This policy is designed to assist the Authority to meet its statutory duty to enforce fire safety legislation and to reduce the risk of fire causing death, serious injury and property related losses in the community. It provides for a risk-based approach to fire safety inspection; forms a fundamental element of the Authority’s fire risk reduction strategy; and outlines how the fire and rescue service prioritises the demand for its services in relation to fire safety.
This policy prioritises the safety of those who enter premises in Lancashire over the business needs of those who control premises, and Protection Staff appointed by the Authority will seek to ensure that those who control premises see achieving fire safety as a legitimate business overhead. Whilst this is necessarily the case, we will support business and reduce burdens on business wherever possible.
The policy is linked to the following strategic objectives:
Reduce risk to the community.
Deliver affordable and sustainable services.
This policy does not cover the inspection of single private dwellings for all purposes related to community fire safety. It does include the communal parts of premises which contain units of domestic accommodation e.g., the common parts of flats and Houses in Multiple Occupation.
There are no statutory requirements in fire safety legislation for the Authority to maintain a fire safety inspection programme. There is, however, an implicit requirement for the Authority to meet its duty to enforce the provisions of fire safety legislation. By prioritising the inspection of premises presenting higher risk, the Authority will ensure resources are targeted where they can be most effective in enhancing community safety.
In order to prepare the inspection programme, the generic level of risk presented by occupancy types will be considered. Whilst the risk to individual occupants is of concern to the Authority, it is the overall potential for loss of life or serious injury that will be the major determinant of risk for the purposes of the inspection programme.
Through inspection, generic risk level information will be complemented by specific findings about each building. As the inspection programme develops, this information will contribute to the overall evaluation of risk to the community of Lancashire thereby meeting the Authority’s responsibility for developing and maintaining the currency of its Community Risk Management Plan.
The assessment of risk in a building and its subsequent inclusion within the inspection programme will be influenced by considerations in addition to any legal duty. These include, at a national or local level:
The strategic importance of a particular property or business.
The potential loss of heritage.
Potential environmental damage.
The need to assess likely firefighting operations.
These potential losses or risks to the community are balanced alongside the Authority’s fire safety enforcement responsibilities.
The level of risk in both individual and generic building types will be determined by assessing the structure, contents, and standard of fire safety management. After initial assessment of premises an inspection frequency will be determined including the option not to carry out a fixed term inspection. Subsequent inspections will reappraise the levels of risk and inspection priority and allow the Authority to demonstrate, in a measurable way:
The contribution made by the inspection programme to the reduction of fire risk within the County; and,
that it continues to accurately target resources at those premises presenting a higher risk.
In order to demonstrate that the Authority is meeting its legislative responsibilities at every stage, the processes by which the levels of risk and the resulting inspection activity has been determined will be recorded, transparent and auditable.
To manage risk, and allocate inspection resources effectively, it is first necessary to define what constitutes risk. LFRS operates a Risk Based Inspection Program (RBIP) based on nationally recognised principles refined further at a local level using data and intelligence relevant to risk in Lancashire.
As Lancashire has over sixty thousand regulated premises it is not possible to audit them all. Indeed, attempting to do so would inevitably be ineffective as valuable resources would be allocated to very low risk premises that have minimal potential to cause harm, at the expense of very high-risk ones where occupants are at significant risk of harm if a fire occurs. The RBIP ensures the pre-planned use of officer and operational crew time is focussed on the premises which have the greatest potential to cause harm ‘if’ risk is not being managed effectively by premises management. Taking this approach enables LFRS to continually suppress risk in the built environment and ensure that potential to cause harm is sustained at levels which are as low as reasonably practicable.
In general terms, the premises which are audited most frequently are those in which:
Occupant's sleep, are unfamiliar with the premises and unable to escape without significant assistance and pre-planning (e.g., Hospitals, Nursing & Care Homes).
Occupants sleep and are unfamiliar with the premises (e.g., Hotels and Hostels).
Occupants sleep and are familiar with the premises (e.g., blocks of flats).
