News Archive

Devitt Welcomes New Fire Safety Regulations

Monday, 16 October 2006

Romford, October 16th 2006 – Leading specialist motorcycle insurance broker, Devitt, is encouraging dealers to familiarise themselves with the new fire safety legislation which came into force at the beginning of October.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRO) has been designed to make fire safety law easier to understand and, according to Devitt, should make motorcycle dealerships in England and Wales far safer places to be.

The main effect of the changes introduced on October 1st will be a move towards greater emphasis on fire prevention in all non-domestic premises.

At the core of the legislation lies the fire risk assessment. In terms of motorcycle dealerships, this is an organised appraisal of the work activities, and the workplace itself. This will enable the dealer to identify potential fire hazards and to decide who (including employees and visitors) might be in danger in the event of fire, and their location.

It is then the responsibility of the dealer to evaluate the risks arising from the hazards and decide whether the existing fire precautions are adequate, or whether more needs to be done.

The RRO emphasises that the responsibility for carrying out a fire risk assessment rests firmly with individual businesses. If the dealership employs five or more people the significant findings of the assessment must be recorded. The RRO will be enforced by the Fire Service which will visit every business in the country to ensure that they have got plans in place.

Details of the new regulations have been circulated by Devitt to all of its dealers drawing attention to their provisions.

Welcoming the new regulations, Devitt's Deputy Managing Director (at the time), William Hughes, said:

"A fire risk assessment does not need to be complex or to take up a lot of time. What it does need to do is identify where a dealership is most at risk from fire and make sure that they are as safe as possible" he says.

"The risk assessment should pay particular attention to those at special risk, such as the disabled and those with special needs and must include consideration of any dangerous substances likely to be on the premises.

"The results will then help dealers identify risks that can be removed or reduced and to decide the nature and extent of the general fire precautions that need to be taken."

The Government has produced a set of guides to help businesses carry out a fire risk assessment and identify the general fire precautions needed to be in place. They can be downloaded from www.communities.gov.uk.