FIA SEES REVIEW OF FIRE SAFETY ORDER AS A STIMULUS FOR ACTION

The Fire Industry Association (FIA) has welcomed the review on the Fire Safety Order but recognises that it has raised a number of issues that those within the fire safety arena need to address.

The review, “Initial Evaluation of the Effectiveness of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005”, was published by the Government's Communities & Local Government department on 26 March and was the first real insight into the effectiveness of the Order since it was introduced in October 2006.

Both the fire industry and the fire and rescue authorities (FRA) have raised concerns over the lack of awareness of the Order amongst businesses.  The review estimated an awareness level of some 60 percent, a point picked up on by Graham Ellicott, CEO of the FIA - “We feel, as do many within the FRA, that this figure is probably an over estimate. 

One comment within the review from an FRA representative was - ‘It's only anecdotal evidence, but the number of times that we have to advise people about risk assessments I would say it's in the minority of people who actually are aware of their responsibilities.' 

And, who is to say that awareness equals compliance?  Even if the 60 percent figure is a true reflection of the current position, that means there are 40 percent of businesses out there who aren't aware of their responsibilities. 

That is an unacceptable situation.  The fire and rescue services (FRS) have only limited means to address this and we feel it is imperative that the Government commits funds to enable fire industry stakeholders to work together in improving awareness.”

While the review's general conclusion was that “…all parties tend to think that the risk assessment approach is the correct one”, some fire and rescue services suggested smaller businesses would welcome a more prescriptive approach.  Graham sees this as “…a retrograde step and it begs the question as to how we define a small business. 

Also, if it becomes prescriptive, this could divert FRS resources away from enforcement, a vital area not only in raising awareness but in making people fully appreciate the consequences of not meeting their fire safety responsibilities.  The review also sees the FRAs continuing to take a supportive and educational approach to compliance under the FSO. 

I agree that they do have a role in this regard, as long as it does not detract from their enforcement role.”

Returning to the lack of awareness issue, the review recognises that there is some confusion, particularly in businesses operating across multiple sites, regarding who is the responsible person. 

Not surprisingly, the review concludes that greater clarity is needed on the appropriate level of competency to assist with delivering compliance under the FSO and advice on how to access it. 

The responsible persons interviewed as part of the review process commented on the variable quality and expertise of risk assessors and consultants.  This is an issue which is being tackled head on by the FIA through the recently established Fire Risk Assessment Council. 

The Council's Chairman, Colin Todd, made the same point when the Council was officially announced at the FIA's AGM in November 2008 - “There is a lot of uncertainty out there about what is a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, who is competent to carry out a fire risk assessment.  A lot of these things really go to the ultimate quality of the fire risk assessment.

The Fire Risk Assessment Council can assist in trying to drill down and help with an understanding of what is a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and who is responsible to carry it out.”

In conclusion, Graham Ellicott said “The review has undoubtedly been a very useful exercise in helping to identify what needs to be done and in pin-pointing those areas where a particular focus is required. 

At the FIA we have undertaken a strategic review of the market sectors we need to address and it is interesting to see that many of those are highlighted by the review.  The enforcers identified high risk premises as houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), hotels, guest houses, hostels, take-away shops, hospitals, care homes and industrial plants. 

In total, about 5 percent of all the relevant premises were audited - obviously a very low figure in itself - and of those that were audited, some 40 percent resulted in outcomes regarded as unsatisfactory. 

Clearly there is still much to be done to ensure that the requirements of the FSO are not only more clearly communicated and understood, but that organisations comply 
with those requirements through fire safety measures that are based on comprehensive and robust risk assessments.”

Further Details: Beverley Bane, FIA, Thames House, 29 Thames Street, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 1PH Tel: 020 8549 8839 Fax: 020 8547 1564
E-mail: info@fia.uk.com
Website:www.fia.uk.com