Waveney Security & Fire have Third Party Certification (TPC) by the NSI for the maintaining of fire protection systems, which allows us to produce evidence through certification, that we are competent to maintain your fire protection system, giving employers and building owners peace of mind, knowing that the work has been completed properly.

Legislative changes are taking place in England, Wales and Scotland, with key elements affecting fire safety in non-domestic premises.   These will require any business contracting companies who install and/or maintain fire protection systems, to ensure that they and the system installed comply with the legislation. 

What is the Fire Safety Order?

Introduced under the Regulatory Reform Order, the Fire Safety Order ( England & Wales) aims to simplify, rationalise and consolidate the myriad of existing legislation. 

This should also lead to an annual estimated total cost saving of approximating £1.7m for businesses, as fire certificates will no longer be required.  Longer term savings in excess of £100m, should be achieved due to a reduction in workplace fires.

1 April 2006

What are the Order ’s requirements?

The Fire Safety Order requires that employers designate a  ‘responsible person’ to carry out fire risk assessments that include:

• The safety of employees and visitors to the site
• Fire fighter safety when entering the site during or following an incident
• Protection of property
• Employees' job security
• Environmental impact

• Fire Certificates will no longer be issued
• Each individual company will be responsible for fire safety
• All businesses must conduct Fire Risk Assessments which must be documented where there are five of more employees
• Fire officers will have greater authority to gain access to premises and remove samples following a fire
• Each location will have an identifiable ‘responsible person’ who takes full corporate responsibility
• The ‘responsible person’ should contract a competent supplier, relevant to fire safety products and services, who has ‘the appropriate skills and experience
• They should have proof of this so that it can be produced at an inspection, pre or post incident. Certification provided by Waveney Security & Fire achieves this. 

• The employer with control of the workplace or,
• The person with overall responsibility for a building or,
• The occupier of the premises or,
  Owners of premises such as empty buildings

NSI inspects Waveney Security & Fire in the maintenance of fire protection systems to the BAFE SP203 scheme. This requires that Waveney Security & Fire:

• Meet the relevant British and European Standards, including BS5839
• Are rigorously inspected twice a year to ensure we are maintaining standards in terms of quality of maintenance and business management
• Are adequately insured
• Operate a 24 hour call out service (and normally respond within 8 hours)
• Issue a Certificate of Compliance for systems installed

As part of a fire risk assessment, the inspecting authorities require evidence that a system is 'fit for purpose ’ and is maintained by ‘competent persons’.

The BAFE SP203 scheme provides the accepted certification that can be used in conjunction with the fire risk assessment as evidence for the relevant authorities.

The Fire and other relevant authorities will require a documented fire risk assessment to establish that all the correct measures have been taken regarding fire prevention and detection.

 This is not a new requirement as the authorities already require fire risk assessment to be carried out as a result of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (As Amended 1999).