Occupants are awake but unfamiliar with the premises (e.g., theatres, pubs, clubs).
In determining inspection priority further within those definitions, the RBIP also considers:
History of previous fires in the premises (indicative of future likelihood).
History of previous fires in the vicinity of the premises (indicative of arson risk).
Distance from a fire station (indicative of the length of time the building will have to perform to protect its occupants before firefighting interventions can be made).
Flood risk (as fire risk intensifies significantly during flooding when power fails, and reliance is placed on fire safety systems working on back-up power supplies).
The height of the premises (taller premises place greater reliance on fire safety systems and building construction and management to protect their occupants).
The date and outcome of previous inspections.
Other data which is relevant to specific premises types (e.g., Care Home inspection data from the Care Quality Commission indicating poor safety management).
The RBIP sits within the wider Inspection Framework and determines how we pre-plan the allocation of inspecting officer time. It is recognised that use of historical data is not always indicative of future events and consequently retain the ability to respond in an agile way to partner referrals, post fire audits, fire safety complaints and where emerging local or national intelligence suggests certain premises should be targeted irrespective of their position in the RBIP e.g., previously unknown concerns emerge over a particular external wall (cladding) system.
All Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service inspecting officers will be able to identify information during inspections that will be important to fire crews who may attend a fire at the premises. The information gathered at the time of the inspection may provide for a hazard statement supplied to fire crews with turn out instructions when attending incidents at the premises, or it may trigger a more detailed inspection by fire crews and the provision of an incident plan.
Similarly, fire crews may, when carrying out inspections for operational planning, or attending incidents, provide basic advice to responsible persons on fire safety. Where fire crews have reason to believe standards of fire safety may not be adequate, they will make a referral to their local Fire Safety Protection team. The timescale for the subsequent inspection being related to the extent of life risk, hazards and fire safety issues identified.
Inspecting officers may also identify and record information during inspections that helps to determine the speed and weight of operational response (emergency intervention) appropriate to the level of risk in the premises.
Whilst the risk assessment grading provides a guide to the priority and frequency of inspections, it cannot be used to dictate enforcement action as a well-managed hospital may be similar in overall risk level to very poorly managed office accommodation. In the case of the hospital, the inspecting officer need only document the inspection, whereas, in the case of the office, the inspecting officer may need to take immediate enforcement action.
Protection Staff are responsible for taking enforcement action to reduce the level of risk in any premises to a point below that which enforcement action is necessary. It is the role of responsible persons (premises owners, employers etc. as defined by law) to reduce the risk in their premises to a point that is as low as is reasonably practicable. This approach will allow the Authority to utilise its resources to their best effect.
Fire safety enforcement decisions will be made utilising the Service’s Enforcement Logic and in accordance with the Fire Safety Enforcement Policy Statement. Following the Enforcement Logic allows Protection Staff appointed by the Authority to justify their actions in response to breeches of fire safety legislation.
The Authority will not assume the responsibility of other enforcing authorities. The roles of other authorities should be clearly delineated and understood, with the fire and rescue service engaging in memoranda of understanding and other protocols, where appropriate.
Following assessment of risk levels utilising the Risk Based Inspection process, premises considered to be of a higher risk will attract fixed term inspections. Those determined to be lower risk will be inspected by sample. The number and frequency of inspections carried out by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service will be commensurate with the resources made available through the Authority in accordance with its Risk Management Plan.
The term inspection describes a number of activities. These range from the inspection of a report or plans only, to the on-site inspection of premises and/or its management. The inspection may be described as a:
Full audit: where the whole premises, its management systems and fire risk assessments are comprehensively assessed using all parts of the Fire Safety Audit and Data Gathering process.
Fixed term audit: where the premises subsequently form part of the Risk Based Inspection programme and a full audit is undertaken at a suitable frequency as follows.
4 yearly – A RBIP premises which has been audited & has a strong compliance history
3 yearly – Standard frequency for any premises in the RBIP
Annually – A High Rise Premises (over 7 storeys or 18m plus whichever comes first)
The audit process will consist of, Part A of the Fire Safety Audit and Data Gathering process is validated and parts B and C are reassessed.
