Who Enforces Fire Safety in the UK?
Who enforces a fire safety order? Fire safety in non-domestic UK premises is governed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the "Fire Safety Order") and it's enforced by local Fire and Rescue Authorities, through Fire Safety Enforcement Officers.
These officers can enter almost any workplace at a suitable hour, usually without giving notice, to inspect the premises, review how fire safety is being managed and audit the fire risk assessment. If they find serious failings, they can issue an enforcement notice requiring improvements, or, where there's a genuine risk to life, a prohibition notice that stops part or all of a building being used until the issue is fixed. Non-compliance can also lead to prosecution.
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Employer Responsibilities
Under the Fire Safety Order, legal responsibility sits with the "Responsible Person." In a workplace, this is usually the employer. In other premises, it's whoever has control of the building, such as the owner or managing agent. Where more than one person or organisation has some control over a building, they're legally required to cooperate and share relevant fire safety information with each other.
Who is responsible for fire safety awareness? The Responsible Person carries ultimate legal accountability, but day-to-day fire safety awareness is a shared responsibility. The Responsible Person must:
- Carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment
- Put in place and maintain appropriate fire precautions
- Provide adequate fire detection, alarms and firefighting equipment
- Maintain clear escape routes and emergency exits
- Establish procedures for a fire or other serious, imminent danger
- Provide fire safety information and training to staff
- Appoint one or more competent people to help carry out these duties, such as a fire marshal or fire warden
The Responsible Person can delegate tasks like the risk assessment to a competent person, but the legal responsibility itself can't be handed off. It stays with them.
A fire risk assessment is a structured review of a premises to identify fire hazards, work out who's at risk and put measures in place to reduce that risk. Since October 2023, following a reform under the Building Safety Act 2022, every non-domestic premises must keep a written record of its fire risk assessment, regardless of size. It needs regular review too, particularly after any significant change to the building or how it's used, or after a fire or near miss.
How many steps make up a fire safety risk assessment? Government guidance sets out five:
- Identify fire hazards — sources of ignition, fuel and oxygen that could start or feed a fire
- Identify people at risk — including staff, visitors and anyone who may need extra help evacuating
- Evaluate, remove or reduce the risk — and protect people from what remains
- Record, plan, inform, instruct and train — write down your findings, create an emergency plan and make sure staff know it
- Review — keep the assessment current, especially after a fire, a near miss, or a change to the premises
Three acronyms come up constantly in fire safety and they cover very different things.
What does PEEP stand for in fire safety? PEEP stands for Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (sometimes called a Personal Emergency Egress Plan). What is a PEEP in fire safety? It's an individual, written plan for anyone who might struggle to evacuate a building unaided, whether due to mobility, sensory, cognitive or other needs. It sets out exactly what support that person needs and who's responsible for providing it. Putting evacuation arrangements in place for anyone who needs them is part of the Responsible Person's duty under the Fire Safety Order and for certain residential buildings it's now underpinned by its own specific regulations too.
What does PASS stand for in fire safety? PASS stands for Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep — the standard technique for using a fire extinguisher:
- Pull the safety pin
- Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire, not the flames
- Squeeze the handle to discharge the contents
- Sweep the nozzle side to side across the base of the fire
What does FED stand for in fire safety? This is genuinely less clear-cut than PEEP or PASS. FED doesn't have one universally agreed meaning in UK fire safety and it's used differently depending on the source. The most common interpretations you'll see are:
- Fire Evacuation Drill — the practice run of an evacuation plan
- Fire Exit Device — hardware such as panic bars or push-pads fitted to fire exits
- Fire Extinguisher Device — a general term for a portable extinguisher
Because there's no single standard definition, it's worth being clear in your own materials about which meaning you're using, or avoiding the acronym altogether in favour of the full term.
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Understanding who's responsible for fire safety is one thing. Making sure your team can act on it, from carrying out a proper risk assessment to knowing what to do in an evacuation, is another.
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