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New laws that are now in force mean that the way Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service does business with its commercial partners has changed dramatically. You will be taking on new responsibilities in relation to the protection of your property and your workforce and we want to work with you to ensure the transition is smooth.
This is a significant change from the previous legislation, The Fire Precautions Act 1971, whereby the local Fire and Rescue Service provided fire safety solutions.
The new fire safety law and regulations fiirmly places responsibility for assessing risk and providing appropriate control measures within the relevant premises, with the Duty Holder/responsible persons. Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service are the authority responsible for enforcing the new legislation.
Among your new responsibilities will be a requirement to carry out your own fire safety risk assessments:
Ensuring an assessment of the fire risks within your premises has been carried out is a key part of the "Duty Holder/responsible persons" role. Performing a detailed fire safety risk assessment and acting on your findings will help to reduce risks, ensure compliance with legislation and could save lives.
There is no set format for completing a fire safety risk assessment, but the guides produced to complement the Act offer some suggestions. To assist you in completing a fire safety risk assessment and preparing you in case we choose to audit your premises we have produced a fire risk assessment proforma which is available along with Fire Safety Guidance Booklet (PDF) on how to complete it.
Recording evidence of premises maintenance and staff training
If our officers visit your premises to audit compliance with fire legislation they will ask to see evidence that you have been adequately maintaining your premises and training your staff, in fire safety.
Changes to your premises
In most cases you will be able to make changes to your premises but you must remember that you will be responsible for managing the risk you create and you will still have to comply with the planning process Building Regulations for your area:
City of Edinburgh Council | East Lothian Council | Midlothian Council | Scottish Borders Council | West Lothian Council
If requested by Building Standards to consult with the Fire Service, Architects should be sending in full floor plans with the relevant annotation on the plans - please view a sample of our architect contact form.
You will need to revisit your fire safety risk assessment and look at how the changes will affect the risk in your premises, assess if your risk management measures are adequate and if you need to adopt further measures.
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