In England and Wales new regulations introduced in October 2006 have replaced most existing fire safety legislation. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 affects all non-domestic premises and even applies to certain activities taking place outdoors. The Order places the emphasis towards risk reduction and fire prevention. Fire certificates will no longer be issued.
It is now compulsory for companies to conduct a fire risk assessment. As an employer, or as someone who has control of a workplace, you must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire.
PAS 79:2007
Fire risk assessment. Guidance and a recommended methodology
PAS 79 has been revised to take account of changes to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. PAS 79 is a comprehensive Publicly Available Specification (PAS) that gives a nine-step structured approach and corresponding documentation for conducting and recording significant findings of fire risk assessments in buildings across three legislative regimes, namely that in England and Wales, that in Scotland and the unchanged legislation in Northern Ireland (which will not change until, at least, late 2007).
