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INTRODUCTION
As from 1 October 2006 all 170 plus pieces of legislation relating to fire safety are replaced by this single Order. Thereafter it will be a criminal offence if you breach the Order and have failed to carry out a proper risk assessment. If you have more than
five employees this assessment must be in a durable format and you must be able to demonstrate its regular review and updating as required.
With fewer than five employees it is difficult to see how you can meet your obligations without having the assessment in writing anyway.
ENFORCEMENT
The Order will be enforced by the local Fire Authority (no longer the Fire Brigade) and they will be looking for the “responsible person” who has been appointed by the owner, the occupier or the employer, as the case determines, to undertake a risk assessment as required by the legislation.
The purpose of this legislation is to safeguard the lives of employees and all third parties, with the exception of any members of the Fire Brigade.
All fire certificates are invalid from 1 October 2006 and insurers could avoid a claim if there is no evidence of a risk assessment in place. At least one major insurer has already commented to this effect publicly.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
If you feel competent to undertake this yourself then it would be prudent to ensure that you keep it as a written record, and there is information available on the Internet to assist you. Alternatively you can instruct a suitably qualified surveyor to undertake this on your behalf for a fee. The onus will still then remain with you to become, and remain, compliant.
Crest Insurance have such a consultant, Derek
Carr, and he is available to assist you in any way he can. Where you are already a client of Crest
Insurance Consultants then there will be a substantial discount on the fee charged for a report.
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