StaySAFE: Fire Protection

The FCF StaySAFE zone is here to help you keep abreast of industry issues, regulatory requirements, and for guidance on how to keep you compliant and your business protected.

Fire and its consequences pose a significant risk to any business, whether a major industrial company or a small to medium sized enterprise (SME). Those operating from single premises may be especially vulnerable because so much disruption and loss can be caused by even a small fire. Such an incident involving your organisation could also have a far wider implication should it also affect business continuity of customers or suppliers.

This section is aimed at those who run SMEs. It provides basic advice about fire safety in small businesses, it describes the importance of fire risk assessment and includes a table of simple questions about fire safety which can form the basis of a fire risk assessment.

Whatever type of business you operate, the chances are that you are an employer responsible by law for protecting the health, safety and welfare of those who work for you. In particular, the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (as amended in 1999) require virtually all employers to carry out a fire risk assessment of their workplace in order to identify, reduce or eliminate any fire hazards that may be found. This is a legal requirement, even if a fire certificate has been issued for the premises. A failure to assess the fire risks is an offence under the Regulations, which we shall call the Workplace Regulations throughout this website.