Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

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Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Statutory Instrument
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Citation SI 2005/1541
Introduced by Jim Fitzpatrick
Territorial extent 
Dates
Made7 June 2005 (2005-06-07)
Commencement 1 October 2006 (2006-10-01)
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes Fire Precautions Act 1971
Fire Precautions (Loans) Act 1973
Smoke Detectors Act 1991
Made under Regulatory Reform Act 2001
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541) is a statutory instrument applicable in England and Wales. The Order places the responsibility on individuals within an organisation to carry out risk assessments to identify, manage and reduce the risk of fire. The Order was made into law on 7 June 2005 [1] and came into force on 1 October 2006. [2]

Contents

Guidance for businesses is available in the form of 16 government-published documents, with general guidance, a 5-Step Checklist and 12 documents pertaining specifically to a particular type of business premises. [3] On 5 January 2016, responsibility for fire and rescue policy transferred from the Department for Communities and Local Government to the Home Office, who then became responsible for the guidance. The guidance does not normally apply to domestic premises.

Prior to the Order, under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, all public and commercial buildings, and all non-single-household domestic dwellings (apart from houses in multiple occupation), were required to hold a valid fire safety certificate issued annually after an inspection by the Fire Service. This regime was replaced with assessment by third-party fire-risk assessors contracted by building owners and landlords, with no mandated timeframe for checks, and no mandated professional qualifications.

In 2013, the Fire Service found that 14% of risk assessments were non-compliant with the law, and in 2018 it was found that 500 out of 800 of the UK's fire risk assessors were not registered with accredited bodies. [4]

Guides

The guides available are:

See also

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References

  1. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, England & Wales Retrieved on 20 March 2014
  2. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, England & Wales Retrieved on 20 March 2014
  3. Home Office, Fire safety law and guidance documents for business, accessed 21 November 2020
  4. Hodkinson, Stuart (2019). Safe as Houses: Private Greed, Political Negligence and Housing Policy after Grenfell. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 45–46. ISBN   9781526141866.

5. Fire Safety Risk Assessment UK accessed 20 September 2022