Fire safety for new business premises

Under fire safety law, the 'responsible person' has legal duties. You are likely the responsible person if you:

• are an employer with a workplace under your control
• have control of premises through your trade or business
• are the owner when no one else controls the premises through a business

Your first and most important duty is to conduct a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. This must be recorded in writing - there are no exemptions based on business size.

Based on your fire risk assessment, you must install appropriate fire safety equipment. The minimum requirements for most business premises include:

Your premises must have safe means of escape that allow everyone to evacuate quickly in an emergency:

• Escape routes must lead directly to a place of safety outside
• Routes must be kept clear at all times - no storage, no obstructions
• Emergency doors must open outwards in direction of escape
• Fire doors must close properly and must never be wedged open
• Fire exit signs must be clearly visible (illuminated where needed)

All employees must receive fire safety training. This is a legal requirement under the Fire Safety Order - not optional good practice.

Fire safety is not a one-time task. You must maintain compliance through regular testing, reviews, and record-keeping:

• Weekly: Test fire alarm (different call point each week)
• Monthly: Test emergency lighting (brief functional test)
• Six-monthly: Professional fire alarm servicing
• Annually: Fire extinguisher servicing, full emergency lighting test, review fire risk assessment, staff refresher training, at least one fire drill