Fire safety in England and Wales is governed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, usually shortened to the Fire Safety Order. It applies to virtually all non-domestic premises, including village halls, churches, community centres, sports clubs and function rooms.
Unlike Martyn's Law, this is not new. It has applied since 2006. What catches venues out is not the duty but the records: most halls do the right things and can produce very little evidence that they did.
Who is the responsible person
Under the Order the responsible person is the employer where there are employees, and otherwise the person who has control of the premises in connection with a trade, business or undertaking. For a volunteer-run village hall that is normally the trustee body.
Where a building is shared or let out, more than one party can hold duties, and they are expected to cooperate. This mirrors the Martyn's Law position closely, and in most venues the same person holds both roles. That is worth confirming rather than assuming, because the two definitions are not identical.
The fire risk assessment
The central duty is to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and keep it up to date. The responsible person must record the significant findings, including the measures taken or to be taken, and identify any persons especially at risk.
It should be reviewed regularly and whenever something material changes: a layout alteration, a new use for a room, a change in who uses the building, or after an incident or a drill that revealed a problem. Many venues review annually as a matter of routine, which is sensible rather than mandatory.
The fire logbook
There is no statutory template for a fire logbook, but the testing and maintenance duties in the Order mean that in practice you need one. It is the document an inspector or insurer will ask for first.
A typical logbook covers:
- Fire alarm and detection system tests
- Emergency lighting tests
- Fire extinguisher inspections and servicing
- Fire door checks
- Escape route inspections
- Fire drills
- Staff and volunteer fire safety instruction
- Any false alarms or incidents
The guide to test frequencies covers how often each of these is commonly done.
Training and instruction records
The Order requires that people are given adequate fire safety training. For a venue with volunteers rather than employees, the practical question is whether everyone who works there knows the evacuation procedure, where the exits and assembly point are, and what to do if they discover a fire.
The recurring failure is not training people, it is not recording it, and then not repeating it when volunteers change. A register that names people who left two years ago is not evidence of anything useful.
Fire drills
The Order does not name a drill frequency. What it requires is that people know what to do. In practice most premises run at least one drill a year, more where there is high turnover or particular risk.
The guide to fire drill records covers what a drill record should contain and why the problems you find matter more than the time you record.
How long to keep records
There is no single statutory retention period covering all fire safety records. Common practice is to keep the current risk assessment alongside previous versions, and to retain logbook entries, drill records and training records for at least three years, so that a pattern rather than a snapshot can be shown.
Insurers frequently ask for two to three years of history after an incident. That is usually the practical driver rather than the legislation.
How this overlaps with Martyn's Law
The two regimes sit alongside each other and neither replaces the other. Your fire evacuation procedure is a good starting point for the Martyn's Law evacuation procedure, and in many venues the same person holds both responsible person roles.
But a fire plan instructs everyone to leave the building, which is the wrong response when the danger is outside it. Invacuation, lockdown and communication have no fire safety equivalent. See the Martyn's Law guide for what the additional duties require.
Common questions
Do we need a fire logbook by law?
The Order does not name a document called a logbook. It does require testing and maintenance of fire safety equipment and that the significant findings of the risk assessment are recorded. In practice a logbook is how venues demonstrate they have met those duties, and it is what inspectors and insurers expect to see.
We are a volunteer-run hall with no employees. Does it still apply?
Yes. The Order applies to whoever has control of the premises in connection with a trade, business or undertaking, which includes a charity or a trustee body running a hall. Having no employees changes who the responsible person is, not whether there is one.
Can we do our own fire risk assessment?
The Order requires the assessment to be suitable and sufficient, not that it is carried out by a professional. For a simple single-storey hall a competent trustee can often do it. For complex, historic or multi-storey buildings, or where sleeping accommodation is involved, most venues bring someone in.
Who checks any of this?
Your local fire and rescue authority is the enforcing authority for most premises. Inspections are risk-based rather than routine for small venues, so in practice the more frequent trigger is an insurer, a licensing application, or a hirer asking what your arrangements are.