Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Figure 1.16
Highly fl ammable substances

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Fire safety foundations
15
Maintenance of facilities, equipment and devices
The premises and any facilities, equipment and devices 
provided to minimise the fi re risk must be subject to a 
suitable system of maintenance and necessary testing 
to ensure that they are maintained in an effi cient state, 
an effi cient working order and in good repair.
Establishing a maintenance scheme can fall on a 
number of responsible persons either individually or 
together. These include the employer or occupier of 
the premise or any other premises forming part of the 
building, or dependent upon contract terms of the owner 
or management company.
Safety assistance (competent person or persons)
The responsible person is required to appoint one or 
more competent persons to assist in undertaking the 
preventive and protective measures. The need for 
appointing more than one person will be dependent 
upon the size and the distribution of the risks throughout 
the premises and activities together with the time and 
means available to fulfi l their functions.
It may be that appointments are made from outside 
the organisation, e.g. a consultant, if this is the case 
adequate information must be provided by the respon-
sible person to enable the competent person/s to 
undertake their role.
Under the RRFSO a person is to be regarded as 
competent where they have suffi 
cient ‘training and 
experience or knowledge and other qualities’ for them 
to provide assistance in undertaking the preventive and 
protective measures.
Information, training and consultation
Information must be provided by the responsible person 
as to the following:
➤
The risks identifi ed by the risk assessment and any 
preventive and protective measures required to 
minimise the risks
➤
The emergency procedures
➤
The identities of nominated competent persons.
This information should be provided to employees and 
other relevant persons including contractors and others 
who may be affected by fi re in the workplace.
In addition similar information regarding dangerous 
substances should also be provided (materials safety 
data sheets, etc.). Where children may be affected by 
the responsible person’s operations the information 
should be provided to their parent/guardian, etc.
The RRFSO requires that ‘adequate safety training 
be provided’, to ensure persons have a knowledge of fi re 
safety measures and their role in securing them. Such a 
programme of training should start at induction and be 
refreshed regularly taking into account changes in risk, 
job, technology etc.
As in the case of health and safety legislation the 
RRFSO requires that under Safety Representatives and 
Safety Committees Regulations 1977 and the Health 
and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 
1996 the responsible person has the duty to consult the 
employees on matters relating to safety.
Legal enforcement of the RRFSO
Enforcement of this Order is generally the responsibility 
of the local fi re and rescue authority for the area in which 
the premises are situated.
The HSE still retains responsibility for the enforce-
ment of some specifi ed areas, these are:
➤
Construction 
industry
➤
Ship 
building/repair
➤
Nuclear 
installations
➤
Defence 
bases
➤
Crown owned premises.
The relevant local authority also retains enforcement for 
premises which consist of:
➤
Sports ground designated as requiring a safety cer-
tifi cate under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975
➤
A regulated stand under the Fire Safety and Safety 
of Places of Sport Act 1987.