Employers should:

• Carry out a fire RISK ASSESSMENT of your workplace.
• Identify significant findings of the assessment and the details of anyone especially at risk. These must be recorded when there are more than five employees.
• Provide and maintain the precautions against fire that are necessary to safeguard those who use your workplace.
• Nominate people to undertake specific roles as required by the emergency plan.
• Consult their employees where people may be given specific roles and about proposals for improving fire safety.
• Inform other employers who have workplaces in the same building of any significant risks they find which might affect their employees and co-operate with them as necessary.
• If they have control over parts of a building which contains more than one workplace, even though they are not an employee, they are responsible for compliance within the areas under their control.
• They must establish suitable means for contacting the emergency services.

For full information refer to:  The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997
or
FIRE SAFETY An Employer's Guide.  London: The Stationery Office ISBN 0 11 341229 0