Small businesses

The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 implement the general fire safety provisions of the European Framework & Workplace Directives not specifically dealt with by other legislation. The regulations add very little to what is already the law.

If you have already taken sensible and appropriate fire safety measures you may not need to do anything more.

This document sets out the requirements of the regulations and offers advice on whether you need to do anything to comply with them. If you are in any doubt about the need to provide particular fire precaution measures you can check with your local Fire Safety Department who will advise you. 

Do the Regulations Apply to You?

The regulations apply to your workplace if you employ staff.

What the Regulations Cover

The regulations provide for minimum fire safety standards in places where people work (including shared areas and facilities, and the means of access to the workplace). You the employer are under a personal duty to comply with them. Where you or another employer do not have control over parts of the workplace, there is a responsibility on the person who does (usually the owner or landlord) to make sure those parts comply with the regulations.

What You Have to Do

The checklist will help you decide whether you need to do anything to comply with the regulations. Once you have been through this checklist, you must decide whether any steps are necessary to put right any defects or deficiencies found.

Remember that you only need to have the fire precautions that are necessary given the features of the workplace, the activity, the circumstances and the hazards.

Your Checklist

You must:

• Assess the fire risks in the workplace (either as part of your general review of health and safety risks which you already carry out or, if you wish, as a specific exercise)
• Check that a fire can be detected in a reasonable time and that people can be warned
• Check that people who may be in the building can get out safely
• Provide reasonable fire-fighting equipment
• Check that those in the building know what to do if there is a fire
• Check and maintain your fire safety equipment