Modern fire safety legislation applies to virtually all premises and covers nearly every type of building, structure and open space.

It does not apply to people’s private homes, including individual flats in a block or house, but does apply to common areas of blocks of flats.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) is at the heart of fire safety in the workplace in England and Wales. In Scotland, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) make similar requirements, as do the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 in Northern Ireland.

In addition to the above, there are numerous pieces of legislation that have implied and specific requirements in relation to fire safety, as this topic describes.