red c an identical risk simply be ause it co ld n t aford to

Article 8(2) r q ir s that, in r latio to r lev nt pe so s wh ar n t the

r aso ably be r q ir d in the cir ums anc s of the case to ensur that the

premises are safe

T he broad co c pt of fre pre aut io s is discus ed in Chapter 4 In the Order,

general f re prec autions are def ed as:

measur s to r d c the risk of fr o the pr mises an the risk of the

1

spread of fre o the premises;

measures in relatio to the means of escape f om the premises;

2

measures for se uring that, at al material times, the means of escape can

3

be safely an efe tively used;

measures in relatio to the means for fghting fres o the premises;

measures in relatio t o t he ar angement s for act i n t o be taken in t he event

6

of fre o the premises, inclu ing:

measures relating to the ins ructio an t aining of employe s; ana)

measures to mitig te the efe t of the fre

b)

exten to proc s fre pre autio s, such as w ould be req ired by the Health

an S fety at Work, etc A ct 1 7 4, or legislatio made u der the p w er of

fre or ex losio in an in usrial proc s remain within the sco e of health

an safety legislatio an are enforc d by the Health an S fety E xe utive

The same is t ue of pre autio s spe ifc to the use an s ora e of dangero s

su s anc s, alth ugh the gene al fr pr cautio s ne d to take ac o nt of

such su s anc s

I sh uld be n ted that there is a su tle diferenc betw een the d ty imp sed

by t he Fire S fet y Order in relatio to employ ees an that imp sed in relat i n

to n n-employe s The safety of the forme is to be ensur d (as far as is

reaso ably practicable) by the general fre pre autio s ad pted In the case

of n n-employe s, the d ty is o ly to ensure that the premises are safe The

diferenc might be co sidered t o arise fom t he g reat er co t rol employ er hav e

over the safety of their employ ees (e.g by t aining, provisio of informatio ,

etc.), w hereas, in the case of, for example, the p blc, al that can be ensured

is that the pr mises ar safe for their use; their beha io r is les u de the

co t ol of employ er than that of employ ees

Eq aly, the fa o r of the entire Order is to imp se a more o ero s d ty of

care in respe t of safety of employ ees, over an ab ve the d t y imp sed in t he

case of n n-employe s, to ensure complanc w ith the Euro ean Dire tives,

u co ditio aly r sp nsible for the safety of employe s; the dife enc in

wording might also be co sidered to arise fom this p ioso hy Moreover,

the employe s ar lkely to be n minated to car y o t d ties that as is in

the safety of n n-employe s, thereby making the premises safe for the n

n-employ ees

Fi re safe ty duti e s

The f re sa ety d ties imp sed by t he Fire S fet y Order are co t ained in Par 2

of the Order Aricles 8–22 inclusive set o t the measures, b th p y sical an

mana erial, that the resp nsible per o (an ,henc ,w here relev nt, also the

per o ha ing co t ol of the premises) mus take The d ty to take general

f re precautions, imp sed by Ar icle 8 of the Fire S fety Order, w as discus ed

earle in this chapte In orde to identify the gene al fr pr cautio s that

these d ty holder mus take, a fre risk as es ment mus be car ied o t The

req irement to car y o t this risk as es ment is co tained in Ar icle 9, w hich

also req ires t hat he as es ment be review ed regularly.A rt icle 9 also req ires

t hat t he resp nsible per o , as so n as pract icable aft er t he as es ment is made

or review ed, re ords the signifcant f dings, inclu ing t he measures that ha e

be n, or wi be, taken in orde to comply with the Fir S fety Orde, an

re ords any gro p of per o s identifed as being espe ialy at risk, if any of

the folow ing ap ly :

the R P employ s fve or more employ ees (any w here w ithin t he org anizat i n a)

an n t merely w ithin the premises co c rned);

a lc nc u der an enactment is in forc ;

b)

an alt erat i ns n t ic (se p 27 ) req iring t hat t his informat i n be re orded c)

is in forc

Where a dangero s su st anc is, or is lable t o be, presen t he risk as es ment

mus inclu e co sideratio of v rio s mater set o t in Par 1 of Sched le 1

measures req ired to satis y the Order ha e be n implemented Dangero s

su s anc s are def ed w ithin the Order, b t, basicaly, these are su s anc s

that are fammable, ex losive or o idizing, or that create a fre risk be ause

of their pro eries

mus take par icular ac o nt of mater set o t in Par 2 of Sched le 1of the

Order The resp nsible per o mus n t employ a y ou g per o u les he or

she has, in relatio to the risks to y ou g per o s, made or review ed the fre

risk as es ment, taking ac o nt of these mater Fire risk as es ment is the

su je t of Chapter 5

measur s, they mus d so o the basis of the ‘pr inci ples ofpr eventi on’

T hese principles are set o t in Par 3 of Sched le 1 of the Fire S fety Order

(b t w ere, previo sly, ap led t o fre safety by the Mana ement of Health an

S fety at Work Regulatio s 1 9 ) The principles of preventio are:

a oiding risks;

a)

ev luating the risks that can ot be a oided;

b)