Fire Safety Legislation and British Standards

Which Legislation and British Standards should be used in a fire risk assessment or survey?

It is important to understand all relevant regulations and standards when carrying out any Fire Safety Assessment or Survey as this provides a base for the recommendations and explains the legal obligations put onto the employer. The standards and regulations listed below are just an example of what RB Health and Safety Solutions would consider when carrying out a fire risk assessment of your premises, however it should be noted that these would differ greatly depending on the type of premise.

Regulations:

• Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendments) Regulations 1997
It should be noted that these regulations, which came into force on the 1st December 1999, places the responsibility for ensuring the safety of employees in the event of a fire with the employer, and also requires the employer to take into account everyone else who may be in the premises.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Under regulation 3 (4) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999 where an employer employs 5 or more persons (whether or not they are employed in the same workplace at one time or at separate workplaces) an employer must record significant findings of a risk assessment and identify any group of employees at risk in the workplace. The record should be available for inspection by the fire authority (under section 19 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 as applied by regulation 17 of the 1997 Fire Regulations, as amended)

• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
Due to the regulatory reform (Fire Safety) order fire certificates now cease. For more information on the Fire Safety order please see our other document specifically relating to this subject.
• Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988
The above act only applies to domestic premises however as there are no specific regulations relating to commercial premises the standards within this act will be used.

• British Standards. (BS)

All furniture/structural materials and fittings are required to comply with the relevant British standards. Below I have listed the relevant standards with a brief description of each.

BS 476: Part 6	British Standard. Method of test for fire propagation for products. Determination of the fire test performance of products used as internal linings in buildings.
BS 476: Part 7	British Standard. Fire tests on building materials and structures. Part 7. Method for classification of the surface spread of flame of products.
BS 2782:Part 1:	Method 140A:1992British Standard. Methods of testing plastics. Thermal properties. Determination of the burning behaviour of horizontal and vertical specimens in contact with a small-flame ignition source.
BS 2782:Part 1:	Method 140B:1993British Standard. Methods of testing plastics. Thermal properties. Determination of the burning behaviour of flexible vertical specimens in contact with a small-flame ignition source
BS 2782:Part 1:	Method 140C:1993British Standard. Methods of testing plastics. Thermal properties. Determination of the com-bustibility of specimens using a 125 mm flame source
BS 2782:Part 1:	Method 140D:1997British Standard. Methods of testing plastics. Thermal properties. Flammability of a test piece 550 mm x 35 mm of thin polyvinyl chloride sheeting (laboratory method).
BS 4066:Part 1:1980	British Standard. Tests on electric cables under fire conditions. Method of test on a single vertical insu-lated wire or cable.
BS 4066:Part 3:1994	British Standard. Tests on electric cables under fire conditions. Tests on bunched wires or cables Tests on electric cables under fire conditions. Method of test on a single small vertical insulated wire or cable.
BS 5438:1989	British Standard. Methods of test for flammability of textile fabrics when subjected to a small igniting flame applied to the face or bottom edge of vertically oriented specimens
BS 5852	British Standard. Assessment of the ignitability of upholstered seating by smouldering and flaming ignition sources.
BS 5867: Part 1	British Standard. Specification for curtains and drapes. Part 1. General requirements.
BS 5867: Part 2	British Standard. Specification for curtains and drapes. Part 2. Flammability requirements.
BS 6807	British Standard. Assessment of the ignitability of mattresses upholstered divans and upholstered bed bases with primary and secondary sources of ignition.