Knowledge Centre
Fire & health and safety, explained properly
58 pages of reference material written and reviewed by a practising fire risk assessor — the duties, the terms, the documents behind them, what has changed recently, and templates to take away and use.
Search the Knowledge Centre
Full-text search across every page in all six sections. Search as a report would phrase it — “flat entrance doors”, “stay put”, “responsible person” — and you will find the passage, not just the title.
What is in here
Six sections, each answering a different kind of question. Start wherever your question sits.
- Guides11 guidesLonger explanations of how a duty works in practice — what the law asks for, what an assessment looks at, and what usually goes wrong.
- Glossary12 termsPlain-English definitions of the terms that appear in assessments, enforcement notices and contractor reports.
- Standards9 documentsWhat each British Standard, PAS and Approved Document actually covers, whether it is current, and what replaced it if not.
- Legislation9 instrumentsThe Acts, Orders and Regulations behind the duties — what each one requires, where it applies, and whether it is still in force.
- News10 itemsRegulatory changes and commencement dates, written up when they happen and dated so you can tell how current they are.
- Downloads7 resourcesChecklists, record forms and logbook templates to print and use — free, with no sign-up and no email address required.
Recently updated
The most recent item from each section, so this reflects the whole Knowledge Centre rather than whichever part was worked on last.
- GuidesWorkplace Health and Safety Inspections and Audits ExplainedA workplace inspection or audit checks whether the controls decided on in a risk assessment are actually happening in practice — a different exercise to the risk assessment itself. Here's what each term means and how they differ.
- StandardsL5 — Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (HSE Approved Code of Practice)The Health and Safety Executive's Approved Code of Practice and guidance supporting the COSHH Regulations 2002, sixth edition, 2013. Free to download and the primary reference for how a COSHH assessment should actually be carried out.
- LegislationThe Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 — the duty behind every COSHH assessmentThe statutory instrument requiring employers to assess and control the risk from hazardous substances at work, made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In force since 21 November 2002 and amended repeatedly since.
- DownloadsFire drill recordA record of a single fire drill: the scenario used, how long evacuation took, what was observed, and the actions arising, with owners and target dates. It records the drill; it does not tell you how often to drill or what evacuation time is acceptable.
- GlossaryAutomatic Fire DetectionA 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.
- NewsSecond staircase guidance takes effect on 30 September 2026Approved Document B Volume 1 will recommend a second staircase in blocks of flats with a storey 18 m or more, with an eighteen-month transitional period.
How to use this material
Everything here is general reference, written to be accurate on the day it was reviewed and dated so you can see when that was. None of it is a fire risk assessment, and none of it can tell you what your particular building needs — that is what an assessment of the premises is for. Where a page states a legal duty it cites the instrument it comes from, so you can check the source rather than take our word for it.