Your legal fire safety responsibilities

If you are the responsible person, you must take all reasonable steps to prevent fires and keep people safe.

This means, as an employer, making sure your employees are protected as much as possible and ensuring that anyone else on your premises is also safe from fire risks.

With a few exceptions, you are required to appoint one or more competent persons to help you meet your fire safety duties. However, you remain legally responsible for taking reasonable steps to reduce the risk of fire and to ensure that people can escape safely if a fire occurs.