Who Is Responsible For Completing A Fire Risk Assessment?

Fire risk assessments are a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO). This is an assessment of the risk of fire in your premises, and improving fire safety precautions to reduce the risk and keep people safe.

Sounds good, because no one wants a fire!

And a fire risk assessment generally follows the same [five steps as any risk assessment]:

1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who might be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
4. Record your significant findings
5. Review your assessment and update it if necessary

But who is responsible for doing the fire risk assessment?

9.—(1) The responsible person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the purpose of identifying the general fire precautions he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed on him by or under this Order.

The person responsible for the fire risk assessment is... the responsible person! That might not make things much clearer (yet!), but it's what the law says, "The responsible person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks".

The RRFSO places a legal duty on anyone in control of premises that aren't a 'single private dwelling' (a private home) to undertake a fire risk assessment and put in place and maintain general fire precautions.

As the responsible person you must carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment of the premises. This will identify what you need to do to prevent fire and keep people safe.

But who is this responsible person? And what makes them so responsible?

Let's find out who the responsible person is.

Who is the responsible person?

The RRFSO places legal duties on the person in control of the premises and this person is known as "the Responsible Person". One of the duties of the responsible person is to make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, but who is the responsible person?

In a business premises or other non-domestic premises you are responsible for fire safety if you are:

• The employer
• The building owner
• The landlord
• The occupier
• The person in control of the premises

3. In this Order “responsible person” means—

1. in relation to a workplace, the employer, if the workplace is to any extent under his control;
2. in relation to any premises not falling within paragraph (a)—
   • (i) the person who has control of the premises (as occupier or otherwise) in connection with the carrying on by him of a trade, business or other undertaking (for profit or not); or
   • (ii) the owner, where the person in control of the premises does not have control in connection with the carrying on by that person of a trade, business or other undertaking.

The employer

For a workplace, if the building is under the control of an employer then the employer is the responsible person for fire safety and must complete the fire risk assessment.

The person in control of the premises

Examples include a building manager, a facilities manager, or a managing agent. For example in the common areas of a block of flats, a managing agent might be in control of the premises and be the responsible person for the fire risk assessment of these areas.

The occupier

The occupier may be the responsible person where they are in control of the premises. This does not apply to single private dwellings.

The landlord

Landlords are often responsible for fire risk assessments in common areas of flats, houses in multiple occupation (HMO), and any other building that is not a 'single private dwelling'.

The owner

Where the premises is not a workplace, and the person in control of the premises does not have control in connection with a business, trade, or other undertaking, the responsible person is the building owner.

What if there is more than one responsible person?

If there's more than one responsible person, for example, a landlord and a managing agent, you have to work together to meet your responsibilities.

Some matters might be within your control for the premises, and some might be under someone else's control.

(3) Any duty imposed by articles 8 to 22 or by regulations made under article 24 on the responsible person in respect of premises shall also be imposed on every person, other than the responsible person referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2), who has, to any extent, control of those premises so far as the requirements relate to matters within his control.

Usually, there will be a contractual agreement in place to state who is taking on the fire safety responsibilities, and this will need to be agreed upon. You can't just assume another person is the responsible person and ignore fire safety, as it could put you in a spot of bother if you are a responsible person - you could be fined or go to prison if you fail to follow the fire safety regulations!

Does the responsible person have to complete the fire risk assessment themselves?

The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment, but that doesn't necessarily mean completing it themselves. You might not have the time, or knowledge to do it yourself!

If you are the responsible person, for example, an employer or a landlord or building occupier, and you don't know how to complete a fire risk assessment yourself, you might have someone else within the business who does have fire safety knowledge, or you might need to get outside help from a specialist.

the responsible person must ensure that any duty imposed by articles 8 to 22 or by regulations made under article 24 is complied with in respect of those premises.

As the responsible person you must ensure that the duties are complied with, but it doesn't necessarily mean doing everything yourself. It's actually one of your duties to appoint one or more competent persons to help you!

18.—(1) The responsible person must, subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the preventive and protective measures.

A competent person is someone with the right training, experience, knowledge and qualities to enable them to properly assist in the preventive and protective measures needed for fire safety, and that includes carrying out a fire risk assessment.

But if your business or premises is small and the risks are straightforward, you might be able to carry out the fire risk assessment yourself, and you can use our fire risk assessment template to help you!

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Do you have a fire risk assessment for your workplace? It's a legal requirement! Get started with the fire risk assessment template.