Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Fire safety foundations
7
If a prosecution is brought for a breach of health and 
safety law and it is proved that you did not follow the 
relevant ACoP you will need to show that your alternative 
method has enabled compliance with the law in some 
other way.
However, following guidance will normally ensure 
that the relevant law is being complied with.
European Union/British Standard (EU/BS) and 
Industry Guidance
EU/BS standards contain detailed information on the 
specifi c standards for complying with health and safety 
and fi re safety requirements, e.g. BS 5839 Part 1 – Fire 
Detection and Fire Alarm Systems for Buildings. Although 
compliance with EU/BS standards should assist to 
ensure legal compliance, this cannot be relied on as a 
defence in a court of law.
Industry guidance, such as 
SG4:05 – Preventing 
Falls in Scaffolding in False Work
produced by the 
National Access and Scaffolding Federation, is simply 
regarded as best practice in that industry and has no 
formal legal status.
The relationship between Acts, regulations, Orders, 
ACoPs and guidance notes is illustrated in Figure 1.9.
Legal standards
In law some requirements placed upon employers and 
employees are more stringent than others. It is necessary 
to distinguish between:
➤
Absolute 
duties
➤
The duty to do what is practicable
➤
The duty to take steps that are reasonably 
practicable.
As an example, the Provision and Use of 
Work Equipment Regulations 1998 require 
that all persons who use work equipment 
have received adequate training for the pur-
poses of health and safety. This is then inter-
preted by the ACoP, which states that in the 
case of chainsaw users this training would be 
supported by a certifi cate of competence or 
national competence award unless they are 
undergoing training and are adequately super-
vised. An ACoP helps the reader to under-
stand the requirements of the law to which it 
applies. Following ACoPs will ensure the law 
is complied with.
Guidance notes
Guidance notes are issued by governmental bodies such 
as the HSC HSE or HM Government as opinions on good 
practice. An example of a fi re safety guidance note would 
be Fire Safety Risk Assessment. This guide explains in 
plain language what the reader must do to comply with 
the law. The guides are not legally binding unlike ACoP 
but they may be referred to in court as establishing a 
minimum standard.