The regulatory reform fire safety order of 2005 governs all the non-domestic premises and also a part(s) of the domestic properties. All the premises covered in the mentioned act require that they should have the fire prevention measures adhered to.
The fire safety regulation also applies in England and it covers the general fire prevention measures. The order highlights the major precautions to have in most premises. The person required to comply with the fire safety order is supposed to take a fire risk assessment which primarily focuses on the safety of the people and the property in case of a fire.
The people affected by the fire safety order are; business premises owners, employers, charity or all voluntary organizations, contractors with a certain degree of control over any premises in kent and the self-employed individuals with business premises.
Enforcement.
The fire safety officers in Dover and Kent have certain powers. They have a right of entry in the business premises. The officer also has the right to demand for certain fire documents. The details of the fire safety audits procedures to be adopted during the audit process by the officer also should be provided on request.
The fire safety officer reserves the right to serve the premises that does not comply with the legislation established with restriction orders. On the extreme if the officer identifies that a building poses a greater risk to life a decision may be reached to serve a probation notice restricting the use of the premises.
Depending on the seriousness of the failure to comply with the offence the guilty party may be fined or imprisoned for a period of up to two years and in if in same cases both penalties may apply. However it should be understood that the aim of the fire and safety regulations is to encourage people to take a risk assessment approach to be able to achieve the highest level of fire safety.
Failure of the fire alarm system can attract a penalty. Looking at the previous convictions carried out by Kent fire and Rescue Service the alarm failure deficiency in a premises you manage or you are responsible for can attract a fine by the law enforcers. In addition failure to have your building get the fire risk assessment, inadequate arrangements for inspecting and maintaining the fire safety measure also attracts a hefty fine. This is because the lives of people in these types of premises will be at risk. Therefore in such a case the courts can order for the accused party to pay KFRS’s costs and an additional fine.
If it’s a corporate body that has gone contrary to the fire and safety standards and it is proved beyond doubts that it was committed with the consent of the set safety rules then the said parties will be liable to fines and other forms of punishment as provided by the fire order act. The director, secretary, manager or other officer of that particular corporate or any other person acting on its behalf will be liable to take responsibility of the violations.