Department of Health

NHS Management Executive
St Andrew’s House
EDINBURGH
EH1 3DG
Tel: 0131-244
Fax: 0131-244-2323

FIRE PRECAUTIONS (WORKPLACE) REGULATIONS 1997

Summary

1. The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 come into effect on 1 December 1997.

2. The Regulations bring into law the outstanding requirements of the EC Framework Directive (89/391/EC) and Workplace Directive (89/654/EC) and make fire authorities responsible for enforcing minimum fire safety standards in most workplaces to protect employees. Further information is contained in the Annex.

3. The Regulations will, in practice, involve NHSiS bodies with little additional work. Firecode in Scotland: Policy and Principles already has similar requirements, primarily to protect patients, which remain mandatory. Firecode in Scotland is now cited as appropriate guidance for healthcare premises in the advice to employers attached to the Regulations. The risk assessment required by the Regulations and Firecode in Scotland: Policy and Principles should embrace safety measures to protect both employees and patients.

Action

4. The Regulations apply to all areas of healthcare premises. The requirement is for Chief Executives and General Managers to establish procedures to provide for risk assessments in all of their premises to ensure that employees are not exposed to undue risks from fire. The Firecode in Scotland risk assessment procedures comply with this requirement.

5th December 1997

______________________________

5. This MEL should be brought to the attention of the following people:

• executive directors/senior executives
  
  
• the nominated officer (fire);
  
  
• the risk manager;
  
  
• the specialist fire safety adviser.

Yours sincerely

PAUL WILSON
Director of Trusts

ANNEX

FIRE PRECAUTIONS (WORKPLACE) REGULATIONS 1997

1. The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations, laid before Parliament in July 1997, come into effect on 1 December 1997. The Regulations bring into law the outstanding requirements of the EC Framework Directive (89/391/EC) and Workplace Directive (89/654/EC) and provide for minimum fire safety standards in places where people work, including shared areas and facilities and the means of access to the workplace.

2. The main thrust of the Regulations is to place upon employers, or persons who have to any extent control of a workplace, the responsibility of carrying out a risk assessment of their premises and of ensuring that appropriate steps are taken to ensure that employees are not exposed to undue risks from fire.

3. The Regulations require that an assessment of fire risks in the workplace be carried out as part of the general review of health and safety risks or as a specific exercise. They also require a check to be made that a fire can be detected in a reasonable time and that people can be warned to enable them to leave the building safely. Firefighting equipment appropriate to the risk must also be provided and maintained in an operational condition along with all other fire safety equipment. Finally a check must be made that those in the building know what to do if there is a fire.

4. For patient care areas of hospitals, the guidance in FIRECODE IN SCOTLAND should be used when assessing fire safety. Reference to FIRECODE IN SCOTLAND is made in Annex D to the more general guidance "Fire Precautions in the Workplace" which is now available from the Stationery Office (ISBN 0-11-341169-3: published in 1997 by the Home Office and The Scottish Office: price £3.50) or the Home Office internet site http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/fsyu.htm.

5. Although at first sight the new Regulations may seem an additional burden on the NHS in Scotland, in practice this should not be the case. Firstly, the risk assessment approach adopted by the Regulations is one long advocated by FIRECODE IN SCOTLAND and indeed it is a mandatory requirement of The Scottish Office Department of Health Fire Safety Policy that all Trusts should have programmes for improving fire precautions based on a systematic fire risk assessment of all their premises. Providing Trusts have undertaken risk assessments and are adequately funding improvement programmes, the additional burden caused by the Regulations should be minimal.

6. Secondly, the Regulations do not apply to those premises or parts of premises for which a fire certificate, issued under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, is in force, or for which an application has been made. This may account for surprisingly large areas of hospital premises, even though the patient care areas of hospitals are not designated under the Fire Precautions Act and do not require a fire certificate. Examples of areas of hospitals where an office or factory process is being undertaken and which therefore may require a fire certificate if sufficient numbers of people are employed are indicated below:

• administration offices;
  
  
• central sterile supply departments;
  
  
• radiological departments (x-ray processing and large units);
  
  
• theatre sterilising and disinfecting units;
  
  
• laundries;
  
  
• maintenance workshop;
  
  
• boiler houses.

7. It is important to recognise that the definition of "administration offices" also includes offices for staff providing administration support in ward areas. Consequently there are small areas within patient accommodation which are designated under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and which may therefore require a fire certificate when accommodated within one building and aggregated together. Where a fire certificate has been issued or is pending, the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations will not apply to these areas. Where the numerical threshold of such workplaces is not sufficient to attract the provisions of a fire certificate, they presently fall within the scope of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 Section 9A (duty as to means of escape and for fighting fire). When the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 come into force they will have the effect of disapplying Section 9A in respect of all but a small number of premises involving self employed persons, and of replacing the provisions in that section.

Relationship with health and safety legislation

8. The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 complement and amend the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, to the extent that the definition of "workplace fire precautions legislation" encompasses Part II of the Fire Regulations and the relevant provisions of the Management Regulations. A similar risk assessment approach to determine the risks to health and safety of employees and other persons is adopted in both Regulations.

Enforcement

9. Local fire authorities have a responsibility for the supervision and control of compliance with the Regulations, but will tend to concentrate on high fire risk premises.

10. If the fire authority thinks further precautions are necessary, the Regulations provide for a clear and defined process of discussion, consultation and ultimately enforcement action depending on the degree of risk found during inspection.

11. This note replaces that at Annex A of NHS MEL(1996)95.