TeacherNet, The Law

Fire Safety — The Law and the Regulatory Reform Order

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Services) Order 2005 (RRO), implemented in October 2006, replaced The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997. The RRO applies to both new and existing school buildings. It provides for minimum fire safety standards and emphasise the duty of 'The Responsible Person' to ensure that every school has risk assessments carried out.

Under the RRO fire safety legislation has become simplified and the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) has produced a series of guides for users of different types of buildings. These deal with the provision and management of fire safety by risk assessment in the whole range of existing buildings; the one that covers schools is Risk Assessment Guide for Educational Premises 2006 (RRO Guide). See below.

The DCSF document Health & Safety: Responsibilities and Powers (DfES/0803/2001) clarifies responsibilities for schools under existing health and safety legislation. Health and safety responsibilities in schools include fire safety. As explained in the DCSF document, with schools that are maintained by the Local Authority (LA), the ultimate responsibility for fire safety lies with the authority but duties can be delegated, eg, to the school's governing body and the head teacher. The LA usually looks after structural issues such as fire alarm systems and the structural fire integrity of buildings, while the governing body and the head teacher through the Fire Safety Manager, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the school and its fire safety procedures. The LA however retains the responsibility to monitor the performance of the Fire Safety Manager to ensure adequate standards of fire safety are maintained.

Local Authority maintained school premises must comply with Regulation 17 of The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999. This requires that every part of a school building, and of the land provided for a school, shall be such that the safe escape of the occupants in case of fire is reasonably assured. Particular regard is given to:

the likely rate at which flames will spread across exposed surfaces
resistance to fire of the structure and of the materials of which the structures are made and their properties
the means of escape in the case of fire.

To ensure there is no doubt as to where the responsibility for fire safety rests, and to enable consistency of approach, it is important that a designated Fire Safety Manager is appointed for each establishment. This should be a senior appointment preferably at Head or Deputy-Head level. It may be possible to appoint a professional to take on this role but that will depend on the size of the premises, costs, etc.

There is considerable guidance on how to meet the above duties, and others, contained in the Educational Premises guide in support of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and in Fire Safety Guide No.6 (DfEE) in the Managing School Facilities series. Download these below. There is also guidance in BS 5588: Part 12 Fire Safety Management in buildings.

The requirements of the RRO are not new. They were present under the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 and previous Health and Safety legislation. The responsibility for supervision and control of compliance with the RRO lies with the local fire authorities who have the legal powers to enforce the RRO where necessary. In practice fire brigades will tend to concentrate on premises with a high fire risk.

Fire Authorities are not legally required to inspect schools but, if asked, will give goodwill advice under Section 1(1)(f) of the Fire Services Act 1947.

Some local authorities have Local Acts which include fire safety matters. The local fire brigade should be aware of these.

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