The "responsible person" is a legal concept under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This person has direct legal responsibility for fire safety in non-domestic premises. Understanding whether you're the responsible person — and what that means — is critical to staying safe and legal.
Are you the responsible person for your premises?
Let's work out who has fire safety duties.
What is a responsible person?
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (commonly called the Fire Safety Order), the "responsible person" is the individual or organisation with legal responsibility for fire safety in a building or part of a building.
The responsible person must:
- Carry out a fire risk assessment
- Put in place appropriate fire safety measures
- Plan for emergencies
- Provide fire safety information and training
- Maintain fire safety equipment and systems
The responsible person is not just a title or role — it's a specific legal duty. If you're the responsible person and fire safety is inadequate, you can be prosecuted personally, face unlimited fines, and even imprisonment.
Who is the responsible person?
The Fire Safety Order defines the responsible person differently depending on the type of premises:
In workplaces
The employer is the responsible person for any workplace they control.
This applies whether you employ 1 person or 1,000 people. If you're an employer and have control over premises where people work, you're the responsible person for fire safety.
In non-workplace premises
For premises not used as a workplace (or parts not under an employer's control), the responsible person is:
Any person who has control of the premises in connection with:
- Carrying on a trade, business, or undertaking (commercial or otherwise), or
- Being the owner or occupier
This covers a wide range of situations:
- Landlords who retain control of common areas in rented buildings
- Managing agents contracted to manage a building
- Building owners who occupy or manage premises
- Trustees or committee members of charities, clubs, or community organisations
- Occupiers who have day-to-day control of a building
"Control" is the key word. You don't need to own the premises to be the responsible person — you just need to have control over how they're used or managed.
Who has "control"?
Control means having authority over the premises or how they're used. Factors include:
- Who manages day-to-day operations
- Who can make decisions about fire safety measures
- Who maintains the building and its systems
- What the lease or contract says
- Who benefits financially from the premises
Managing agent convicted for fire safety failures
A managing agent for a block of flats argued they weren't the responsible person because they didn't own the building. The local fire service disagreed.
- ✗No fire risk assessment for common areas
- ✗Fire doors propped open with wedges
- ✗Fire alarm system not maintained
- ✗No emergency lighting in escape routes
- ✗Managing agent claimed no responsibility
The court ruled the managing agent was a responsible person because they had contractual control over common areas. They were convicted and fined £18,000 plus costs. The individual director was also prosecuted.
Having contractual or management control makes you a responsible person, regardless of ownership. You cannot avoid duties by claiming someone else is responsible.
Multiple responsible persons in the same building
Many buildings have more than one responsible person. This is common in:
- Multi-occupied buildings (shops in a shopping centre, offices in an office block)
- Rented properties with communal areas
- Mixed-use buildings (retail on ground floor, flats above)
- Serviced offices or coworking spaces
How shared responsibility works
Each responsible person is responsible for:
- The parts of the premises they control (e.g., their own shop, office, or flat)
- Their contribution to shared areas (e.g., not blocking escape routes, not creating fire hazards)
When there are multiple responsible persons, the Fire Safety Order requires them to cooperate and coordinate their fire safety measures. You cannot work in isolation.
Cooperation duties
Article 22 of the Fire Safety Order imposes specific duties on multiple responsible persons:
They must:
- Cooperate with each other to comply with fire safety requirements
- Coordinate fire safety measures
- Share relevant fire safety information
- Take all reasonable steps to inform each other of risks
Example: Office building with multiple tenants
Consider a three-storey office building:
- Ground floor: Coffee shop (operated by Café Ltd)
- First floor: Accountancy firm (operated by Numbers LLP)
- Second floor: Marketing agency (operated as sole trader)
- Common areas: Stairs, entrance, toilets, plant room
- Building owner: Property Investment Ltd (who lease the building to the freeholder)
- Managing agent: Buildings R Us Ltd (contracted to maintain common areas)
Who is responsible for what?
| Person | Responsible for |
|---|---|
| Café Ltd | Fire safety inside the coffee shop premises |
| Numbers LLP | Fire safety inside the accountancy firm |
| Marketing agency owner | Fire safety inside their office |
| Buildings R Us Ltd | Fire safety in common areas (as managing agent with control) |
| Property Investment Ltd | Overall building obligations, ensure lease terms allocate responsibilities clearly |
All of them must:
- Cooperate with each other
- Coordinate their fire risk assessments
- Share information about risks
- Not create hazards that affect others (e.g., blocking shared escape routes)
If you're a tenant or occupier, check your lease carefully. Even if someone else is responsible for common areas, you may have obligations not to interfere with fire safety measures or to report defects.
