Fire Safety Advice & Guidance

14 April 2021

Read our top 3 steps for addressing fire competency.

17 February 2021

A fire strategy is a complex document specifically tailored to a building, reviewing all aspects of the building’s fire safety features including construction, compartmentation strategy, means of escape and other fire safety features/measures - including management arrangements in place to ensure it is fit for use for the end user of the premises or intended purpose group. Approved documents are used predominantly as guidance for achieving the requirements of the Building Regulations for new residential and commercial buildings: however, they are not lawfully enforced, unlike the Building Regulations. Alternatively, associated approaches may be used such as that described in BS 9999, or a fire engineered approach in developing a fire strategy for a premises.

17 February 2021

For many years, the FPA has been lobbying government for a clearer definition of competency. Sadly, it was the tragedy at Grenfell Tower in 2017 which brought the issue of competency to the fore. The subsequent Hackitt Review highlighted the major gaps in terms of the skills, experience and knowledge of those involved with the building’s construction.

04 February 2021

As part of our Know Your Building campaign we've outlined the importance of competency in protecting buildings and their occupants in our free mini paper.

20 January 2021

It is the duty of the ‘Responsible Person’ to take general fire precautions as far as reasonably practicable under the RRO Part 2 to ensure the premises is safe for all relevant persons and to reduce the risk of harm and prevent fire.

08 January 2021

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), in articles 13, 15 and 18, requires the responsible person to appoint one or more competent persons to assist them in undertaking preventative and protective measures. Fire wardens and marshals are competent persons who have been appointed to undertake these measures.

07 January 2021

Ensuring appropriate action is taken to minimise risk in the workplace may seem like a daunting prospect for those responsible for fire safety. However, its important to remember that while the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that a ‘suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks’ must be made, the responsible person can seek help and support from professionals where they feel they are not suitably qualified.

07 January 2021

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 (FSRNI) make no reference to fire wardens or fire marshal roles. However, the FSO states in articles 13, 15 and 18 that the responsible person must appoint one or more competent persons to assist them in undertaking preventative and protective measures.

16 December 2020

The term competency can have a different meaning for different roles. In this instance, we are referring specifically to the role of the fire risk assessor. At the FPA, we believe competency is something that is constantly evolving.

14 December 2020

This guide will provide you with the basic steps that need to be taken to help maintain fire safety standards within a care home.