Posted By MICHELLE BROWN Is there a law to say fire drills have to be done? My Manager doesn't want one doing as we may lose sales by being out of the office.

Posted By fred tubb I agree entirely with john w, your bosses Acop for fire safety had better be submitted and workable. As a person that has seen the aftermath of incidents at work, one or two drills a year surely is insignificant to sales in total. As John says have a quite word with your local Fire Service, Safety Department in confidence. A safety sign should be permenantly hung over managements desk (just a joke), its the famous words of Karl R, Popper. Even the greatest improbability always remains a probability, however small, and that consequently even the most improbable processes - that is those which we propose to neglect - Will someday happen. Fred Tubb MSc, GIFireE, CFPA(Eur), MIOSH.

Posted By Frank Neville Johnson Michelle As a seasoned fire safety inspector with a local authority fire service this is the sort of management response that gives me concern. However, the relevant law is the 'Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1999 and (if your building has a fire certificate) the Fire Precautions Act 1971 as amended. Your Fire Certificate is likely to specify a legal requirement for training employees in fire procedures and also a requirement for periodic evacuation drills. The enforcement parts of the FP(W)Regs, refer to contravention's of 'The Workplace Fire Precautions Legislation' This is defined as a compilation of the FP(W)Regs Part II and much of the MHSAW Regs. The critical parts relevant to your problem are MHSW reg 3, 'Risk Assessment' and MHSW reg 7 'Procedures for Serious and Imminent Danger'. Now the implication is, 'how are you going to know if your plan will work if you do not practice it'? If you choose not to practice you will need to convince your employees, your customers, an inspecting officer or a court that it will work during an emergency. Mike's idea to only include a few employees may not find favour with the local fire brigade as this may encourage people to think the fire alarm doesn't apply to them. I could write a book about the number of fires I have attended where the fire alarm has been ignored. A compromise may be to hold fire drills when the store is effectively closed to the public perhaps during stock taking, but your local fire brigade may have their own view on this. As Fred says, I think you should check with them. Best of luck. Frank