Make your caravan for paying guests fire safe today

• The Fire Safety Order is the fire safety legislation in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own, which may vary slightly). It regulates premises and sets out responsibilities for individuals that are subject to the Fire Safety Order.
• The Fire Safety Order places the duty to keep people safe from fire upon the Responsible Person. The Responsible Person is a legally created entity, as defined by Article 3 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
• The Responsible Person must carry out an assessment of the fire risks to people on the premises or within its vicinity (these people are described as ‘relevant persons’ in the order). The fire risk assessment helps identify the fire safety precautions the Responsible Person must take to comply with the Fire Safety Order.

• Anyone paying to stay in your premises (houses, holiday cottages, caravans, lodges, pods etc) or in a room within your premises that provide accommodation for paying guests.
• All workplaces and commercial buildings.
• Non- domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings e.g., common ways.

The Responsible Person must:

• Carry out a fire risk assessment and record the fire safety information in FULL by demonstrating how fire safety is manged in your premises
• Record the identity and contact details for the responsible person completing the fire risk assessment.
• Take practical steps to identify the existence of other Responsible Persons who share or have duties in respect of the same premises e.g., letting agencies, managing agents.
• Departing Responsible Persons must share all ‘relevant fire safety information’ with incoming Responsible Persons e.g., new caravan owners.

There is a legislative requirement that where a Responsible Person appoints a person to make or review a fire risk assessment, they must be competent. This legislative requirement will be brought into force at a later date. The Government will provide guidance ahead of the commencement date for this. If you do appoint a fire risk assessor to work on your behalf you must ensure they are competent to do so. The Responsible Person has a duty to make sure that a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is completed.