Duties and responsibilities of the responsible person
The Fire Safety Order imposes extensive duties on the responsible person. Here are the main ones:
1. Carry out a fire risk assessment
You must:
- Identify fire hazards in the premises
- Identify people at risk
- Evaluate the risk and decide if existing precautions are adequate
- Record the findings (if you employ 5+ people)
- Review the assessment regularly
Learn more: What is a fire risk assessment?
2. Implement fire safety measures
Based on your fire risk assessment, you must put in place appropriate measures:
Fire detection and warning:
- Suitable fire detection (smoke alarms, heat detectors, fire alarm system)
- Means of raising the alarm (call points, sounders)
Means of escape:
- Adequate escape routes
- Emergency exits that open easily from inside
- Clear, unobstructed routes
- Emergency lighting where needed
- Clear signage
Fire-fighting equipment:
- Appropriate fire extinguishers for the fire risks present
- Located correctly and maintained annually
Maintenance:
- Regular testing of fire alarms (weekly call point test is common)
- Annual servicing of extinguishers
- Maintenance of emergency lighting, fire doors, and other fire safety systems
3. Plan for emergencies
You must:
- Establish a clear emergency plan
- Nominate competent people to help (fire marshals/wardens)
- Plan for people who need assistance (disabled evacuation)
- Arrange for emergency evacuation drills (at least annually, more for higher risk premises)
4. Provide fire safety information and training
To employees:
- Fire risks identified in the assessment
- Fire safety measures in place
- Emergency procedures
- Identities of nominated persons (fire marshals)
To others using the premises:
- Visitors, contractors, temporary staff
- Information appropriate to the level of risk
Training must be provided:
- On induction
- Periodically (e.g., annual refresher)
- When risks change
5. Cooperate and coordinate with others
If you share the building with other responsible persons, you must cooperate and coordinate your fire safety arrangements.
6. Provide information to emergency services
You must provide the fire service with relevant information about the premises if they request it (e.g., dangerous substances stored, layout).
Responsible Person vs Fire Warden
Responsible Person
- •Legal duty holder under the Fire Safety Order
- •Overall accountability for fire safety
- •Must carry out fire risk assessment
- •Can be prosecuted for failures
- •Usually the employer, owner, or occupier
- •Cannot delegate ultimate responsibility
Fire Warden/Marshal
- •Appointed by the responsible person
- •Helps implement fire safety measures
- •Assists during evacuations
- •May carry out routine checks
- •Usually an employee or volunteer
- •Does not take on legal responsibility
Bottom line: The responsible person has the legal duty and cannot escape it by appointing fire wardens. Fire wardens assist the responsible person but do not replace them.
Can you delegate your duties as responsible person?
Short answer: You can delegate tasks, but not ultimate responsibility.
As the responsible person, you can appoint someone else to carry out specific fire safety tasks on your behalf (e.g., conducting the fire risk assessment, arranging maintenance, providing training).
However:
- You remain legally responsible for ensuring those tasks are done properly
- You must ensure the person you delegate to is competent (has the training, knowledge, and experience)
- If they fail to do the job properly, you can still be prosecuted
Delegating tasks does not mean "passing the buck." You must actively monitor and ensure delegated tasks are completed to an adequate standard.
Penalties for non-compliance
Fire safety law is enforced by your local fire and rescue service. Enforcement officers can:
- Inspect premises at any reasonable time
- Issue enforcement notices requiring you to fix problems by a deadline
- Issue prohibition notices preventing use of all or part of the premises until risks are reduced
- Prosecute for breaches of the Fire Safety Order
Criminal penalties
If prosecuted, penalties can be severe:
Summary conviction (Magistrates' Court):
- Fine up to £5,000, and/or
- Imprisonment up to 6 months
Conviction on indictment (Crown Court):
- Unlimited fine, and/or
- Imprisonment up to 2 years
Penalties apply to the responsible person (whether an individual or a company). Company directors and managers can also be prosecuted personally if the offence was committed with their consent or connivance, or due to their neglect.
Care home owner jailed for fire safety failures
A care home for elderly residents operated for two years without an adequate fire risk assessment. After a serious near-miss incident, fire officers inspected and found catastrophic failings.
- ✗No suitable fire risk assessment
- ✗Fire alarm system not maintained (had not worked for months)
- ✗Fire doors wedged open throughout the building
- ✗No staff training on evacuation of vulnerable residents
- ✗Escape routes obstructed with furniture and equipment
- ✗Owner had been warned previously but took no action
The owner was prosecuted and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment (suspended), fined £40,000, and ordered to pay costs of £15,000. The care home was closed down by the regulator.
Failing to take fire safety seriously, especially in premises with vulnerable people, can result in criminal prosecution and imprisonment. The consequences of a real fire could have been catastrophic.
