Introduction to Fire Safety Management

1.4.4 Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 (FSA)
Identifi ed within Part 3 Chapter 1 and Schedule 2 of the 
FSA are the duties of employers to employees and duties 
in relation to relevant premises.
In essence, the principles of the FSA cover the same 
ethos as the RRFSO, while not directly following the 
MHSW Regulations. The FSA identifi es the overall duty of 
an employer to ‘so far as reasonably practicable’ ensure 
that the employer’s employees are not put at risk from 
fi re in the workplace. The Act goes on to require that a 
fi re risk assessment should be completed and control 
measures be put in place.
As in the case of the RRFSO and the MHSW 
Regulations the risk assessment should be subject to 
review and fi re safety measures should be put in place to 
comply with the law. The latter are contained in Schedule 
2 and are outlined below:
➤
measures to reduce the risk of:
➤
fi re in relevant premises; and
➤
the risk of the spread of fi re there;
Figure 1.19
Stair lift in situation

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Introduction to Fire Safety Management
18
➤
measures in relation to the means of escape from 
relevant premises;
➤
measures for securing that, at all material times, the 
means of escape from relevant premises can be 
safely and effectively used;
➤
measures in relation to the means of fi ghting fi res in 
relevant premises;
➤
measures in relation to the means of:
➤
detecting fi res in relevant premises; and
➤
giving warning in the event of fi re, or suspected 
fi re, in relevant premises;
➤
measures in relation to the arrangements for action 
to be taken in the event of fi re in relevant premises 
(including, in particular, measures for the instruction 
and training of employees and for mitigation of the 
effects of fi re).
Those who have ‘to any extent’ control of premises are 
also duty bound to ensure that the above measures 
(employer’s duties) are carried out, as per the RRFSO.
Employees are also given responsibilities that fall 
under very similar scope to those that are contained 
within the RRFSO, MHSW Regulations and the HSWA.