Posted By Stuart Nagle Richard. I can't answer your question off pat, but in the last eighteen months I discovered that where I was working, an office over two storeys with up to 45 persons present, had no fire certificate. When the office was first built it was small, with only a conference room upstairs. it was extended twice with another (attached) building added with two floors, and again extended after this with another section being added to the extension of equal size. Reading up on the Fire Precautions Act 1971 (Which is still in force) I contacted the local Fire Brigade who sent me the application forms. I duly completed these and did scale drawings of the premises (ground and first floors) and had to include all the relevant specifications and diagrams in relation to the fire alarm system, call points, smoke/heat detectors, fire extinguishers, fire signage, escape routes etc etc. and sent it all off (in duplicate) to the Fire Brigade. about a week later I had a call saying they would like to inspect the premises. They duly turned up carried out the inspection and said they were satisfaied with all the fire prevention precautions and that we did not need a fire certificate. They also inspected the fire risk assessment done and were satisfied with this too. About 10 days later we got a letter, which stated that as above 'Subject to.....' and went onto state serveral items that were not discussed at the time!! I contacted them, and they came back and agree that the items were OO, but had been included by another officer who was 'crossing the 'Ts' and dotting the 'Is' The upshot of all this is that: 1) we were informed by the Fire Brigade that the requirement for fire certificates was being withdrawn, and a fire risk assessment should be carried out (which we already knew) but as we had not had one (a certificate) we should apply and provide premises drawings as required in view of the premises occupation falling within the requirement to have a certificate... 2) the inspection was a formality, to tie up the application and see if the drawings actually represented what was on site - they did, and they (the Fire Brigade) were quite happy with this. 3) The letter you get from the Fire Brigade stating that you do not need a fire certificate is worth having, for insurance and peace of mind purposes, and 4) Make sure you have an up to date and adequate fire risk assessment (don't forget cleaners and cleaning materials) to show them or provide to them when they ask, and always refer back to them with any items that appear in their letters that were not discussed at the time of their visit. Regards... Stuart

Posted By Heather Aston (I know it's rude to answer yourself, but I'm not really...) Stuart I have a manufacturing facility with 270 employees that involves spraying of hi flam liquids and that's been exempt from certification for over six years. I was NOT happy with this but there's no appeal against the decision to make a premises exempt. BTW - for anyone who finds themselves in the "whoops we haven't got a fire certificate" situation - your local Fire Authority will NOT thank you for putting in a fire cert application now just as the legislation is about to change so I wouldn't bother. I very much doubt they would go through the certification or exemption process from scratch now anyway so you are wasting your time. Concentrate on doing the risk assessment properly and don't worry about certification now. Heather

Posted By Phil.D.Baptiste ....and there's this.... The following pages have recently been updated on the Regulatory Impact Unit internet site. http://www.cabinetoffice...on/rra/rro/proposals.asp regards, Phil