Comply with fire safety law as the responsible person

Are you a responsible person?

You are a responsible person if you have control over business premises. This includes:

• Employers where the workplace is under your control
• Owners or landlords of business premises
• Anyone with control over the premises or part of it - including managing agents, facilities managers, and tenants with exclusive occupation

In multi-occupied buildings such as office blocks, shopping centres, or business parks, there can be several responsible persons. Each is responsible for the areas under their control. You must cooperate and coordinate with other responsible persons to ensure fire safety across the whole building.

Your core duties (Articles 8 to 22)

The Fire Safety Order places specific duties on responsible persons. These are set out in Articles 8 to 22 of the Order. Here is what each key duty requires you to do.

Article 8: Take general fire precautions

You must take fire precautions that ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of your employees and anyone else who might be affected by fire on your premises. This is the overarching duty that all other requirements support.

Article 9: Carry out a fire risk assessment

This is the foundation of fire safety compliance. You must carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the fire risks to everyone who uses or visits your premises. The assessment identifies what fire safety measures you need.

Article 10: Apply the principles of prevention

When deciding how to manage fire risks, you must apply these principles in order:

1. Avoid risks altogether where possible
2. Evaluate risks that cannot be avoided
3. Combat risks at source
4. Adapt to technical progress
5. Replace dangerous materials or processes with less dangerous alternatives
6. Develop a coherent overall prevention policy
7. Give collective protective measures priority over individual measures
8. Give appropriate instructions to employees

Article 11: Make fire safety arrangements

You must make and give effect to arrangements for effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of your fire safety measures. For all premises, you must record these arrangements in writing. The Fire Safety Act 2021 removed the previous exemption for small businesses.

Article 12: Control dangerous substances

If dangerous substances such as flammable liquids, gases, or combustible dusts are present on your premises, you must eliminate or reduce the fire and explosion risks they create. This means:

• Replacing dangerous substances with safer alternatives where possible
• Controlling risks at source through proper storage, ventilation, and handling procedures
• Having emergency procedures for incidents involving dangerous substances

Fire detection, alarms, and firefighting equipment (Article 13)

You must provide appropriate fire detection and warning systems, and firefighting equipment. What counts as 'appropriate' depends on your premises and risk level:

Fire detection and alarms

• Very small, simple premises (where everyone can see each other): Shouting 'Fire!' may suffice
• Most small premises: Manual fire alarm with break-glass call points and sounders
• Medium to large premises: Automatic fire detection linked to the alarm system
• High-risk or complex premises: L1 or L2 category systems with comprehensive detection

Firefighting equipment

Minimum requirements for most premises:

• At least 2 Class A fire extinguishers (water or foam) on every floor
• At least one CO2 extinguisher for electrical fires (2kg minimum)
• Position extinguishers so no person is more than 30 metres from an appropriate extinguisher
• Mount extinguishers visibly on escape routes, near exits, and close to fire alarm call points

You may also need:

• Wet chemical extinguishers for commercial kitchens with deep-fat fryers
• Dry powder extinguishers for boiler rooms or gas installations
• Fire blankets in kitchen areas

Emergency routes and exits (Article 14)

You must provide safe means of escape from your premises. This means:

• Escape routes must lead as directly as possible to a place of safety
• Escape routes must be kept clear at all times - no storage, no obstructions
• Emergency doors must open in the direction of escape and must not be locked when the premises are occupied
• Fire doors must close properly - check self-closing mechanisms weekly
• Emergency lighting must be provided in escape routes
• Fire exit signs must be displayed at all escape routes and final exits

Never wedge fire doors open unless they are fitted with automatic release mechanisms linked to the fire alarm. Display 'Fire door - keep shut' signs on all fire doors.

Procedures for emergencies (Article 15)

You must establish procedures for serious and imminent danger. This includes:

• Written procedures detailing what happens if fire breaks out
• Nominating competent persons to implement evacuation procedures (fire wardens)
• Ensuring everyone knows what to do in an emergency

Maintenance (Article 17)

All fire safety equipment and facilities must be maintained in efficient working order. This includes:

Keep a fire safety logbook recording all tests, maintenance, and servicing. This demonstrates your compliance if the fire authority inspects your premises.

Competent assistance (Article 18)

You must appoint one or more competent persons to assist you with fire safety. A competent person has sufficient training, experience, knowledge and other qualities to properly assist with fire safety matters.

