Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service is calling for county businesses of all sizes to review their fire safety management systems — ensuring they understand what is required and keeping them in line with fire safety law and the new legislation that's been put in place.
To confirm this, Fire Safety Inspectors may call in to ensure businesses are doing all they can to keep themselves and their customers safe. Fire crews are also programming visits on lower risk premises and running through simple compliance-based checklists, highlighting areas of improvement.
To help you prepare, there is a free fire risk assessment template available to download from the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service website, where you can also find essential information and guidance documents — and if you are unsure, you must seek advice from a competent person.
What's changed?
New fire safety legislation, introduced in October 2023, imposed new duties onto businesses and building owners.
Requirements include producing a written fire risk assessment and ensuring appropriate fire safety arrangements are in place, even for small businesses with less than five employees.
The new legislation is in addition to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which became law in October 2006 and marked a significant change to workplace fire safety responsibilities.
Alongside simplifying the legislation by combining it all into one order, it introduced a requirement for all employers, building owners and occupiers — recognised as 'Responsible Persons' — to carry out, implement and maintain a fire safety risk assessment to identify risks and hazards; consider who may be especially at risk; eliminate the fire risk as far as reasonably practical, while providing general fire precautions and creating a plan to deal with any emergency.
It applies to a wide range of businesses, including offices and shops; care homes; community halls; common areas of houses with multiple occupants; pubs, clubs and restaurants; schools; tents and marquees; hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, hostels and self-catering accommodation; factories and warehouses.
How can you get help?
To help businesses prepare for the upcoming drop-in inspections, The National Fire Chiefs Council is sharing what to expect.
Businesses can download Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue's template fire safety risk assessment for free at gloucestershire.gov.uk/fire-safety-risk-assessment — or for more information, visit gloucestershire.gov.uk/glosfire/business-fire-safety.
