The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, usually shortened to the Fire Safety Order or FSO, is the law that sets out who is responsible for fire safety in non-domestic premises in England and Wales and what they must do about it. It applies to warehouses, factories, workshops, offices, shops and most other workplaces. This guide explains who the “responsible person” is, what the Order requires, and how everyday storage decisions, from where pallets sit to how flammable liquids are kept, affect your compliance.
What is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005?
The Order (SI 2005/1541, as amended) replaced a patchwork of earlier fire legislation with a single risk-based approach. Instead of issuing fire certificates, it puts the duty on the people who run the premises to assess the fire risk and to put sensible precautions in place. It covers almost all non-domestic premises, including the shared areas of multi-occupied residential buildings, but not individual private homes.
It applies in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety legislation, so if you operate sites there, check the rules that apply locally. Government guidance for employers is published on GOV.UK, including a guide aimed specifically at factories and warehouses.
Who is the responsible person?
Duties under the Order fall on the responsible person. In a workplace this is normally the employer. If the premises are not under the employer’s control, it is the person who does control them, for example a landlord, managing agent or owner, and if there is nobody else it is the owner. Where several businesses share a building, each has duties and they must co-operate and co-ordinate with one another. The responsible person can appoint competent people to help, but they remain accountable.
What the Order requires
The main duties are summarised below. The Order itself and the official guides give the full detail.
- Carry out a fire risk assessment (Article 9). It must be suitable and sufficient, and it should be kept up to date.
- Take general fire precautions (Article 8). These reduce the risk of fire starting and the risk to people if it does.
- Provide fire detection and fire-fighting equipment (Article 13), such as alarms and extinguishers, appropriate to the premises and the risk.
- Keep emergency routes and exits clear and usable (Article 14). Doors and routes must lead as directly as possible to a place of safety, and be kept free from obstruction.
- Maintain the safety measures (Article 17). Alarms, emergency lighting, extinguishers and fire doors need to be kept in efficient working order.
- Train and inform people (Articles 19 and 21). Employees must know the risks, the procedures and what to do in an emergency.
- Plan for emergencies. You need procedures for serious and imminent danger, including evacuation arrangements and, where appropriate, fire drills. Government guidance suggests a fire drill at least once a year.
The responsible person must record the significant findings of the assessment if they employ five or more people, if the premises are licensed, or if an alterations notice requires it. Smaller employers still have to do the assessment, and writing it down is sensible practice.
How to carry out a fire risk assessment
The official guidance breaks the assessment into five steps, which is a good structure for a warehouse or workshop:
- Identify the fire hazards. Look at sources of ignition such as electrical equipment, charging points, hot work and smoking, sources of fuel such as packaging, pallets, stock and flammable liquids, and sources of oxygen.
- Identify the people at risk. Include staff, visitors, contractors, lone workers, and anyone who may need help to evacuate.
- Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks, and protect people. Remove or reduce hazards first, then decide what detection, warning, fire-fighting equipment and escape routes are needed.
- Record, plan, inform, instruct and train. Write down the findings where required, prepare an emergency plan, and make sure people know it.
- Review. Reassess regularly and whenever something changes, such as a new layout, new stock, a new process or a near miss.
Storage and fire safety in a warehouse or workshop
Fire risk assessments often turn on how a site stores things. The Order does not specify racking layouts or cabinet types, but it does require exits and escape routes to be kept clear, and it expects you to reduce the fuel available to a fire. Practical points to cover in your assessment include:
- Keep escape routes and exit doors unobstructed. Pallets, cages, waste and temporary stock must not block aisles or doors. Marking walkways and protecting them from traffic helps; our guide to warehouse safety barriers and the safety barrier range cover how to segregate routes, while making sure the barriers themselves never narrow an exit route.
- Manage stack heights and clearances. Tall stacks and loaded racking affect how fire spreads and how detection and fire-fighting equipment works. See our guide to pallet stacking heights and patterns and the racking and shelving range, and check any clearance requirements in your fire risk assessment and insurer’s requirements.
- Control combustible waste. Cardboard, wrapping, wooden pallets and packaging are fuel. Keep them in designated areas, away from ignition sources, and remove them regularly.
- Store flammable liquids and gases properly. Keep only the quantity you need in the work area and store the rest in suitable, labelled containers. Our guide to storing flammable liquids explains the principles, and the flammable cabinets and wider hazardous storage ranges are built for this job. For cylinders, see gas cylinder storage regulations and the gas cylinder storage range.
- Contain spills. A leak of flammable liquid spreads a fire risk across the floor. Spill containment such as sump pallets and bunds keeps liquids where they can be managed.
- Consider lockable storage and cages. Securing stock reduces deliberate fire-setting risk as well as theft. Storage cages should be positioned so they never obstruct a route.
- Put smoking areas away from buildings. A designated area that is sited sensibly and supervised lowers the risk. Our guide to smoking shelter regulations explains the rules.
Flammable and explosive substances are also covered by the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations. See our explanation of DSEAR for how it fits alongside the Fire Safety Order, and our guide to the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 for the wider workplace duties on traffic routes and emergency exits. Substances hazardous to health are dealt with under COSHH.
Enforcement and penalties
The Order is enforced mainly by the local fire and rescue authority. Inspectors can give advice, issue an enforcement notice requiring improvements, or issue a prohibition notice restricting or stopping use of premises that present a serious risk to people. Failing to comply with the Order is a criminal offence. Penalties can include unlimited fines and, for the most serious offences, imprisonment. In practice the best protection is a current, honest assessment that is acted on.
Common fire safety mistakes in workplaces
- Treating the risk assessment as a one-off document rather than something to review as the site changes.
- Letting stock, cages or waste build up in aisles and in front of fire exits.
- Propping fire doors open or letting them be damaged.
- Holding more flammable liquid in the work area than the task needs.
- Skipping alarm checks, extinguisher servicing or emergency lighting tests.
- Not briefing agency workers, visitors and contractors on the evacuation plan.
Where to find the official guidance
The Order is on legislation.gov.uk as SI 2005/1541, and the Home Office and National Fire Chiefs Council publish practical guides on GOV.UK, including one for factories and warehouses. For a specific premises, especially where the risk is complex, take advice from a competent fire risk assessor. This guide is general information for UK workplaces and is not legal advice.