Human (moral) Economic (financial) Element 1.1 Legal Delegate - PDF document

Successful Practical Element 1 Learning Outcomes Relevant  Outline the moral, legal and financial consequences of NEBOSH Fire Certificate inadequate management of fire safety. Managing Fire Safety  Outline the legal framework for the regulation of fire safety in new, altered and existing buildings (including government guidance).  Describe the role and powers of enforcement agencies and Element 1 other external agencies in relation to fire safety.  Outline the key features of fire safety policy.  Outline the main sources of external fire safety information  Explain the purpose of, and the procedures for, investigating fires in the workplace.  Explain the legal and organisational requirements for recording and reporting fire related incidents. Successful Practical Is Managing Fire Safety an Option? Relevant Consequences of Inadequate Management of Fire Safety  Human (moral)  Economic (financial) Element 1.1  Legal Delegate Exercise Moral, Legal & Financial Arguments The Cost of Accidents  Human (moral):  To the victim or victims – Fires result in a great deal of suffering from those affected – Must do all we can to avoid this  To the firm  Economic (financial): – Interruption to business and loss of trade  Person responsible  Most companies that have a major fire never resume trading – Environmental damage Economic  Working group Legal – Legal costs, fines, increased insurance premiums etc.  Legal:  The tax payer Human – Breach of fire legislation is a criminal offence – Legislation requires fire prevention measures to be put into place and employees and other relevant persons to be protected from the effects of fire and mitigate its effects in the vicinity of a premises. 1

Definitions Costs of Fires  Primary fire :  Fire damage claims in the first half of 2009 cost £639 – All fires in buildings, vehicles and outdoor structures or any million - £3.6 million each day. fire involving casualties, rescues or fires attended by 5 or  2008 fire losses were £1.3 billion, a 16% rise on 2007 more appliances and the most expensive year ever.  Secondary fires : – The majority of outdoor fires including grassland, refuse fires  Between 2002 and 2008 the cost of the average fire and single derelict buildings (excluding those above) claim for both commercial and domestic fires  Chimney fires : doubled, to £21,000 and £8,000 respectively. – Any fire in an occupied building where the fire was confined  More open plan buildings, which allow more rapid within the chimney structure (excluding those above)  False alarm : spread of fire, and the increase in out of town – An event in which the fire and rescue service believes they developments, where fires can go for longer were called to a reportable fire and then find there is no such unnoticed, are among factors contributing to the incident doubling of fire costs since 2002. 2

Fire Safety Costs of Arson What Events do You Remember?  Arson, which tends to increase during a  1992 - Windsor Castle, estimated recession, accounts for half of all commercial cost of repair over £40 million fires.  Socially deprived areas and schools are  1987 - Kings Cross Fire 31 people especially vulnerable: arson rates are 30 times died, if fire starts in a crowded area higher in poorer areas. the consequences can be appalling  Many schools a suffer arson attacks, disrupting the education of thousands of schoolchildren,  1985 - Bradford football stadium and causing significant financial damage fire, 56 people died 100’s injured costs. Buncefield Oil Terminal Fire Primark Warehouse Fire – 1 Nov 05 11 December 2005  Largest explosions ever to occur in  Some 15 fire engines and dozens the country of firefighters tackled  43 people injured – 2 seriously the massive blaze at  Severe damage to over 80 buildings the 440,000 sq ft  Fire raged for several days TNT Primark warehouse near  Estimated cost of incident put Lutterworth. between £500million and £1bn  32,000 litres/min of foam pumped  No-one was hurt, but the building was totally destroyed for 4 hours to try to quell the fire – The value of the building was £8million  Ground water well close to site – The value of the stock was £50million polluted by the foam Grenfell Fire 14 th June 2017 Tort of Negligence  Common law establishes a duty to take reasonable care of  Public housing flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of those that might be affected by how people do things Kensington and Chelsea, West London.  Insufficient care may be considered as being negligent  It caused at least 80 deaths and over 70 injuries.  Negligence is a civil wrong, a tort, recognised by civil courts  A definitive death toll is not expected until at least 2018. which means someone who could sued for negligence can  The fire started in a fridge-freezer on the fourth floor. insure for their loss  The growth of the fire is believed to have been  Donoghue v Stevenson 1932: accelerated by the exterior cladding. – “You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you  Emergency services received the first report of can reasonably foresee would likely to injure your neighbour” the fire at 00:54 and the fire burned for 60 hours.  Test of proof:  More than 250 firefighters and 70 fire engines – Person owed a common law duty of care from stations all over London were involved in – There was a failure to fulfill the duty to take reasonable care efforts to control the fire. – Damage, loss or injury resulted from the breach 3

Successful Practical Common Law Duty of Care Relevant  Employers: Legal Framework for Regulation of – A safe place of work Fire Safety – Safe appliances and equipment – A safe system of work – Competent and safety conscious personnel  Occupier of a building: Element 1.2 – Take reasonable care for those that might foreseeably be affect by their actions or omissions – Includes employees and lawful visitors  Multi-occupancy buildings: – Various occupiers to meet their common law duty – Cooperate and coordinate their activities with other occupiers – Duty extends to owner of multi-occupancy buildings Relationships & Relative Status Meanings of the Terms in Legislation  Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order Absolute Duty (RRFSO) 2005 or the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 (as amended) Practicable  Fire Safety Regulations Reasonably Practicable  Approved Codes of Practice (ACoP’s) More often seen as: – None of these currently exist for fire legislation. “so far as reasonably practicable” or ‘sfarp’  Official Guidance Definitions Definitions Absolute & Practicable Reasonably Practicable • Reasonably practicable :  Absolute : – Must/Shall/Will be done  Implies that a calculation of cost • Practicable : versus risk may be made • If technically possible;  If the risk of an accident or injury is capable of being achieved very small, but the cost of prevention even though expensive, in terms of money, time and/or difficult or inconvenient trouble is very high then it may not • i.e. knowledge & invention be reasonably practicable to take that precaution 4

Successful Practical Relevant Statutory Provisions? Relevant  The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 The Regulatory Reform (Fire  The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 Safety) Order 2005  The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005  The Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 Effective From  The Environmental Protection Act 1990 1 st October 2006  The Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974  The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999  The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. Repealed Numerous Background Former Pieces of Legislation  The Fire Precautions Act 1971  Large act with various schedules attached  The Fire Certificate (Special Premises) Regulations 1971  Tidies up the many pieces of legislation  The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997  Removes the requirement to apply for a fire  Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987 certificate – Part 1; s33(1)(b); Schedule 1  Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 s78 and Schedule 8  Accompanied by a series of guidance … and a host of other pieces of legislation documents (www.communities.gov.uk/fire) Where the New Regulation Guidance Notes for New Regulation Does Not Apply • The new legislation comes with a series of guidance notes:  The Order does not apply to: - offices and shops; - sleeping accommodation; – Domestic premises - educational premises; – Offshore installations - small and medium places of assembly; - large places of assembly; – Ships - factories and warehouses; – Fields, woods and other land forming part of - theatres, cinemas and similar places; - residential care premises; agricultural or forestry undertakings - healthcare premises; – Aircraft, locomotives or rolling stock used as a - transport premises and facilities means of transport - animal premises and stables; - means of escape for disabled people; – Mines - fire risk assessment 5 step checklist; and – Borehole sites - do you have paying guests? 5