Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Fire safety foundations
9
Employers are also responsible for ensuring the 
safety of other persons who may be affected by their 
work activities and thus the law implies that assessment 
of risk, in relation to such persons, should be undertaken.
Such persons may be:
➤
Contractors undertaking works
➤
Visitors
➤
Members of the public
➤
Emergency service personnel (undertaking their 
duties)
➤
Enforcement agency staff.
The employer is also required to make provision for 
other items in relation to safety for which they are not 
able to charge, e.g. personal protective equipment (PPE) 
for protecting a person’s eyes.
Occupiers (persons in control of premises)
Occupiers having overall control of premises also have 
duties to ensure the safety of persons while on the 
premises, e.g. a council allowing organisations/persons 
to utilise council land (parks) for which they have over-
all control are responsible for all persons coming onto 
them, so far as is reasonably practicable.
Occupiers therefore need to ensure, so far as is 
reasonably practicable:
➤
The safe access and egress of persons to and from 
the premises they have control over
➤
That plant or substances that are made available are 
safe and without risk.
Occupiers also have a duty under the Occupiers Liability 
Acts 1957 and 1984. The original 1957 Act places a duty 
upon those in control of premises to ensure that any visi-
tor is reasonably safe, having been invited or permitted 
by the occupier to be there. This duty includes children 
for whom there is a higher duty of care. The Act does 
also require that any person on site also acts in a reason-
able manner.
The 1984 Act extends the duty to other persons and 
takes into account trespassers. In these circumstances 
the occupier must take reasonable care to ensure that 
anyone on the premises, invited or uninvited, will not 
be harmed by a condition or activity and it is therefore 
the occupier’s responsibility to know of the dangers that 
people may face and if trespassers operate in the vicinity.
Designers, manufacturers, suppliers, importers, 
installers, etc.
The HSWA places duties on persons who design, manu-
facturer, import, supply or install any article or substance 
used at work.
The duty that the Act imposes on these persons is, 
so far as is reasonably practicable, to:
➤
Ensure goods and substances used at work are safe 
and without risks to health when properly used
Figure 1.11
Employers are responsible for all persons affected by their work

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