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Responsible Person

RRO 2005 records for the Responsible Person

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person must take general fire precautions and keep relevant records. The Order does not name a logbook. Weekly alarm tests, equipment checks, lighting, training, and drills are how most hospitality venues demonstrate the duty.

Last reviewed: . Reviewed by Nitin Patel. Drafts are prepared with AI assistance and checked by him before publication.

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What RRO 2005 actually says

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is England and Wales. The Responsible Person must take general fire precautions so far as is reasonably practicable. GOV.UK summarises the job in workplace fire safety: your responsibilities.

Those responsibilities include a fire risk assessment, detection and warning, escape routes, firefighting equipment, training, and considering people especially at risk. You must record the significant findings of the risk assessment if you have five or more employees.

What “records” means in a restaurant or pub

The Order does not print a hospitality logbook. In practice the file an officer or insurer asks for looks like this:

  • Fire risk assessment (and reviews)
  • Weekly alarm tests — see weekly fire alarm test log
  • Extinguisher and emergency lighting checks
  • Fire door / escape-route checks
  • Staff training and evacuation drills
  • Engineer and enforcing-authority visits

A digital fire logbook is one way to keep the tests and drills. It is not the risk assessment itself.

England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

Scotland: Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. Northern Ireland: Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. Equivalent duties, different statute. This page cites RRO 2005. If you are not in England or Wales, map records to the law that actually applies.

How System Hub helps the Responsible Person

Fire Safety is timestamped checks with frequencies — not a claim that software discharges the Order. Keep the risk assessment where your competent person told you to keep it. Use the logbook for the tests you already owe. 14-day trial, no card, then £5/week per location incl VAT via Stripe.

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What does the Fire Safety Order actually require you to keep?

The Responsible Person must take general fire precautions and maintain them. The Order, article 17, is about maintenance. It does not publish a form. A logbook — paper or on a phone — is how you show the tests happened. If you cannot produce the last twelve weekly tests, the precaution is not demonstrated for those weeks.

Relevant records usually include the risk assessment review, alarm tests, emergency lighting, equipment defects, training, and drills. Your fire risk assessor may name a different frequency. Follow that, and write the frequency on the log so a stand-in does not invent a monthly test where the assessment says weekly.

Edge: a tenant in a shared building may not be the Responsible Person for the common alarm. Know which tests are yours. Recording the landlord’s weekly test as if your team did it is a false record.

Weekly fire alarm test record with zone, result, defect, and a name
The fields a weekly test needs. The Order does not draw this form.
  • England and Wales: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
  • The log is evidence of maintenance, not a substitute for the risk assessment.
  • Open defects matter more than a full page of “satisfactory”.
  • We do not claim fire-authority endorsement.

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Does the Fire Safety Order name a logbook form?

Article 17 of the Order is maintenance of the precautions. It is not a template. Your fire risk assessment names the frequencies. Write those frequencies on the log so the next person does not invent a softer one.

The usual set in an English hospitality building, unless the assessment says otherwise:

  • Weekly alarm test.
  • Emergency lighting.
  • Extinguishers.
  • Training.
  • Drills.
  • Defects.

If the assessment says something else, the assessment wins. A tenant is not always the Responsible Person for a landlord’s alarm. Recording the landlord’s test as if your team carried it out is a false row. GOV.UK explains the duty in workplace fire safety.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legislation. Do not drop the English Order onto those sites. The log shows the tests. It does not replace the risk assessment, and it is not a fire-authority certificate. We do not claim one.

FAQ

Questions about RRO 2005 records

What records does the Responsible Person have to keep under RRO 2005?
The Order requires general fire precautions and arrangements for planning, organising, control, monitoring, and review — including recording. It does not list a logbook template. Most venues keep a fire risk assessment plus tests, maintenance, training, and drills. GOV.UK workplace fire safety is the practical guide.
Who is the Responsible Person in a restaurant?
Usually the employer or the person who has control of the premises. In a leased restaurant that can be the tenant. Confirm it in your fire risk assessment. Do not assume the area manager is automatically the Responsible Person.
Does this apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
RRO 2005 is England and Wales. Scotland uses the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. Northern Ireland has its own fire safety law. The duty shape is similar: someone is accountable, precautions must be taken, records help you show that. Do not paste an England logbook into a Scottish venue and call it done.
How much is System Hub Fire Safety?
14-day trial, no card. Then £5/week per location incl VAT via Stripe. Cancel anytime.