The Responsible Person's fire safety duties

The five core duties

The responsible person must:

1. Conduct a fire risk assessment and keep it under regular review.
2. Communicate identified risks to staff or their representatives.
3. Implement and maintain suitable fire safety measures.
4. Establish an emergency plan.
5. Deliver fire safety information, instruction and training to staff.

These are legal obligations, not discretionary steps.

Self-assess or appoint a competent person

A responsible person who has sufficient knowledge can conduct the assessment themselves, using official sector-specific guidance. Where they lack the expertise or time, they must appoint a competent person — a professional risk assessor — to assist. The local fire and rescue authority may advise on whether an assessment is adequate, but cannot carry it out on the responsible person's behalf.

Records make the duty auditable

A written record of the assessment must be kept, capturing the significant findings and the measures taken. When an enforcing officer, insurer or director asks what was found and what happened next, the answer should be a single, current record — source report, actions, owners, due dates and evidence — not a folder of emails.

PropertyActions is an admin and recordkeeping tool. This guide explains the duty and the records involved; it is not legal advice and does not replace a competent person carrying out the statutory assessment.