Who Issues Fire Safety Notices?

Your local fire and rescue services are allowed to visit your business premises to make sure that all the right measures are in place to help prevent a fire. They’ll be looking in particular at your most recent fire risk assessment and how it tallies with their inspection.

From their visit, if you’re upholding the highest standards of fire safety, you’ll have nothing to worry about. However, it’s in their interest to provide you with some informal advice if they do ‌see anything they feel needs to be addressed. Often, this should be enough to help you run a tight ship when it comes to fire safety, but in some circumstances where the risk is high, or if they feel you’ve not met previous instructions, you could be issued with a fire safety notice.

What is a fire safety notice?

A fire safety notice is an enforcement notice that fire safety officers can issue where they feel specific action should be taken for a business to comply with fire safety law.

Usually, the fire safety officer will try to resolve the issue with informal advice if it’s something minor, but if this advice is ignored or if the risk is deemed too great, then an official written notice is given. You will then have 21 days in which to either take the action recommended or appeal.

Who issues a fire safety notice?

Most commonly, it is a fire safety officer or inspector from your local fire and rescue services who will issue a fire safety notice. However, there are inspectors from other agencies who may have the power to issue a fire safety notice where appropriate. Other agencies with this power include:

• The Health and Safety Executive
• Local authorities
• Crown Premises Inspectors

Types of fire safety notices

Aside from the informal advice you can be given, which you can obtain in writing if you request it, there are three types of fire safety notices you could potentially be issued with:

• Alterations notice – This notice can be given if your premises are deemed to have a high safety risk already existing or where there would be a high safety risk if the use of your premises were to change.
• Enforcement notice – This notice comes with a prescribed date for improvements that need to be made. It will be issued in instances where there is a serious risk in your premises that you are not managing properly.
• Prohibition notice – This notice takes effect instantly if the fire and rescue authorities deem the risk of fire in your property to be so significant that they need to stop access to your property altogether or restrict it.

What happens if you don’t follow the notice?

It’s safe to say that if the local fire and rescue services are recommending you take remedial action, whether that’s small changes or something more wholesale, such as restricting access to the building, then you should adhere to it. Failure to comply with fire safety notices can result in a fine of up to £5,000 for minor penalties or unlimited fines and up to two years in prison for more serious issues.

At Surrey Tech Services Ltd, we provide fire risk assessments as a qualified and expert fire safety company for London and the Home Counties – including Maidenhead, Guildford and Slough. This service will help examine fire safety standards and equipment in your business – whether that’s an office, a retail unit or a warehouse – so that you can improve safety and ensure you’re operating within the law. In turn, this can help to avoid fire safety notices should you be visited by your local fire and rescue authority. 

Call today to book a fire risk assessment appointment or to find out more about improving fire safety within your building.