Duty to consider the fire safety capabilities of workers

From 6 April 2010, new regulations will clarify an employers responsibilities to consider the capabilities of their workers to carry out any fire safety-related tasks or assignments. They will have to think about:
–  what a worker is able and unable to do when giving them tasks 
–  how these capabilities may affect their ability to deal with fire-related risks For example, an employer will have to consider a worker’s capabilities as regards fire safety if you ask them to work with potential combustible material such as dust, coatings or even petrol. These regulations should not impose any extra burden on their business. They simply re-impose a duty that:
–  they had before the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force in October 2006 
–  is implicit in their wider health and safety duties Members are reminded that they have – and will continue to have – a general duty to:
–  carry out a fire safety risk assessment to identify the general fire precautions they need to put in place
–  regularly review the assessment and make any necessary changes
–  pay particular attention to young people when carrying out or reviewing a risk assessment The BWF has guidance on the carrying out of a fire risk assessment and this can be found by using the following links: Fire: A simple guide to carrying out a risk assessment and Fire Risk Assessment Questionnaire Further information can also be found on the Communities and Local Government website by clicking on the following link Fire safety guidance on the Communities and Local Government website – Opens in a new window