New Fire Regulations

Officially entitled Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the new law came into force in October 2006. The main changes for the tourism industry are: fire certificates no longer required/valid; all accommodation now covered; providers now responsible for fire safety and carrying out their own assessments.

The changes have created a good deal of confusion and alarm, especially amongst some of those not covered by the earlier legislation - B&Bs sleeping less than 6 persons & self-catering providers. Listed below are some sources of information that you may find useful:

Visit Britain:
Overview of the fire regulations (pdf 114k).
They also run a subscription website for accommodation providers giving news and guidance on all legislation affecting accommodation providers.

The Government:
Five Key Steps (pdf 42k) - a very brief guide
Fire Safety Risk Assessment - Sleeping Accommodation (pdf 2.4Mb) - a full guide to the legislation. This is a large document (147 pages) - which can also be downloaded in two separate sections: 
assessment (pdf 1.19Mb) and guidance (pdf 1.05Mb).
These documents (and much more information) are all available from the 'fire and reliance' section of the Communities and Local Government Website.

Fire Protection Association:
The Fire Protection Association website has a wealth of useful information and you may want to download their fire risk assessment questions and advice sheet 

Business Link:
Their website also has a good introduction to the new legislation