Insurance and civil claims
If a fire occurs and someone is injured or killed, inadequate fire safety can also lead to:
- Civil claims for damages
- Insurance disputes — insurers may refuse to pay out if you breached fire safety law
- Corporate manslaughter investigations if someone dies due to gross negligence
Practical guidance: Am I the responsible person?
Use this checklist to work out if you're a responsible person:
Are you:
- An employer in control of a workplace?
- The owner of business premises you occupy?
- A landlord who retains control of common areas?
- A managing agent contracted to manage a building?
- A trustee or committee member of a charity/club that occupies premises?
- A person carrying on any business or undertaking in premises?
- Someone with day-to-day control over how premises are used?
If you answered yes to any of these, you are likely a responsible person.
What to do if you're the responsible person
-
Acknowledge your responsibility — Don't ignore it or assume someone else will deal with it.
-
Carry out a fire risk assessment — This is the foundation of everything else. For simple premises, use the free government guides. For complex or high-risk premises, use a qualified fire risk assessor.
-
Implement the findings — Make the improvements identified in your assessment. Prioritise high-risk issues.
-
Put an emergency plan in place — Make sure everyone knows what to do if the fire alarm sounds.
-
Provide training — Ensure staff understand fire risks and procedures.
-
Maintain fire safety equipment — Test alarms weekly, service extinguishers annually, check escape routes regularly.
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Review regularly — Fire risk assessment is not a one-off. Review at least annually and after any significant changes.
What to do if you share responsibility
If there are multiple responsible persons:
-
Identify who is responsible for what — Be clear about boundaries. Check leases, contracts, and management agreements.
-
Communicate — Share contact details and fire safety information with other responsible persons.
-
Coordinate fire risk assessments — Consider doing a joint assessment for common areas, or at least sharing findings.
-
Agree procedures — Coordinate evacuation plans, alarm testing schedules, and emergency contacts.
-
Document it — Keep records of cooperation and coordination (this demonstrates compliance if inspected).
In multi-occupied buildings, it's good practice to have a single "building fire safety manager" who coordinates all responsible persons, even if each remains individually responsible for their own areas.
Appointing a competent person
The Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to appoint one or more competent persons to help implement fire safety measures.
A competent person is someone with sufficient training, experience, knowledge, and other qualities to properly assist with fire safety.
This could be:
- You, if you have the necessary knowledge and take the time to do it properly (e.g., using government guides for simple premises)
- An employee you train to help with fire safety tasks
- An external fire safety consultant or assessor for complex premises or if you lack competence
What makes someone competent?
Competence depends on:
- Relevant training or qualifications (e.g., fire risk assessor qualifications, NEBOSH Fire Safety certificate)
- Practical experience in fire safety
- Understanding of the specific premises type and risks
- Sufficient time and resources to do the job properly
You cannot appoint someone as a "competent person" simply by giving them the title. They must have real competence. If they lack knowledge or experience, you remain liable for failures.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. In buildings with multiple occupiers, landlords, or managing agents, there can be several responsible persons, each responsible for different parts or aspects of the premises. The Fire Safety Order requires them to cooperate and coordinate their efforts.
It depends on the terms of your lease and the level of control you have. If you have exclusive occupation and control of your premises, you're the responsible person for fire safety inside your unit. The landlord or managing agent is typically responsible for common areas. Check your lease to be sure.
No. You can hire experts to help you comply with your duties, but you remain the responsible person and legally accountable. If the company you hire does a poor job, you can still be prosecuted.
If you're not competent to carry out a fire risk assessment yourself, you must appoint someone who is. For simple, low-risk premises, you can learn using free government guides. For anything more complex, hire a qualified fire risk assessor.
No. The responsible person doesn't need to be physically present at all times, but they must ensure fire safety measures are in place and maintained. You can appoint fire wardens or managers to help, but you remain ultimately responsible.
If you're a director and the company is the responsible person, the company is primarily liable. However, directors can be prosecuted personally if an offence was committed with their consent, connivance, or due to their neglect. Don't ignore fire safety responsibilities.
If you're a tenant and the building owner is responsible for certain fire safety measures (e.g., common areas, structural fire protection), but they refuse to act, report the issue to your local fire and rescue service. They have enforcement powers. You should also consider your own liability if you share responsibility.
Yes. Fire safety enforcement is proactive. If the fire service inspects your premises and finds inadequate fire safety measures, they can take enforcement action and prosecute you regardless of whether a fire has occurred.
Next steps
If you've identified that you're the responsible person, your first step is to carry out (or arrange) a fire risk assessment:
What is a fire risk assessment? →
Not sure if your premises need a fire risk assessment?
Do I need a fire risk assessment? →
Not sure if you're the responsible person, or want help understanding your specific fire safety duties? A qualified fire safety professional can review your situation and advise you.
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