Questions relating to Fire Prevention and Risk Managment in Commercial Kitchens

The Order, made under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 has replaced over 70 separate pieces of fire safety legislation, such as the Fire Precautions Act, Licensing Act and Housing Acts with a simple, single Order. It has abolished the requirement for certain premises to hold a fire certificate and instead requires any person who exercises some level of control in any non-domestic premises to take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and ensure occupants can escape safely if a fire does occur.

This change does have its benefits: as well as simplification, the Order provides for better regulation by reducing the number of enforcing authorities that businesses have to deal and ensuring that regulation is carried out on the basis of risk and in a manner more suited to the needs of modern business and commerce.

In many non-domestic premises achieving fire safety will be a matter of common sense but as a 'responsible person' you will have to ensure that sufficient time is put aside to work through the necessary steps. In more complicated premises or those with a high life risk more expert help may be required. Specialist commercial cleaning companies, such as ourselves, will have a very grasp of some of the issues you will face in a commercial kitchen environment, and will generally be pleased to share their experiences and offer guidance. For example, please feel free to call us on 0870 6092080 if you have any questions relating to how the Order applies to your particular situation.

The Order applies to virtually all premises and covers nearly every type of building, structure and open space.

For example, any premises that offer catering are almost certainly included, such as:

• Premises that provide care
• Community halls
• Pubs, clubs and restaurants
• Schools
• Tents and marquees
• Hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, hostels and self catering accommodation
• Factories and warehouses

To be clear, however, the Order does not however apply to individual, domestic premises occupied by a single family group.

The responsible person is required to:

• Carry out a fire risk assessment identifying the risks and hazards.
• Consider who may be especially at risk.
• Eliminate or reduce the risk from fire as far as is reasonably practical and provide general fire precautions to deal with any residual risk. In a Commercial Kitchen Environment, regular cleaning to prevent the build up of combustible impurities will be a key consideration.
• Take additional measures to ensure fire safety where flammable or explosive materials are used or stored.
• Create a plan to deal with any emergency and, in most cases, document your findings.
• Review the findings as necessary

In carrying out a risk assessment the responsible person may decide that given the nature of the premises or the people involved, they do not have the necessary competence to discharge their duties. If this is the case, the responsible person can choose to appoint one or more competent persons to assist them. The level of necessary competence is not prescribed in the Order. It recognises that the extent of competency will vary according to the nature and complexity of the premises involved.

Under the Order, anyone who has control in a building or anyone who has a degree of control over certain areas or systems may be designated a "responsible person" for example:

• The employer for those parts of premises they have any control over.
• The managing agent or owner for common parts of a premises or common fire safety equipment such as fire warning systems or sprinklers.
• Any other person who has some control over a part of a premises may be the responsible person in so far as that control extends.

Although in many premises the responsible person will be obvious, there may be occasions when a number of people have some responsibility.

If you are the responsible person you must ensure a fire risk assessment is carried out.

Although you can choose to appoint one or more competent persons to assist you, you will remain responsible, in law, for complying with the Order.

The level of necessary competence is not prescribed in the Order. It recognises that the extent of competency will vary according to the nature and complexity of the premises involved.

The responsible person, either on their own or in co-operation with any other responsible person must as far as is reasonably practical, ensure that everyone on the premises can escape safely in the event of a fire.

This differs from previous legislation in that there is no longer any distinction made between people who are employees, for example in a place of work and members of the public at an open air entertainment venue. It includes people who may have a disability or anyone who may need special assistance. The Order requires that the responsible person takes ownership of the management of any risk in their premises. Fire certificates have been abolished and those previously issued no longer have legal status. You will therefore need to carry out a fire risk assessment and ensure that your risk reduction, fire precautions and maintenance routines are sustained.

To help you ensure your premises comply with the new legislation, the CLG website contains information on how to comply with the requirements of the Order. The 'Short Guide to Making Your Premises Safe From Fire' provides a useful introduction to the principles of fire safety (and includes the 5-step risk assessment checklist) and more detailed technical guidance, designed to help you consider how best to comply with the legislation in a range of specific types of premises, is also available to help you consider how best you can comply.

Below is a summary of the 5 steps you will need to go through to carry out a fire risk assessment within your premises:

Note: When assessing Catering Extract Ventilation BSRIA have produced a very useful set of guidelines on behalf of the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Step 1 - Identify fire hazards

• Sources of ignition
• Sources of fuel

Step 2 - Identify people especially at risk

• Members of staff
• People not familiar with the premises
• People working alone

Step 3 - Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect from risks

• Measures to prevent fires
• Measures to protect people from fire

Step 4 - Record, plan, instruct, inform and train

• Record significant findings and actions taken
• Prepare an emergency plan
• Inform relevant people, provide instruction, co-operate and co-ordinate with others
• Provide training

Step 5 - Review

• Keep assessment under review
• Revise where necessary

The Fire Safety Advice Centre has some useful guidance including a risk assessment template and advice about how to evaluate risk based on potential severity and also the likelihood of an event occurring.

In addition, an online self-assessment form is available from the Fire Gateway site to enable you to test the extent to which your completed risk assessment is likely to comply with the requirements of the Order. This consists of a series of fire-safety related questions which should take no more than ten minutes to complete. At the end of the process, you will have the option to view your results and any suggestions for improvement that may be applicable by means of an online form which you can print or save for future reference.

The Fire Gateway resources can be accessed from the links below;

• The 5-step risk assessment.
• The online compliance self-assessment form.