Regulatory responsibilities

Responsibilities under the Fire & Rescue Services Act 2004

The Fire & Rescue Services Act 2004 sets out the duties and powers of fire authorities. Under the Act, the Fire Authority has a number of core functions:

• Fire Safety - promoting fire safety, including the provision of information and publicity on steps to be taken to prevent fires and the giving of advice on how to prevent fires and on the means of escape from buildings in case of fire.
• Fire Fighting - extinguishing fires and protecting life and property in the event of fires.
• Road Traffic Accidents - rescuing people in the event of road traffic accidents and protecting people from serious harm in the event of road traffic accidents.
• Emergencies - when necessary deal with emergencies, other than fires and road traffic accidents.

Advice on how to prevent fires is available in our Community Safety section. 

The Fire & Rescue Services Act 2004 is available at Legislation.gov.uk

Responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into effect in October 2006 and replaced over 70 pieces of fire safety law. The order applies to all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, including the common parts of blocks of flats or houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority is responsible for enforcing the Order and North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service carries out fire safety inspection work on behalf of the Authority. The order is enforced through periodic inspections or audits of non-domestic premises by the Fire Service. If we consider that the responsible person has failed to comply with any provision of the order, we may consider taking further action.

Advice on how to comply with the order is available in our Business Safety section.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is available here.