Specific inspection: to examine a particular section or aspect of a premises and its management; possibly in response to a complaint.
Peak risk inspection: inspections of premises immediately prior to or during the times that they present the highest risk to people in and around the premises. Examples of the types of premises where such inspections might take place include, retail outlets (during sale periods) hotels, hostels, places providing residential care, places of public entertainment (during the night or at weekends). These inspections are intended to ensure that premises are being managed effectively at all times in accordance with a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.
Plans/Consultations: when plans are examined, either for new projects or for alterations to existing buildings in connection with consultations under the Building Regulations (termed ‘building regulation plans/consultations’) or for other purposes, perhaps on behalf of other agencies (known as ‘other plans inspections’).
Follow-up inspection: where it is necessary to follow-up issues arising from any of the above inspections. Follow-up inspections will normally only be undertaken where a serious fire safety risk has been identified and an enforcement / prohibition / alteration notice has been issued.
In addition to fixed term inspections under the Risk Based Inspection programme, other reasons for an inspection may include:
Statutory consultations: in response to regulatory requests from other enforcing authorities.
Requests for advice: by statute, fire and rescue authorities must make provision in their area for the giving of advice on request about how to prevent fires and restrict their spread in buildings and other property. In meeting this duty individual Fire Officers should offer general advice about how to comply with the Fire Safety Order (e.g., by reference to appropriate guidebooks) rather than undertake the actual fire risk assessment (a duty which rests in law with the responsible person)
Following a fire: where it is considered appropriate to follow up issues identified through the initial investigation conducted by the attending fire crews. As the Fire Safety Order includes a requirement to reduce the risk of fire occurring, post fire inspections are undertaken to establish whether there have been breaches of the Fire Safety Order and whether any such breaches placed life at risk. Such breaches could form grounds for prosecution.
Following a complaint: where a substantive complaint is made about a premises or its management and it is felt necessary to investigate the complaint further.
Following intelligence or to target an issue: arising from aspects of a type of premises or its management, identified locally or nationally as requiring the attention of the fire and rescue service. This may mean inspecting premises outside of the existing fixed term inspection programme.
Sampling: selecting premises that have previously been evaluated as providing a lower risk to occupants to re-examine the assessment, or where an action plan has been issued previously, or selecting premises for risk evaluation that have not previously come to the attention of the fire and rescue service.
Promoting fire safety: by statute, fire and rescue authorities must make provision for the promotion of fire safety in its area, to the extent that it considers reasonable to do so. The promotion of fire safety will be balanced against the other legislative requirements of the Authority and will be commensurate with the resources made available through its Community Risk Management Plan.
Partnership work: involving the inspection of premises on behalf of or alongside partner agencies where the work accords with the requirements of the Authority Partnership Protocol. Such work may provide broader reciprocal benefits to the Authority outside of the remit of Fire Safety Enforcement.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service will respond to regulatory requests from other enforcing authorities for consultation, which for the purposes of this policy is defined as ‘formally seeking information from others’. The fire and rescue service approach to consultation will be determined by the perceived level of risk associated with the subject of the request, on the basis that resources will be allocated where they can most effectively enhance community safety.
Levels of response to consultation will vary from advice over the telephone, a standard leaflet or letter, to a detailed report that may involve several visits to premises.
Inspection visits will only be undertaken to satisfy consultation arrangements with other enforcing authorities where expedient and where:
The premises fall into a high fire risk property category.
More information is required which can only be provided by a site visit.
By statute, the Authority must make provision in their area for the giving of advice on request about how to prevent fires and restrict their spread in buildings and other property, to the extent that it considers it reasonable to do so. Reasonable advice to the occupiers and owners of buildings will range from indication of suitable published fire safety guidance covering the type and use of the premises for which advice is sought, to an inspection visit and report.
