18th May 2012
New Fire Safety Laws for Business - October 1st
2nd Oct 2006
From October 1st, if businesses see a Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue vehicle pulling up outside their premises they may not have a fire ..... but they may be in hot water. The chances are the Fire and Rescue Service(FRS) are coming to check whether the companies are compliant with the new fire Regulatory Reform Order which came into force on October 1st.
If companies do not have the right policies and procedures and equipment in place they could find themselves in breach of the new Government order and that could impact on their insurance cover - more importantly they could be putting people’s lives at risk.
“The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2006 brings together many pieces of legislation into one clear piece of legislation - what responsible businesses should know is that this order puts the responsibility for fire safety in the work place on the desk of the employer or owner,” says Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller,
“We are here to help and for months have been writing to businesses to advise them of this new legislation - but we suspect as many businesses in have not taken the appropriate action.
The new legislation applies to:
offices and shops
premises that private care including care homes and hospitals
community halls, places of worship
shared areas of property where several households live
pubs, clubs and restaurants
schools and sports centres
tents and marquees
hotels and hostels
factories and warehouses
The FRS will be the main agency responsible for enforcing all fire-safety legislation - inspections will be carried out and complaints followed up.
If companies do not meet the order they could receive a formal notice - although in most cases the FRS will offer practical advice.
“We do not want to be seen as the enforcers but rather that we are here to help - but fire safety is our business and we want to be sure that here in Bedfordshire and Luton everything is being done to prevent unnecessary risk,” added CFO Fuller.
Further information from BLFRS on or go to www.firesafetyguides.communities.gov.uk
or www.bedsfire.com.
