Knowledge Centre
Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the fire safety and health & safety terms that turn up in risk assessments, inspection reports and compliance correspondence.
12 terms, listed A–Z.
A
- Automatic Fire Detection
- A system of detectors, manual call points, sounders and a control panel that senses fire automatically and raises the alarm without anyone having to act first.Also known as: AFD, detection and alarm system
C
- Compartmentation
- Dividing a building into fire-resisting compartments using walls, floors and doors, so that fire and smoke are held back for a defined period instead of spreading freely.Also known as: fire compartmentation
- Competent Person
- Someone with the training, knowledge, experience and other qualities needed to carry out a specific fire or health and safety task properly — judged against that task, not in the abstract.
E
- Emergency Lighting
- Lighting that operates automatically when the normal supply fails, illuminating escape routes, exit signage and fire-fighting equipment for long enough for people to leave safely.
F
- Fire Door
- A door assembly — leaf, frame, hinges, seals, glazing, closer and ironmongery — designed to resist fire and smoke for a rated period and to close fully every time it is used.Also known as: fire-resisting door
- Fire Resistance Rating
- The period in minutes for which an element of construction or a door assembly resists fire under test conditions — written as FD30 or FD60 for doors, and expressed similarly for walls and floors.Also known as: FD30, FD60, fire rating
- Fire Risk Assessment
- A structured review of a building's fire hazards, the people at risk and the adequacy of existing precautions, producing a prioritised, risk-rated action plan the duty holder can actually work through.Also known as: FRA
H
- Higher-Risk Building
- A building meeting the height and use thresholds that bring it within the Building Safety Act's more demanding regime, carrying duties well beyond those applying to buildings generally.
M
- Means of Escape
- The structural means by which people can leave a building safely during a fire — the routes themselves, their protection, their capacity, and the time available to use them.Also known as: escape route
P
- Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan
- An individual plan setting out how a specific person who cannot evacuate unaided will leave a building during a fire, agreed with them and supported by named assistance and equipment.Also known as: PEEP, personal evacuation plan
R
- Responsible Person
- The person on whom the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places fire safety duties for a premises — usually the employer, occupier or owner, depending on how the building is used and controlled.
S
- Stay Put
- An evacuation strategy for residential blocks in which residents not directly affected by a fire remain in their flats, relying on compartmentation to contain it while the fire service responds.Also known as: defend in place