The Government has produced a range of fire safety guides specific to different kinds of premises, these guides are used by inspecting officers to benchmark standards.

The guides include:

• Fire safety risk assessment – a five step checklist to help you complete a fire safety risk assessment
• Offices and shops
• Factories and warehouses
• Sleeping accommodation
• Residential care premises
• Educational premises
• Small and medium places of assembly (up to 300 people)
• Large places of assembly (over 300 people)
• Theatres, cinemas and similar premises
• Open air events and venues
• Health care premises
• Transport premises and facilities
• Animal premises and stables

They also produced specific guidance on means of escape for disabled people which is to be used in conjunction with the guides above.

There is also specific guidance for:

• Housing – shared and rented houses
• Small blocks of flats
• Specialised housing – sheltered housing and supported living
• Guest houses and B&Bs
• Small none-domestic premises

To assist you with your fire safety responsibilities we also have the following guidance notes and templates available:

• Fire safety advice for licensed premises
• Advice for choosing a competent fire risk assessor
• Food concessions risk assessment template
• Traders and market stalls risk assessment templates
• Fire safety log book
• BRR Letter
• Fire safety considerations for events

The service is also now supporting the recently launched CROSS-UK knowledge sharing platform. This is a confidential reporting system for buildings and other structures that allows professionals and others to share their concerns about, and experiences of, fire and structural safety. The aim is to use these reports, and the learning from them, to make other structures safer.

You can find out more about CROSS-UK by following this link to their website, where you can also find out more about how to submit a report.

Home Office guides

The Home Office has released three guides and updated the GOV.UK main landing page to reflect Building Safety Act 2022 Section 156 come into force on 1 October.

To access the guides, click on the links below:

• Fire safety: guidance for those with legal duties – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• People with duties under fire safety laws – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Fire Safety Order: enforcement and sanctions for non-compliance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)