FAQs
Are chrome fire extinguishers legal and do they comply with British Standards?
We recently carried out a fire risk assessment at a business where the H&S assessor had informed them that their chrome fire extinguishers were ‘Illegal’.
Are they illegal? No they are not. They are perfectly acceptable.
Chrome fire extinguishers fall outside of the scope of BS EN 3 as they do not meet that particular standard (on body colour only). However, the BS EN 3 standard is a recommendation, rather than a law, and chrome extinguishers carry other approvals, so businesses are not breaking any fire safety regulations by installing them.
Instead, the governing fire extinguisher legislation is the CE Mark and the European Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) and those which are will feature a CE Mark. Chrome fire extinguishers all carry a CE Mark, ensuring full legal compliance.
All chrome extinguishers made in the UK are manufactured under ISO 9001 Quality Supervision and tested in accordance with BS EN3 rules (even though they don’t actually comply with each one).
How often should my Fire Risk Assessment be reviewed?
There is no fixed period for reviewing your Fire Risk Assessment – certainly it is necessary whenever there are any significant changes which could affect the fire risk, including changes to the building, staff, occupancy, activities, legislation etc.
In many cases, if there have been no significant changes, clients are competent to carry out the Review of their Fire Risk Assessment, even if it was carried out by a third party originally, provided they were involved enough in the original Fire Risk Assessment to understand the content and the Action Plan. Often the Review is simply a question of checking that the information recorded is still correct, that all necessary maintenance of the fire protection equipment is being carried out, and that all recommended actions have been completed or are in hand. A simple revised Action Plan can then be formulated, and, most importantly, the Review should be recorded.
Does my business require a Fire Policy?
The Fire Safety Policy is a major part of that management system and is there to help companies of all types and sizes in every industry sector comply with the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005.
A fire safety policy is a written statement of an employer’s intent to ensure the safety of their employees. The purpose of the fire safety policy is to give clear commitment to comply with the relevant fire safety Regulations.