Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010
What this means for your business
- Applies to
- United Kingdom
- On this page
- 21 compliance obligations, 3 practical guides
What you must do
21 compliance obligations under this legislation.
Appointments 1
Appoint competent persons to assist with fire safety duties
If your business has fire safety responsibilities, you must name one or more competent people to help you meet those duties. You also need to ensure they work together, have enough time and resources for the size and risks of your premises, and are given all the safety information they need. Where possible, choose a competent person employed by you before looking outside the organisation.
Risk assessment 3
Assess and review dangerous substances in your premises
If your business stores, uses or handles any dangerous substance, you must carry out a risk assessment (or review an existing one) that looks at the substance’s hazards, the information from the supplier, how you use it, quantities, interactions, storage, waste handling, possible explosive atmospheres, ignition sources and any other safety information you need. This ensures you understand and control the risks to people and property.
Carry out a risk assessment for young workers before hiring
Before you take on a young person (any worker under the legal age limit), you must have a risk assessment that looks at any fire‑safety hazards that could affect them. You need to either produce a new assessment or review an existing one and make sure it meets the requirements of the fire safety regulations.
Consider fire risks for young workers in risk assessments
Before you hire anyone under 18, you must make sure your fire risk assessment takes into account the extra risks that young people face. This means looking at their lack of experience, the layout of the premises, any exposure to chemicals or equipment, how work is organised, the training you’ll provide, and any hazardous agents listed in the relevant EU directive.
Management duties 13
Complete fire‑safety duties before starting new work with dangerous substances
You must not begin any new job or activity that uses a dangerous substance unless the fire‑safety responsibilities for those substances have already been met. In practice this means carrying out the required fire‑risk assessment, putting controls in place and confirming they are in place before the work starts.
Co‑operate and coordinate fire safety duties with other duty‑holders
If more than one person (for example, an employer, occupier or landlord) has fire‑safety responsibilities for the same premises, you must work together, share information and align your safety actions. Where an explosive atmosphere could exist, the person with overall responsibility must lead the coordination of all fire‑safety measures.
Develop and record fire safety arrangements
Unlimited fineYou must put in place fire‑safety plans and procedures that suit the size and activities of your business, and keep them under regular review. If you employ five or more people, need a licence/registration, or have an alteration notice, you also need to write down those arrangements and keep a record of them.
Eliminate or reduce risks from dangerous substances
If you have any dangerous substances on your premises, you must take all reasonably practicable steps to remove or lessen the fire risk they pose. This means you should try to replace the substance with a safer one, put in control measures from the schedule, and arrange safe handling, storage and transport. You also need to keep these safety measures in place over time.
Implement risk control measures for dangerous substances
If your business stores, uses or handles dangerous substances, you must put in place a hierarchy of controls – minimise the amount you have, prevent releases, control any release at its source, stop explosive atmospheres forming, collect and contain any spill, keep ignition sources away and keep incompatible chemicals separate. You also need mitigation measures such as limiting who is exposed, providing explosion‑relief and suppression equipment, explosion‑resistant plant and suitable PPE, and you must keep the premises, plant and safety systems designed, maintained and tested to work safely, with written instructions and a permit‑to‑work system for hazardous work.
Keep emergency routes and exits clear and compliant
Unlimited fineYou must make sure that any escape routes and emergency doors in your premises are never blocked and are set up so people can get out quickly and safely if a fire starts. This means having enough routes of the right size, doors that open outward and aren’t locked, clear signage, and emergency lighting where normal lighting might fail.
Maintain fire‑fighter protection equipment in good working order
If you are the person responsible for fire safety in a building (usually the occupier or owner), you must keep any fire‑fighter protection devices, equipment or facilities in good repair and working properly. This means setting up a maintenance plan, carrying out regular checks and fixing any faults promptly, and you can arrange with other occupiers in the same building to share this duty.
Maintain fire safety equipment and systems
If you are the person responsible for fire safety (owner, employer or occupier), you must put a suitable maintenance programme in place and keep all fire‑safety plant, equipment and devices on your premises in good working order and repair. Where the premises share a building, you must also work with the occupier/owner of the other parts of the building to make sure the whole building’s fire‑safety equipment is maintained.
Maintain fire safety measures in common areas of private dwellings
If you own or control the shared parts of a block of flats – corridors, stairs, lifts, lobby, etc. – you must keep the fire safety equipment and systems in those areas working to the same standards as in workplaces. This means regular checks, repairs and upkeep so that firefighters can do their job safely.
