In line with the legal requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) all responsible persons have a legal duty of care to take steps as far as reasonably practicable to ensure the minimum requirements as stated in the order in relation to life safety of occupants in domestic and commercial type premises are met.
As part of these duties, a fire risk assessment must be carried out and reasonable steps must be taken to reduce the overall risk associated with the building in question. Any failure by the responsible person to take steps to reduce the risk in the building, as per the recommendations in the Fire Risk Assessment, could result in serious injury to the sleeping occupants in the building. Furthermore, failure to carry out a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment could result in an Improvement notice and/or Prohibition Notice, which could lead to a fine and in the worse case scenario, imprisonment
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) applies to all commercial and domestic premises other than private dwellings, i.e. single households.
Below is an extract from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Part Two
Fire Safety Duties
Duty to take general fire precautions 8.—(1) The responsible person must—
1. take such general fire precautions as will ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of any of his employees; and
2. in relation to relevant persons who are not his employees, take such general fire precautions as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case to ensure that the premises are safe.
Risk Assessment
(1) The responsible person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the purpose of identifying the general fire precautions he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed on him by or under this Order.
(2) Where a dangerous substance is or is liable to be present in or on the premises, the risk assessment must include consideration of the matters set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1.
(3) Any such assessment must be reviewed by the responsible person regularly so as to keep it up to date and particularly if—
1. there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or
2. there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates including when the premises, special, technical and organisational measures, or organisation of the work undergo significant changes, extensions, or conversions, and where changes to an assessment are required as a result of any such review, the responsible person must make them.