As with statutory consultations, resources will be allocated relative to risk where they can most effectively enhance community safety and the Authority will not sanction the use of inspecting officers by business organisations to undertake the fire risk assessment that should be completed by their own competent person or by a commercial fire safety consultant risk assessor.
In considering a request for advice it is also reasonable to consider the ability of the party making the request to obtain the advice from elsewhere at a cost. It may be appropriate to give special consideration to voluntary sector organisations seeking to comply with fire regulations.
The fire and rescue service investigate all property fires to identify the cause and to record information. As a consequence of such investigations, an inspecting officer may carry out a post-fire inspection of the premises, the results of which may be to provide advice to the occupiers or to take fire safety regulation enforcement action.
Post-fire inspections will be carried out in association with other enforcing authority officers where appropriate, for example, with a Health and Safety Executive officer in some workplace fires or a housing authority officer in the case of houses in multiple occupation.
Certain fires may require forensic fire investigation reports to assist with enforcement issues under fire safety legislation or to support other enforcing agencies. Such reports will be prepared by a suitably qualified Incident Intelligence Officer (IIO).
All substantive complaints relating to fire safety received by the fire and rescue service about a premises or its management will be investigated. This will ordinarily involve a specific inspection.
As with statutory consultations, resources will be allocated relative to risk where they can most effectively enhance community safety.
In all cases, a record will be made of action following the complaint, even when unfounded. No information will be divulged that contravenes data protection requirements.
On occasion issues are identified, at a local or national level, regarding aspects of a type of premises or its management, which may require the attention of the fire and rescue service. Examples may include a single inspection in response to unwanted fire signals from a fire alarm causing the repeated attendance of fire crews, or a number of inspections following a very serious fire that has identified a heightened risk of injury in a particular type of occupancy or a selection of buildings similar to one where a complaint has arisen about fire safety standards.
The fire safety inspection programme will be adequately flexible to incorporate such intelligence led or targeted inspections.
The levels of fire risk within existing workplaces across Lancashire will change over time. Such change is driven by many factors including the success and decline of businesses, the introduction of new risks to existing workplaces, and changes in the competence of health and safety management.
Premises that have previously been profiled by the fire and rescue service and considered lower risk will be subjected to sample inspections in order to re-evaluate the standards of fire safety. In addition, certain premises that have never been risk profiled before will also be subject to sample inspections.
The fire and rescue service will aim for sample inspections to form a minimum of 5% of the total fixed term inspection programme. Therefore, if during a year a fire safety department completed 1000 inspection of all descriptions, at least 50 of those inspections would be sampling inspections.
There may be a number of results following an inspection e.g., enforcement notices, action plans, risk profiles, evidence for prosecutions or a further inspection requirement. Every inspection will have a result or outcome recorded centrally on a database, and on a premises case file where one exists. This process will ensure that the results of inspections are transparent and auditable.
The resources available to the fire and rescue service are finite and the work undertaken by inspecting officers will be prioritised in the following manner:
Reducing the immediate risk of very serious injury to persons.
Enforcement action in support of the above (including prosecutions).
Completing the Risk Based inspection programme.
Other enforcement notices and action plans.
Follow up inspections prior to the expiry of time limits on enforcement notices.
Targeted and intelligence led inspections.
Responding to statutory consultations within agreed timescales in an appropriate manner.
Sample inspections.
All other activities, including the promotion of fire safety, partnership activities, where the premises inspected do not fit within any category above and general fire safety advice on request.
The priority of inspecting officers is to respond to conditions causing immediate risk of very serious injury to persons. These may become apparent through a complaint, a request for advice, following a fire or during an inspection. Responding to such conditions means reducing the risk to persons to tolerable levels as soon as is possible. This is achieved using a variety of informal and formal means, up to and including prohibiting or restricting the use of premises. It also means, where appropriate, carrying out enforcement action against those responsible by way of prosecution.
Effective prioritisation of work in accordance with this section will be ensured through Protection Safety Department action plans and audit systems that include local audit arrangements and the inspection of records centrally.
This policy applies to the Protection department within the Service, who have been delegated powers and responsibilities for enforcing Fire Safety legislation on behalf of the Authority.
