In 2006 the laws regarding Fire changed radically with the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This brought the fire laws in line with Health and Safety Legislation. A major change was the creation of the role of the Responsible Person who is held accountable for fire safety.
Who is the Responsible Person?
Normally the employer, but it can be anyone who has some control over the building, workplace, or premises.
Where does the Order apply?
Virtually everywhere except inside the home (if the user owns it).
What are the duties of the Responsible Person?
The Responsible Person has to ensure the safety from the fire of the employees and ‘relevant persons’ who are not employees (visitors, customers, guests, and anybody else who may be affected by a fire).
Every Responsible Person must carry out Fire Risk Assessments on the places they are responsible for
How can GTS help?
The first step is a Fire Risk Assessment, every Responsible Person must carry out Fire Risk Assessments on the places they are responsible for. If there are more than 5 employees a record has to be kept of the ‘Significant Findings’.
GTS employs experienced fire officers to carry out the Fire Risk Assessments for one following PAS79, a nationally recognized British Standard template, and produce a prioritized list of issues that one needs to address.
GTS provides the following services
- Fire Risk Assessments: The cornerstone of a Fire Safety program, not only does this identify the issues the user needs to address but it also demonstrates to inspectors that the user is taking the responsibilities seriously and reducing the risk of prosecution.
- Passive Fire Protection: Installing measures that will prevent the spread of fire in the premises using approved products and certified under FIRAS.
- Monitoring and Recording: Under the unique ‘Safety Works’ package users can control and record all the regular tests and inspections that need to be carried out over all the site(s) and monitor what has been done.
- Training: The ‘Safety Works’ system includes a computer-based fire training package which the employees can study at a time convenient to them. If they want a more practical session, the experienced fire officers can provide lecture-style presentations and practical fire extinguisher training.
- Consultancy: The experienced fire officers can advise on all issues of fire safety, they are experienced fire and incident investigators, they can provide technical reports and carry out expert witness services.
What GTS don’t do:
- Sell Fire Extinguishers, Fire Alarm Systems, Emergency Lighting Systems, Sprinkler Systems, etc.
- Carry out substandard work: All the work is carried out under the FIRAS scheme and is subject to independent inspection and approval.
A fire strategy is an essential part of the preparation to deal with a potential fire
Fire Strategy
A fire strategy is an essential part of the preparation to deal with a potential fire. In its simplest form it will identify the who, what, why, where, when, and how of a fire.
Who?
The people who will be affected by a fire and the roles they are expected to fulfill in the event of a fire.
What?
A large number of issues such as what are the most likely materials which will start a fire? What can be done to reduce the risk of a fire starting? What are the roles and responsibilities of people within the organization? What measures are in place to prevent a fire from developing? Etc.
Why?
Why are various actions required? An examination of the reasoning behind the various procedures may show that they are inappropriate or even hazardous.
Where?
Where are people to go in the event of a fire? Where is a fire most likely to start? Where will a fire cause the most damage to the business?
When?
When is a fire most likely to start? When will it cause the greatest issues for the business?
How?
How is the business going to deal with all these issues and prevent a minor incident from becoming a major disaster?
A fire strategy will address all these issues.
Fire Support
Fire is often a forgotten aspect when the user is planning alterations or new buildings and extensions. It is a diverse and complex subject and errors made in the planning may often prove to be expensive when changes and alterations need to be made at a later stage.
Global HSE has a team of fire engineers who have a wide range of experience in this field. They include people who understand the legal requirements and guidelines and people who know how to improve the passive fire protection in the premises which will stop a fire from spreading and safeguard the staff.
