Regulatory Reform Order - Legal Requirement
Regulatory Reform Order 2005
If you own, manage or operate a business, you will need to comply with fire safety law. The main law is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 or "the Fire Safety Order" which applies across England and Wales and came into force on 1 October 2006.
The Order applies to virtually all buildings, places and structures other than individual private dwellings e.g. individual flats in a block or family homes, and it is your responsibility to make sure your workplace reaches the required standard and employees are provided with adequate fire safety training.
Adequate fire safety training would generally include:
- Induction training (general fire awareness)
- Periodic refresher training (or where the level of fire risk increases as a result of changes)
- Training to support people in fulfilling their fire safety duties (e.g. responsible person)
- Training towards competence (fire risk assessment, fire warden, fire extinguisher)
Other places covered by the Order include common parts of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and common parts of blocks of flats and maisonettes.
