Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

PART 2 Fire Safety Duties
17.16.3
Duty to take general fi re precautions 
Article 8
The responsible person must:
(a) take such general fi re precautions as will ensure, so 
far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of any of 
his employees, and
(b) in relation to relevant persons who are not their 
employees, take such general fi re precautions as 
may reasonably be required in the circumstances of 
the case to ensure that the premises are safe.
17.16.4
Risk assessment and Fire safety 
arrangements – Articles 9 and 11
The responsible person must make a suitable and suf-
fi cient assessment of the risks to identify the general fi re 
precautions needs to take.

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Summary of the main legal requirements
353
Where a dangerous substance is or is liable to be 
present in or on the premises, the risk assessment must 
include consideration of the matters set out in Part 1 of 
Schedule 1, reproduced in Figure 17.4.
Risk assessments must be reviewed by the respon-
sible person regularly and if it is no longer valid or there 
has been signifi cant changes. The responsible person 
must not employ a young person unless risks to young 
persons have been considered in an assessment covering 
the following which is Part 2 of Schedule 1.
Matters to be taken into particular account in risk 
assessment in respect of young persons
The matters are:
(a) the inexperience, lack of awareness of risks and 
immaturity of young persons
(b) the 
fi tting-out and layout of the premises
(c) the nature, degree and duration of exposure to 
physical and chemical agents
(d) the form, range, and use of work equipment and the 
way in which it is handled
(e) the organization of processes and activities
(f) the extent of the safety training provided or to be 
provided to young persons, and
(g) risks from agents, processes and work listed in 
the Annex to Council Directive 94/33/EC (a) on the 
protection of young people at work.
As soon as practicable after the assessment is made or 
reviewed, the responsible person must record the infor-
mation prescribed where:
(a) the employs fi ve or more employees
(b) a licence under an enactment is in force in relation 
to the premises, or
(c) an