Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Organising for safety
3.1 Introduction
Key to effective fi re and health and safety management
is an understanding of the roles and responsibilities that
individuals and organisations have for ensuring safe
workplaces, safe activities and safe products, etc. This
chapter covers a number of important individual and
organisation roles and outlines the legal framework that
shapes their contribution to safety.
This chapter discusses the following key
aspects:
➤ Safety management roles and
responsibilities
➤ Joint occupation of premises
➤ Consultation with employees
➤ The supply chain
➤ The supply and use of work equipment
➤ The supply of hazardous substances
➤ Construction safety
➤ Consumer products
➤ Contractor management.
3.2 Safety management roles and
responsibilities
3.2.1 The responsible person (RP)
The RRFSO defi nes a key role for the management of
fi re safety in organisations as a ‘responsible person’.
The Order details the duties placed upon this person to
ensure the effective management of fi re safety.
The responsible person is required to establish general
fi re precautions arrangements to safeguard any of his
employees and any relevant persons (any person who may
lawfully be on the premises and any person who may be in
the immediate vicinity of the premises who is at risk from
a fi re) who are not his employees.
The above paragraph refl ects the duties so far as is
reasonably practicable and is in line with current health
and safety legislation.
The responsibility for completing suitable and suffi cient
fi re risk assessments and implementing the fi ndings of
such assessments also falls upon the responsible person.
As previously discussed, fi re safety arrangements including
the provision of fi re fi ghting and detection, emergency
routes and exits, procedures for serious and imminent
danger, danger areas and emergency measures in
respect of dangerous substances also fall under the remit
of the ‘responsible person’.
Further details relating to the role of the responsible
person will be covered later. However, it is worthy
of note that the responsible person will invariably also be
an employer.
3.2.2 Employers
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As discussed in Chapter 1, all employers have duties
imposed by both criminal and civil law. In criminal law
any employer has a general duty to ensure, so far as
is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of his
employees while they are at work. In addition, employers
have a similar statutory duty to ensure, again so
far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety
of any other persons who may be affected by his work
undertaking.
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