This could be:

• An employee with appropriate training and experience
• An external fire safety consultant

Give preference to in-house competence where available. This is often more practical and cost-effective for ongoing fire safety management.

Information and training (Articles 19-21)

You must provide information and training to everyone who needs it.

Information for employees (Article 19)

You must tell your employees about:

• The fire risks identified in your risk assessment
• The fire safety measures you have put in place
• Evacuation procedures
• Who is responsible for implementing evacuation (fire wardens)

Information for other employers (Article 20)

If employees from other organisations work on your premises (contractors, cleaners, delivery drivers), you must provide relevant fire safety information to their employers.

Training (Article 21)

All employees must receive fire safety training:

• When first employed - ideally on induction, definitely within the first week
• When exposed to new fire risks - change of role, new processes, building changes
• At regular intervals - annual refresher training recommended

Training must cover:

• What to do if you discover a fire (raise alarm, evacuate, call 999)
• What to do when you hear the fire alarm (evacuate via nearest safe exit)
• Location of escape routes and exits
• Location of assembly point
• Not to re-enter the building until authorised

Fire wardens

Larger premises need designated fire wardens. Recommended ratios:

• Low-risk premises: 1 fire warden per 50 occupants
• Medium-risk premises: 1 per 20 occupants
• High-risk premises: 1 per 15 occupants

Ensure coverage for all shifts and allow for holidays and absences. Fire wardens need additional training - typically a half-day course.

Fire drills

Conduct fire drills at least once a year. Record the time taken to evacuate, any problems encountered, and actions taken to address them.

Cooperation and coordination (Article 22)

If you share premises with other responsible persons, you must:

• Exchange contact details
• Cooperate on fire safety compliance
• Coordinate your fire safety arrangements
• Share fire risk assessment findings
• Inform each other of any fire risks you identify

This is particularly important in multi-occupied buildings such as office blocks, shopping centres, and industrial estates.

Fire Safety Act 2021: Extended scope for residential buildings

The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarifies and extends the scope of the Fire Safety Order for multi-occupied residential buildings. If you are a responsible person for such a building, you must now include in your fire risk assessment:

• External walls including cladding systems, balconies, and anything attached to the exterior
• Flat entrance doors between domestic premises and common parts
• Building structure as it affects fire safety

This clarification came into force in May 2022 in England and October 2021 in Wales. It followed the Grenfell Tower fire and ensures responsible persons cannot claim external walls or flat doors are outside scope.

What happens if you do not comply

Fire and rescue services enforce the Fire Safety Order. They can visit your premises announced or unannounced to check compliance.

Enforcement powers

Enforcement notices: If you are not complying, the fire authority can issue an enforcement notice specifying what you must do and by when. Typical timeframes are 28 days to 3 months depending on severity. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence.

Prohibition notices: If there is a serious risk to life, the fire authority can issue a prohibition notice. This can result in immediate closure of your premises (or parts of it) until the risk is eliminated. Operating in breach of a prohibition notice is a serious criminal offence.

Alterations notices: For premises that constitute a serious risk, the fire authority can require you to notify them before making any material changes to the premises or its use.

Criminal penalties

Fire safety offences are criminal offences. If you breach the Order in a way that places people at risk of death or serious injury:

Real prosecution examples

Courts take fire safety breaches seriously, particularly since the Grenfell Tower fire:

• Care home with inadequate escape routes: Over £150,000 fine
• Retailer blocking fire exits with stock: £400,000 fine
• Landlords with faulty fire alarms and doors: £40,000 to £66,000 fines
• Restaurant with no fire risk assessment: £30,000 fine

Common compliance failures to avoid

These are the most common fire safety failings that lead to enforcement action:

• No written fire risk assessment - now required for all premises, regardless of size
• Out-of-date assessment - must be reviewed at least annually and after significant changes
• Blocked fire exits - the single most common breach
• Wedged-open fire doors - fire doors must remain closed unless fitted with automatic release
• No staff training records - you must be able to prove training was provided
• Untested fire alarms - weekly tests are required by law
• No fire drills - annual drills are required
• Flammable materials near ignition sources - keep combustibles away from electrical panels and heaters
• Assuming someone else is responsible - in multi-occupied buildings, clarify responsibilities in writing

Action plan for compliance