Plan and maintain emergency measures for dangerous substances
If your business stores or handles dangerous substances, you must have clear emergency arrangements. This includes having up‑to‑date information on the hazards, warning and communication systems, evacuation routes and escape facilities, and providing appropriate protective equipment. You also need to share this information with fire‑and‑rescue services and display it on your premises.
Provide fire‑fighting equipment and warning systems
You must make sure your premises have suitable fire‑fighting tools (such as extinguishers) and fire‑warning devices, and that any non‑automatic equipment is easy to reach, simple to use and clearly signed. You also need to appoint and train competent people to operate the equipment and keep contact details for the fire service. Do this whenever the size, use or hazards of the premises make fire‑safety measures necessary.
Provide fire safety information to employees (and child‑worker parents)
Unlimited fineYou must give all staff clear information about any fire risks that affect them, the fire safety measures you have in place, the emergency procedures, who the fire‑safety contacts are and any risks that have been formally reported. If you intend to employ a child, you must also give the child’s parent the same information before the child starts work. Where hazardous substances are present you must add details of those substances, safety data sheets and relevant legislation, and keep the information up to date whenever your activity changes.
Regularly review fire safety assessments
You must keep any fire safety assessment you hold (under Articles 25 or 26) up to date. Review it at regular intervals and again whenever you think it may no longer be valid, or when the premises, safety measures or the way work is organised change significantly.
Record keeping 1
Record fire‑safety information after assessments
If you run a business that must carry out fire‑safety assessments (or review them), you need to write down the details required by the Regulations as soon as practicable. You only have to do this if you have five or more staff, need a licence/registration for the premises, or an alterations notice applies.
Reporting and filing 1
Report fire hazards and safety shortfalls to employer
Your staff must tell you (or the person with fire‑safety responsibility) as soon as they notice any situation that, based on their training, looks like an immediate fire danger, or any shortcoming in the fire‑safety arrangements that affects them or comes from their own work and hasn’t already been reported. This keeps fire risks visible and allows you to act quickly.
Training 2
Provide fire‑risk information to external employers and self‑employed workers
Unlimited fineIf you have fire‑safety duties for a building, you must give clear, relevant information about any fire risks and the fire safety measures you have in place to the employers of outside contractors’ staff and to any self‑employed people working there. You also need to tell them who the nominated fire‑evacuation coordinator is and give them any instructions they need to follow evacuation procedures.
Provide fire safety training to employees
If your business has fire safety duties (i.e. you must carry out a fire risk assessment), you must give your staff proper fire‑safety training. This includes training when they start work and whenever they are moved, given new equipment, new technology or a new way of working that creates new fire risks. The training must cover what they should do to keep themselves and others safe, be repeated as needed, match the level of risk, and be delivered during working hours.
Penalties for non-compliance
4 penalties under this legislation. 4 carry an unlimited fine.
Develop and record fire safety arrangements
Unlimited fine
Keep emergency routes and exits clear and compliant
Unlimited fine
Provide fire safety information to employees (and child‑worker parents)
Unlimited fine
Provide fire‑risk information to external employers and self‑employed workers
Unlimited fine
Practical guidance
Our guides explain how to comply with the requirements above.
Fire safety duties for Northern Ireland businesses
Your fire safety obligations as an appropriate person under the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. Covers the …
Comply with fire safety law as the responsible person
Your legal duties as a responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Covers fire risk assessments, fire …
Northern Ireland business compliance checklist
A quick compliance checklist for businesses operating in Northern Ireland. Covers NI-specific obligations including fair employment monitoring, HSENI registration, fire …
Sections and provisions
27 classified provisions from this legislation.
Duties 21
- s.3 Duty to review
- s.4 Duty in respect of young persons An employer
- s.5 Assessment and review duty in respect of young persons
- s.6 Assessment and review duty in respect of dangerous substances
- s.7 New work activities where dangerous substances are present
- s.8 Duty to record information
- s.10 Fire safety arrangements
- s.11 Elimination or reduction of risks from dangerous substances conditions necessary pursuant
- s.12 Means for fighting fire and means for giving warning in the event of fire
- s.13 Means of escape person who may require
- s.15 Additional emergency measures in respect of dangerous substances
- s.16 Maintenance
- s.17 Safety assistance
- s.18 Provision of information to employees
- s.19 Provision of information to employers and the self-employed from outside undertakings
- s.20 Training
- s.21 Co-operation and co-ordination
- s.22 Duties of Employees
- s.23 Maintenance of measures provided in relevant premises for protection of fire fighters
- s.24 Maintenance of measures provided in the common areas of private dwellings for protection of fire fighters
- ... and 1 more duties