Do I Need a Fire Safety Certificate in the UK?

Fire is one of the most dangerous and lethal incidents one can expect at a workplace. In addition to huge financial losses, it may cause injuries to the occupants and even loss of lives. Survey reports reflect that many businesses affected by the fire could never escape the huge financial losses and were eventually forced to wind up.

The authorities were always alert to the severity of the impact of a fire incident; hence, various rules and regulations were formulated to prevent such occurrences. These regulations legally bind landlords, business owners, and property managers to get their properties regularly inspected for fire safety.

Fire Safety Regulations – UK

The UK's basic law governing fire safety issues is the “Regulator Reforms (Fire Safety) Order” 2005, called the Fire Safety Order or FSO. This was further improved and amended 2021 under the Fire Safety Act 2021.

This law applies to all workplaces in England and Wales. It is also applicable to buildings that have two or more residential premises. After an amendment to this law in 2021, known as the Fire Safety Act 2021, the outer walls, flat entrances, and the structure of the building were also brought into the ambit of the Fire Safety Order 2005. Under the provisions of this law, all such properties must conduct a fire risk assessment regularly.

Responsible Person

As the law provides, anyone controlling the property will be called the “Responsible Person.” A responsible person may be the owner, the landlord, or anyone assigned the duties of management or control of the building. Under this law, the responsible person has the legal duty to conduct a fire risk assessment on the property under his control.

Fire Safety Check

The relevant law requires the person responsible for the fire safety check to follow the following steps.

1. Identify the fire hazards.
2. Identify the people at risk.
3. Evaluate the risks and suggest measures to reduce their impact.
4. Record the findings and recommendations.
5. Train the people on how to avoid a fire and how to react if it happens.

Purpose of Fire Safety Check

A fire safety review of a property is aimed at analyzing the risks and safety measures of the building to assess;

• What are the chances of a fire eruption in the building?
• How can we prevent any such occurrence in the building?
• Is it likely to spread in the entire building?
• What may be the consequences of the fire once it starts?
• What exit strategies are in place if an immediate evacuation is required?
• Whether the fire safety devices are capable of timely detection of a fire?
• How can we minimize the possibility of a fire?
• What should be the plan of action to minimize the consequences of a fire?

What happens if you fail to get a Fire Safety Inspection?

Since the regular fire safety inspection is mandatory under the relevant laws in the UK, non-compliance by any property is liable to penalties. This may include fines and imprisonment, especially if there’s a fire in the property and the owner does not have the record and proof of a recent fire safety inspection. So, the consequences of failure to get the property inspected for fire safety can be quite serious.

Conclusion

The safety of the people and properties against fire is the responsibility of the landlords, business owners, and property managers. They must inspect the property for fire safety to avoid such happenings.

Fire safety inspection is, therefore, a very important legal duty of the responsible person. So, get it done immediately if done so far. This is your legal as well as moral duty.