Posted By Mark Preston Fire Safety: an employers guide can be found here http://www.archive.offic.../document/fire/index.htm Check the introduction and annex a

Posted By Gary Cutter Hi Paul You asked for a quick synopsis, not as easy as it seems but here goes. Fire Certificates are still required for premises be they old or new which have been designated under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. These premises are Factories, Offices, Shops, Railway Premises (OSR&F) and Hotels. The criterion for requiring a certificate is based upon numbers employed or number of guests in a hotel. The numbers in case of OSR&F are: 1) more than twenty persons are at work at any one time 2) more than ten persons are at work at any one time elsewhere than on the ground floor of the building constituting or comprising the premises; 3) factory premises, storing or using explosive or highly flammable materials are stored or used in or under the premises. NOTE: The fire authority can exempt low risk premises so a certificate may not be required but liaise with the fire brigade. In the case of Hotels the numbers are as follows: a) sleeping accommodation for more than six, being staff or guests b) some sleeping accommodation is provided for staff or guests on any floor above the first floor c) some sleeping accommodation is provided below the ground floor of the building for staff or guests If premises have been issued with a fire certificate then they are still valid provided there haven’t been any material changes to the premises. The Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Regulations) 1997 put a different perspective on things. We are slowly moving away from prescriptive to more goal-based criteria. These regs were amended 1999 because the UK didn’t go as far as the EU wanted us to. The amended regulations came into force on 1 December 1999. These regulations also amended the Management Regulations (reg 3) where the requirement to risk assess comes from. All employers with few exceptions are required to carry out fire risk assessments. This legislation is primary so even if your premises have a fire certificate employers will still have to carry out a risk assessment. They will need to record the assessment if they have more than five employees. My advice is to record it anyway irrespective of numbers employed. True to say that Fire Legislation is a mess. A governmental board has been set up to examine ways of streamlining the current mess. I don’t think huge progress has been made. Hope that answers your question. Regards Gary Cutter Chair Fire Risk Management Specialist Group