This policy is designed to assist the Authority to meet its statutory duty to enforce fire safety legislation and to reduce the risk of fire causing death, serious injury and property related losses in the community. It provides for a risk-based approach to fire safety inspection; forms a fundamental element of the Authority’s fire risk reduction strategy; and outlines how the fire and rescue service prioritises the demand for its services in relation to fire safety.
The Authority is responsible for enforcing the provisions of:
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The Construction (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 2015 referred to as the Construction Regulations.
The NAMOS Regulations in so far as they apply to FRAs.
This enforcement policy reflects the protocols embodied in the local government concordat, to which Lancashire combined fire authority subscribe.
In order to protect and serve the community of Lancashire, the Fire Service will seek to secure compliance with the laws it is responsible for enforcing. Many of the dealings of the Fire Service with those on whom the law places duties (the duty holders i.e., employers, employees, and others) are informal - protection staff and operational staff provide information, advice and support both face to face and in writing. They may also use formal enforcement mechanisms including enforcement notices, agreed action plans and prohibition notices or ultimately prosecution.
Much of modern Fire Safety and Health and Safety Law is goal setting - setting out what must be achieved but not how it must be done. Advice on how to achieve the goals is often set out in codes and guides describing good practice. Neither codes nor guidance material are in terms which necessarily fit every case. In considering whether good practice has been adopted fire service personnel need to take relevant codes or guidance into account, using sensible judgement about the extent of the risks and the effort that has to be applied to counter them. Sometimes the law is prescriptive - spelling out in detail what must be done. Prescriptive law limits the discretion of the duty holder and the enforcer.
The enforcement of Fire Safety and Health and Safety Law should be informed by the principles of proportionality in applying the law and securing compliance; consistency of approach, targeting of enforcement action and transparency about how the Authority operates and what those persons being regulated may expect.
Proportionality means relating enforcement action to the risks. Those whom the law protects and those on whom it places duties (duty holders) expect that action taken by protection staff and operational staff to ensure duty holders achieve compliance should be proportionate to any risks to health and safety and to the seriousness of any breach.
Some health and safety duties are specific and mandatory - others require action so far as practicable. In general, the concept of proportionality is built into the regulatory system through the principle of ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. Deciding what is reasonably practicable to control risks involves the exercise of judgement by duty holders and discretion by enforcers. When duty holders and the fire service cannot reach agreement, final determinations on what is reasonably practicable in particular circumstances are made by the courts. When the law requires that risks should be controlled so far as is reasonably practicable, the fire service when considering protective measures taken by duty holders should always take account of cost as well as the degree of risk.
The fire service may legitimately expect that relevant good practice will be followed. Where relevant good practice in particular cases is not clearly established, Fire and Health and Safety Law effectively requires duty holders to assess the significance of the risks (both their extent and likelihood) to determine what action needs to be taken. Some irreducible risks may be so serious that they cannot be permitted irrespective of the economic consequences. At the other extreme, some risks may be so trivial that it is not worth spending more to reduce them. In general, risk reducing measures would be weighed against the associated costs. If there is a significant risk; the duty holder must take measures unless the cost of taking particular actions is clearly excessive compared with the benefit of the risk reduction.
Consistency of approach does not mean uniformity. It means taking a similar approach in similar circumstances to achieve similar ends. Duty holders managing similar risks expect consistency from the Authority in the advice tendered; the use of enforcement notices and decisions on whether to prosecute. In practice consistency is not a simple matter. The fire service is faced by many variables; the level of hazard, the attitude and competence of management, the history of contraventions and incidents may vary between companies which may otherwise appear similar. The decision on enforcement action is a matter of judgement and the fire service should exercise discretion.
Targeting means making sure that inspection is targeted primarily on those whose activities give rise to the most serious risks or where the hazards are least well controlled; and that action is focused on the duty holders who are responsible for that risk and who are best placed to control it.
