By Liam PlumbHaving regular fire risk assessments not only protects the residents and the property but it also keeps you aligned with the UK’s legal requirements. With the laws continuously evolving to adhere to the highest fire safety standards, it’s important to understand the potential legal consequences of not having a fire risk assessment.
What Are The Fire Risk Assessment Laws?
Fire risk assessment laws are governed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in both England and Wales. This indicates that any buildings that are non-domestic and not a ‘single private dwelling’ require a fire risk assessment.
It is the duty of a ‘Responsible Person’, typically the employer, landlord or building owner, to ensure a fire risk assessment is undertaken for their property..
That includes:
- Businesses with five or more employees
- Buildings the public can access
- Landlords of HMOs or commercial lets
- Self-employed people with business premises
After the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced to further improve building and fire safety standards, particularly in residential high-rise blocks. This made recording fire risk assessments mandatory in high-risk residential buildings of multiple occupancy.
A fire risk assessment is a structured review of your space to identify fire hazards and risks to people. It’s a key part of keeping your building safe and making sure you’re meeting legal standards.
The recordings must cover an assessment of fire hazards, escape routes, sources of ignition, the location of combustible materials and active and passive fire protection measures. To ensure that all assessments are accurately recorded, it is recommended to have an accredited professional complete your fire risk assessment.
A good fire risk assessment protects lives and property by helping you spot dangers before they become real problems. Without one, you could face serious consequences, including large fines or even prison.
What Constitutes Non-Compliance
In the context of fire risk assessment legislations, non-compliance means failing to meet one or more of the legal duties required to ensure fire safety, such as:
- Completely failing to carry out a fire risk assessment on the premises.
- The assessment is outdated or has not been regularly reviewed.
- Not designating a “Responsible Person” for fire safety.
- Failing to act on known risks or hazards identified in a fire risk assessment.
- Lack of functioning or properly maintained fire safety features such as fire doors
- No written fire safety policies, risk assessments or maintenance records.
What Are The Legal Consequences?
Due to fire risk assessments being a legal requirement, failing to maintain or carry out this is a criminal offence and can lead to serious legal consequences.
If you fail to comply, the repercussions could include:
Monetary Penalties – Failure to complete and/or record a fire risk assessment can result in fines up to thousands of pounds. Repeated breaches can lead to unlimited monetary fines for you and your business.
Improvement Notices – This type of notice addresses the breach in the law and gives the Responsible Person time to put these issues right.
Prohibition Notices – If there are serious breaches and risk to life, you may be handed a prohibition notice – partially or fully closing your business until the issues are resolved.
Prosecution and Imprisonment – In the most serious cases, the Responsible Persons can be prosecuted and can face time in prison.
Legal Consequences in Action: Real Prosecution Example
Birch Residential Homes Limited and its director were successfully prosecuted by West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service. The company had failed to respond to fire service requests following an audit that identified issues, including the complete absence of a fire risk assessment. They were fined and ordered to pay £3,000.
This is just one example that serves as a strong reminder to any responsible persons that they must arrange for a sufficient fire risk assessment of their premises.
How Can T2 Fire Help?
At T2 Fire, we are award winning, qualified fire risk assessors working to improve fire safety across the nation. Our mission is to provide customers with comprehensive, understandable and actionable fire risk assessments that will improve your fire safety.
Avoid the potential legal consequences of a fire risk assessment, and get in touch with our team today to find out how we can help.