Fire safety – 10 frequently asked questions

Our general information is relevant worldwide, though some regulations and guidance are UK-specific. The content has been sourced from IOSH Fire Risk Management Group publications.

1. Who is ultimately responsible for ensuring fire safety in the workplace?

You are deemed the ‘responsible person’ for fire safety if you are:

• the employer
• the building owner
• the landlord
• anyone else with control of the premises, such as a facilities manager, building manager, managing agent or risk assessor.

If there is more than one ‘responsible person’, you must work together to meet your responsibilities.

2. What is a ‘responsible person’ required to do?

You must:

• carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises and review it regularly
• tell staff or their representatives about the risks you’ve identified
• put in place, and maintain, appropriate fire safety measures
• plan for an emergency
• provide staff information, fire safety instruction and training.

3. Who should carry out fire risk assessments (FRAs)?

Businesses generally find it more time and cost-effective to contract out this specialist job to a professional consultant. If you prefer to conduct your FRA in-house, you need to make sure the person charged with carrying out this work is sufficiently trained and competent.

4. How long should it take to evacuate a building?

Legislation, such as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), states: “In the event of danger, it must be possible for persons to evacuate the premises as quickly and as safely as possible.” It does not prescribe specific evacuation times.

Previously, it has been suggested that evacuation should take between two and three minutes, but many factors will play a part.

Guidance on fire evacuation times focuses on:

• ASET (available safe escape time) – the time between ignition and when conditions become untenable
• RSET (required safe escape time) – the time between ignition and when occupants can reach a place of safety).

ASET must be significantly longer than the RSET for safe evacuation.

5. How often should we carry out fire drills?

UK Government advice on fire safety in the workplace states: “You should carry out at least one fire drill per year and record the results. You must keep the results as part of your fire safety and evacuation plan.” New staff must have the drill explained to them when they start work.

Ideally, you should carry out two drills per year at nine-month intervals – to vary the seasons and include as many employees as possible, considering holidays and off-site working.

6. What are the rules around fire extinguishers?

Fire extinguishers are covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which states that appropriate firefighting equipment must be provided where there is a fire risk. Their provision and maintenance is covered by BS (British Standards) 5306, which gives guidelines as to which extinguishers to use where and on what type of fire.

In accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, every office needs at least one person (usually a fire marshal or fire warden) trained to use fire extinguishers.

Remember that fire extinguishers are designed to fight small fires and this should never come before evacuating people from the building.

7. What routine checks should be carried out on fire safety equipment?

You must carry out regular checks to make sure:

• fire alarm systems are working
• emergency lighting is working
• you record any faults in systems or equipment
• all escape routes are clear, and the floor is in good condition
• all fire escapes can be opened easily
• automatic fire doors close correctly
• fire exit signs are in the right place.

8. How can we ensure fire safety for employees when so many people now work from home?

It is practical to provide employees who work from home with fire safety information, guidance and basic awareness training, so that they can take a self-regulatory approach. A key factor, though, is to maintain the PAT testing of electrical equipment such as laptop chargers and printers by using external contractors.

9. What can employees do to reduce the fire risk posed by battery chargers?

Lithium-ion batteries, used in chargers for appliances such as smartphones and laptops, are safe during normal use but present a fire risk when over-charged, short-circuited, submerged in water or damaged.

Key advice includes the following.

• Only use original chargers designed for and supplied with your device.
• Never buy cheap, fake chargers.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how long to charge the equipment for.
• Stop using a charger if it is faulty or becomes damaged.
• Don’t leave items charging overnight or in contact with soft furnishings.
• Don’t overload electric sockets or extension cables.

10. Where can I find statistics relating to workplace fires?

There are lots of reliable online sources of data relating to fires in the UK, including the UK Government and the Fire Safety Advice Centre.

For a global picture, one place to start is the International Association of Fire Services (CTIF), which publishes a World Fire Statistics Report that includes data on fires worldwide.