Surrey Fire and Rescue Service enforces the law on matters relating to fire safety within Surrey. We also work in partnership with businesses, charities and organisations on a local and national basis to inform them about measures they can take to improve their fire safety.
Contents
- The Law
- What the Fire Safety Order applies to
- Your responsibilities
- Our legal responsibilities
- What to expect if we visit for an inspection
- What happens if you aren't compliant
The Law
If you own, manage or operate a business, you need to comply with fire safety law. The main law is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 or "the Fire Safety Order". It applies across England and Wales and came into force on 1 October 2006.
What the Fire Safety Order applies to
The Order applies to almost all buildings, places and structures other than individual private homes – that's individual flats in a block or family homes. Other places covered by the Order include shared areas in houses of multiple occupation (HMOs), blocks of flats and maisonettes.
Your responsibilities
You need to make sure your premises reach the required standards and employees are provided with adequate fire safety training.
Our legal responsibilities
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service has a responsibility to keep residents, workers and visitors to Surrey safe. An important part of this duty is making sure that people responsible for commercial premises are following the rules.
We enforce fire safety, which is mostly applicable to commercial premises and the common parts in flats. We want to work with you to help your business to be compliant and successful and it is important to us that you feel able to come to us for advice when you need it.
As well as enforcing relevant legislation, we have duties to provide fire safety advice to the extent we think reasonable, and we are also a statutory consultee for Building Regulations applications (excluding private dwellings), entertainment licensing and the provision of fire safety in residential care premises.
We can visit your premises at any time to make sure you are following the rules and keeping employees and members of the public safe. We generally make appointments, though can visit your premises at any time if we believe that an unannounced visit will better determine whether the law is being complied with.
Of course, we are committed to being consistent, fair, transparent, proportional, competent, respectful and polite.
What to expect if we visit for an inspection
- Our officers will explain the reason and purpose of the visit and provide identification on request
- They will exercise discretion and have regard to your approach to compliance
- They will support you in meeting your statutory obligations
- We will act on an assessment of risk and minimise our impact on your business.
What happens if you aren't compliant
If we find something wrong we could take action ranging from providing information and advice to prosecuting those responsible in a court of law. For serious offences, you could be fined and/or imprisoned.
If you receive an Enforcement Notice or are prosecuted for failing to meet your responsibilities, we will publish details. The information will also be shared on the National Chief Fire Officers website.
