In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, the government and construction sector have reconsidered many aspects of building safety and special consideration has been given to fire safety. To target the factors which contributed to Grenfell and to bolster safeguards, the government has introduced reforms and proposed further legislation.

There's been a lot of discussion about that new legislation, in the form of the Fire Safety Bill, but existing legislation should not be overlooked by employers, contractors, building owners and public authorities, as these laws continue to place fire safety obligations on parties involved in building ownership and maintenance.   

So, what is the existing legislation and are you complying with it? And what changes does the new Bill propose to this?

Existing legislation
Fire safety in all non-domestic premises in England and Wales (including communal areas of residential buildings with multiple homes, but excluding houses occupied as single private dwellings) is regulated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Order). Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legislation regarding fire safety.

The Order came into effect on 1 October 2006 and, broadly, it requires any person who has a level of control over premises to take reasonable steps to assess the risk from fire and put in place appropriate control measures including measures to ensure people can safely escape the premises in the event of a fire occurring.