Government report on review of impact and effectiveness of Fire Safety Order
A much anticipated Government report was published on 26the March 2009 by the Communities and Local Government Department regarding
the impact and effectiveness the Fire Safety Order (FSO).
One particular area of concern raised by the report is that there are still a high number of business owners who are running the risk
of prosecution and the damaging effects of fires to themselves, their employees and their property through failure understand or
achieve compliance with the legal requirements contained within the FSO.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force on 1st October 2006 introducing new duties on employers and owners of
all non-domestic premises in England and Wales regarding how they deal with fire safety issues.
The report highlights concerns from both fire and rescue services and the fire safety industry that only around 60% of businesses are
aware of the FSO, and that awareness is lowest among businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Large businesses, however, do not escape
either –those across multiple sites are affected by confusion and potential disagreement over who is the responsible person.
The evaluation exercise on which the report is based sought the opinion of representatives from fire and rescue authorities, the fire
safety industry, and responsible persons.
On a positive note the report says that overall, fire and rescue services have welcomed the legislation, and that businesses, when
aware of its provisions, understand and support the principle of a risk assessed approach. In addition, most of those in businesses
able to give an opinion said it was an improvement on previous legislation.
Target 100 Health and Safety Management System contains comprehensive information regarding the requirements contained within the
Fire Safety Order, together with means of easily developing fire risk assessments for businesses.
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