When formal enforcement action is necessary, the person responsible for creating a risk should be held accountable for it. Where several duty holders share a responsibility the fire service will take action against those who can be regarded as primarily in breach (i.e., chiefly responsible).
Transparency means helping duty holders to understand what is expected of them and what they should expect from the fire service. It also means making clear to duty holders not only what they have to do but, where this is relevant, what they don’t. That means distinguishing between statutory requirements and advice or guidance about what is desirable but not compulsory. This statement sets out the general policy framework within which the fire service will operate. Duty holders need to know what to expect when protection staff and operational staff call and what rights of complaint are open to them.
In order to carry the enforcement of Fire Safety and Health & Safety Law Policy Statement into effect a wall chart has been produced for all protection departments that describes an enforcement logic: that is to say, a flowchart that guides protection staff in their decision making when considering enforcement. The enforcement logic is based on national best practice provided by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). The enforcement logic applies the principles of the HSE’s Enforcement Management Model and following the enforcement logic will ensure that all enforcement decisions are measured, appropriate and auditable. Protection staff carry out audits on premises in accordance with priorities clearly laid down on a basis of risk posed to the occupants. The first stage of that audit is to follow the nationally approved form which is designed to be an objective method of assessing initial compliance level with fire safety legislation. From that position, protection staff then establish the required action to be taken to address any shortfalls. This may vary from prohibition, (in cases of serious and imminent risk), to enforcement notices, agreed action plans and letters advising on areas of minor non-compliance.
Where action is required to be taken by the responsible person(s), protection staff are guided to balance the weight of enforcement, and the time to remedy the matters identified, against the risk posed and the ability to achieve the requirements. In addition, responsible persons are advised of their right to appeal to the Secretary of State if the matter is of a technical nature, and to the courts against any notice.
The Fire Service will use discretion in deciding whether to initiate a prosecution. Other approaches to enforcement can often promote Fire Safety and Health and Safety more effectively but, where the circumstances warrant it, prosecution without prior warning and recourse to alternative sanctions may be appropriate.
The Fire Service will consider prosecution when:
It is appropriate in the circumstances as a way to draw general attention to the need for compliance with the law and the maintenance of standards required by law, especially where there would be a normal expectation that a prosecution would be taken or where through the conviction of offenders, others may be deterred from similar failures to comply with the law.
Or there is judged to have been potential for considerable harm arising from breach.
Or the gravity of the offence, taken together with the general record and approach of the offender warrants it e.g., apparent reckless disregard for standards, repeated breaches, and persistent poor standards.
Subject to the above, the fire service will identify and prosecute individuals, including company directors and managers; if it is considered that a conviction is warranted and can be secured.
Where there has been a breach of the law leading to a death LFRS will accord to national protocols giving the Police initial primacy. The Police, with advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will consider whether the circumstances of the case justify a charge of manslaughter. In such circumstances close liaison will take place with the Police, Coroners, CPS and any other relevant enforcing authority (e.g., HSE). If the Police or the CPS decide the circumstances do not warrant a manslaughter charge, the fire service may prosecute under the relevant fire safety legislation if that is appropriate. In some cases, it may be appropriate to prosecute jointly with another enforcing authority such as HSE and/or Local Authority.
This policy covers in general the consultative work on a statutory and non-statutory basis for fire safety enforcement matters.
The policy is required to ensure that resources are used effectively and are not being used to assist other organisations where it is not in the common interest and does not conform to current inspection policy.
The service believes that we should consult, in terms of responding to other authorities/agencies request for assistance, where it is in pursuance of either legal requirements (statutory consultation) or in the common interest of both parties and generates tangible benefits for the service in terms of risk reduction in the community. We have a robust and clearly defined inspection programme drawn from the Fire Safety Enforcement (FSE) policy statement of Intent which is aimed at ensuring that our resources are targeted at the greatest risk. To this end we will ensure that consultation takes place in accordance with the priorities established in the FSE policy statement. We must ensure as much as is reasonably practicable that resources are not deviated from the targeted risk and we will draw upon memoranda of understanding to ensure each partner authority/agency is clear on our policy.
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