Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005: A Practical Guide for Responsible Persons

For building owners, landlords, employers, managing agents, contractors and facilities teams, the key point is responsibility. The Fire Safety Order places legal duties on the responsible person to assess fire risk, put appropriate precautions in place, maintain those precautions and keep suitable records.

Passive fire protection is a major part of that picture. Fire stopping, fire doors, compartmentation, structural protection and remedial works all help a building resist the spread of fire and smoke.

Fire Shield supports clients with specialist passive fire protection installation, remedial works and electronic reporting to help create clearer evidence for handover, maintenance and ongoing fire safety management.

Speak to Fire Shield about passive fire protection records and remedial works.

Who is the Responsible Person?

The responsible person depends on how the premises are controlled. In many workplaces, the employer is the responsible person. In other buildings, responsibility may sit with the building owner, landlord, managing agent, occupier or more than one party.

The role cannot simply be assigned as a job title if the legal responsibility sits elsewhere. It depends on control of the premises and the duties created by the Fire Safety Order.

Responsible persons need to make sure fire safety is actively managed, not just documented once and forgotten.

What buildings does the Fire Safety Order cover?

The Fire Safety Order applies broadly to:

• Workplaces.
• Commercial premises.
• Public buildings.
• Education buildings.
• Leisure and assembly buildings.
• Healthcare and care settings.
• Factories and warehouses.
• Construction sites where relevant.
• Common parts of blocks of flats and HMOs.
• Plant rooms, communal rooms, stairways, corridors and other non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings.

Individual private domestic premises are generally outside the main scope, but the common parts and shared building fabric of multi-occupied residential buildings can be covered.

What does the Responsible Person need to do?

The responsible person must take a structured approach to fire safety. In practice, this includes:

• Carrying out and recording a fire risk assessment.
• Keeping that fire risk assessment up to date.
• Identifying people at risk.
• Reducing fire risks where reasonably practicable.
• Providing and maintaining general fire precautions.
• Making sure escape routes are protected.
• Maintaining fire safety systems and passive fire protection.
• Cooperating and coordinating with other dutyholders.
• Keeping records that can be reviewed, handed over and audited.
• Acting on defects, changes and remedial recommendations.

The Fire Safety Order is not only about alarms and extinguishers. It also depends on the building fabric and the passive protection that limits the spread of fire and smoke.

Section 156 and stronger record keeping

Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Fire Safety Order. The changes came into force on 1 October 2023 and strengthened duties for responsible persons.

Key practical changes include stronger requirements to:

• Record completed fire risk assessments in full.
• Record fire safety arrangements.
• Share relevant fire safety information.
• Cooperate with other responsible persons and dutyholders.
• Provide relevant fire safety information to residents in buildings containing two or more domestic premises, where applicable.
• Support a clearer record of fire safety information through the building’s life.

For passive fire protection, this makes records even more important. If fire stopping, remedial works or compartmentation repairs are carried out, the responsible person needs evidence of what was done, where it was done and how it supports the building’s fire safety arrangements.

How passive fire protection supports Fire Safety Order duties

Passive fire protection is built into the building. It is designed to resist, contain or slow the spread of fire and smoke without needing people to activate it.

Passive fire protection can include:

• Fire stopping.
• Fire-resisting walls and floors.
• Fire doors.
• Cavity barriers.
• Fire-resistant ductwork and dampers.
• Structural steel protection.
• Fire-rated boards.
• Intumescent coatings.
• Soffit protection.

When these measures are missing, damaged, poorly installed or poorly recorded, the responsible person may struggle to show that fire safety arrangements are being maintained effectively.

Common passive fire protection issues in existing buildings

Fire Shield often supports clients where passive fire protection issues have been identified during refurbishment, inspection, handover or risk assessment.

Common issues include:

• Unsealed service penetrations.
• Damaged fire stopping.
• Unrecorded M&E changes.
• Poorly fitted or damaged fire doors.
• Missing evidence for previous works.
• Fire stopping that does not match the service or substrate.
• Ductwork penetrations with incomplete seals.
• Compartment lines compromised by later works.
• Lack of photographic or location-based records.

These issues can be corrected, but they need a planned approach and suitable evidence.

Fire stopping records and electronic reporting

Fire stopping is most useful when it can be inspected, understood and maintained. That means records matter.

Fire Shield uses electronic logging and reporting to record passive fire protection installations in real time. This can support:

• Location-based seal records.
• Installation images.
• Area handovers.
• Progress visibility.
• Client access to information.
• Filtering by installer, date, area or location.
• Better handover information.
• Clearer evidence for future maintenance.

For responsible persons, this kind of record helps connect physical fire protection works with the fire safety management information needed under the Fire Safety Order.

Remedial works after a fire risk assessment

A fire risk assessment may identify passive fire protection defects that need further investigation or action. Fire Shield supports remedial works in legacy and occupied buildings, helping clients correct issues professionally and reduce the risk of repeat defects.

Remedial works may include:

• Repairing damaged fire stopping.
• Installing missing fire stopping.
• Sealing new or altered service penetrations.
• Supporting compartmentation improvements.
• Coordinating with fire door, ductwork or wider passive fire protection requirements.
• Recording completed works for client handover.

Why choose Fire Shield?

Fire Shield is a specialist passive fire protection contractor established in 1993. The team works across major projects and occupied buildings, supporting clients with practical installation, technical guidance, remedial works and reporting.

Fire Shield’s experience includes infrastructure, education, leisure, residential, retail and commercial projects, with completed works on schemes such as Canary Wharf Crossrail, YMCA Milton Keynes, London Gatwick Airport, Primark Oxford Street, Bedford Academy and the University of Hertfordshire, Warner Bros. Studios, CLM House and Unity Square.

Clients work with Fire Shield because passive fire protection needs to be accurate, coordinated and evidenced. It is not enough for fire stopping or compartmentation works to be present. They need to be suitable for the detail, installed correctly and recorded clearly.

Talk to Fire Shield

If your fire risk assessment, refurbishment works or handover review has identified passive fire protection issues, Fire Shield can help you plan and deliver the next steps.

Contact Fire Shield to discuss passive fire protection remedial works and reporting.

FAQ Suggestions

What is the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order?

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the main fire safety law for buildings in England and Wales. It places duties on responsible persons to assess and manage fire risk.

Who is responsible under the Fire Safety Order?

The responsible person is usually the person or organisation with control of the premises. This may be an employer, building owner, landlord, managing agent, occupier or more than one party.

Does the Fire Safety Order apply to blocks of flats?

It applies to the common parts of buildings containing two or more domestic premises, such as communal corridors, stairways, plant rooms and shared areas. Individual flats are generally outside the main scope.

What changed under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022?

Section 156 strengthened duties for responsible persons, including requirements to record fire risk assessments in full, record fire safety arrangements, cooperate with other dutyholders and share relevant fire safety information.

How does passive fire protection relate to the Fire Safety Order?

Passive fire protection helps maintain compartmentation and limit fire and smoke spread. Responsible persons need to make sure fire precautions are suitable, maintained and properly recorded.