If you own, manage or control a workplace, such as an office, shop, factory or warehouse, the law requires you to put suitable fire safety measures in place, and to have them ready before people work in or visit the building.

A fire can kill or injure people, destroy a business overnight and lead to prosecution. Yet most fires are preventable.

This course explains fire safety law, how to carry out a fire risk assessment, and the fire safety systems, equipment and procedures you need, so that fires are prevented and people can escape safely if one starts.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain why fire safety matters, and the consequences of getting it wrong.
• Describe the main requirements of fire safety law in Ireland, and who must meet them.
• Understand how fire safety law is enforced, and the penalties for breaking it.
• Carry out a fire risk assessment, using the five-step approach.
• Recognise the fire prevention measures, detection and fire fighting systems, and evacuation procedures a workplace needs.
• Prepare a fire plan and run effective fire drills, including arrangements for people who need help to escape.

This module sets out the legal framework for fire safety. You will learn about:

• Why fire safety is important.
• Fire safety law, and the duties of the person in control.
• Who the law protects.
• How fire safety law is enforced, and the penalties for breaking it.

Managing fire risk protects lives first and foremost, but it also protects livelihoods. A fire needs three things to start and keep burning, known together as the fire triangle:

• Fuel: anything that burns, such as paper, packaging, furniture and flammable liquids.
• Oxygen: normally from the air around us.
• A source of ignition: heat or a spark, for example from electrical equipment, hot work, smoking or cooking.

Remove any one side of the triangle, and a fire cannot start or continue. Almost every fire safety measure works by keeping these three elements apart.

Poor management of fire risk can lead to:

• Death and serious injury. Smoke and toxic fumes are the biggest killers, often reaching people before the flames do.
• Loss of the business. Premises, stock and equipment can be destroyed, and many businesses never recover from a major fire.
• Loss of jobs and income for employees.
• Prosecution, with heavy fines and imprisonment for those responsible.
• Damage to reputation, as customers, insurers and regulators lose confidence.

Suitable fire safety measures greatly reduce the chance of fire, and make sure that if one starts, people can escape and the damage is limited.

The main fire safety law for workplaces in Ireland is the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, usually called the Fire Services Acts.

Section 18 of the Fire Services Act 1981, as amended, requires every person in control of premises to take all reasonable measures to guard against the outbreak of fire, and to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of people on the premises if a fire breaks out.

The duty covers almost all non-domestic premises, such as workplaces, shops, offices, factories, hotels and care homes. A fire risk assessment is the practical way to show that you have met it.

The Fire Services Acts place the main duty on the person in control of the premises. In a workplace, this is normally the employer. Elsewhere, it is whoever has control of the premises, such as the occupier or the owner.

Employers also have duties under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Section 11 requires them to prepare emergency plans, and to appoint enough trained employees to put them into effect, including evacuation and fire fighting.

Where more than one person has control, such as a landlord and a tenant, they must cooperate and coordinate their fire safety arrangements.

The person in control must:

• Make sure a suitable fire risk assessment is carried out, and kept up to date.
• Decide which fire safety measures are needed, and put them in place.
• Maintain those measures, such as fire alarms, extinguishers, emergency lighting and fire doors.
• Give employees clear information, instruction and training about fire risks, and what to do in an emergency.
• Plan for an emergency, including how people will be warned and how they will evacuate.
• Appoint competent people to help carry out the fire safety measures.

The duty in the Fire Services Acts is owed to everyone on the premises, and employers must also protect anyone affected by their work. When you plan for fire, think beyond your own staff, and include:

• Employees, and contractors working on the premises.
• Visitors, customers and members of the public.
• People with disabilities, and anyone else who may need help to escape.
• People in neighbouring premises who could be affected if a fire spreads.

In practice, taking all reasonable measures against fire means:

• Reducing the risk of fire starting, and of fire spreading.
• Providing means of escape: clearly signed routes and exits, kept clear and usable at all times.
• Providing ways to detect fire and give warning, and equipment for fighting fire.
• Giving people the instruction, training and information they need to act correctly in a fire.
• Arranging the safe use, handling, storage and transport of dangerous substances.
• Keeping the premises and fire safety equipment in good working order, and reviewing the arrangements regularly.

Several other laws work alongside the Fire Services Acts:

• The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, which requires employers to protect employees and others from risks, including fire, and to have a written risk assessment and safety statement.
• The General Application Regulations 2007, which cover emergency routes and exits, fire detection and fire fighting, and safety signs. Part 8 covers explosive atmospheres.
• The Chemical Agents Regulations 2001, as amended, which control hazardous substances, including flammable ones.
• The Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014 and the Building Regulations, with Technical Guidance Document B, which set fire safety standards for buildings. Most new non-domestic buildings need a fire safety certificate.

In most workplaces, fire safety law is enforced by the local fire authority, which is part of the local authority. The Health and Safety Authority, or HSA, enforces workplace safety law, including employers’ duties on risk assessment, emergency plans and fire fighting equipment.

Authorised fire officers can enter and inspect premises at any reasonable time, and ask to see your fire safety records. They check that the person in control is meeting their duties.

If fire safety is not good enough, they can take enforcement action, depending on how serious the failings are.

Depending on the level of risk, the enforcing authorities can:

• Give informal advice on minor issues.
• Serve a fire safety notice under section 20 of the Fire Services Act 1981. It can require precautions, and restrict or prohibit use of all or part of the building until they are taken.
• Where the risk is serious and immediate, serve a closure notice under section 20A.
• In the most serious cases, apply to the High Court under section 23 to close or restrict the premises.
• Through the HSA, issue improvement and prohibition notices under the 2005 Act.

Notices can be appealed, but people must still be protected in the meantime.

Breaking fire safety law is a criminal offence, and the penalties reflect the potential for loss of life.

• Less serious offences can be dealt with in the District Court, with fines and possible imprisonment.
• Serious offences can be tried on indictment, with much heavier fines and imprisonment. Under the 2005 Act, fines on indictment can reach three million euro, with up to two years in prison.
• Both organisations and individuals, such as directors and managers, can be prosecuted.

A serious fire can also mean closure, loss of insurance cover and lasting damage to reputation. Complying with the law is far cheaper, and far safer.