Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

 

BERMUDA STATUTORY INSTRUMENT

BR 49/1986

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK (FIRE PRECAUTIONS) REG ULATIONS 1986

[made under section 9(1)(n) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1982 [title 18 item 10] and brought into operation on 2 April 1989]

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Citation and commence ment

2 Interpretation

3 Application of Regulations

4 Obligation on employers to comply with Regula tions

5 Places of employment to be provided with fire fighting equipment

6 Duty to provide certain places of employment with means of escape in case of fire

7 Doors affording means of escape not to be locked

8 Washrooms not to be ob structed

9 Additional requirements in certain places of em ployment

10 Duty on employers to en sure means of escape from places of employ ment

11 Exemption

Citation and commencement

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Health and Safety at Work (Fire Precautions) Regulations 1986 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may by notice [BR 16/1989] publish in the Gazette.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

"the Act" means the Health and Safety at Work Act 1982 [title 18 item 10];

"building" means any building which has more than one place of employment.

Application of Regulations

3 (1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Regulations apply to every place of employment, to an employee at work throughout the time when he is in the course of his employment at his place of employment and to members of the public who may be present in a place of employment.

(2) Nothing in these Regulations applies to—

(a) a private dwelling house,

(b) any building used solely or mainly for public religious worship,

(c) an hotel as defined in the Hotels (Licensing and Control) Act 1969 [title 17 item 2],

(d) a timesharing scheme as defined in the Timesharing (Licensing and Control) Act 1981 [title 26 item 2],

(e) a ship as defined in the Marine Board Act 1962 [title 22 item 3] to which the Marine and Ports Authority (Fire Prevention) Regulations 1967 [title 22 item 3(n)] applies or which is subject to any international convention re lating to fire precautions.

Obligation on employers to comply with Regulations

4 (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), it shall be the duty of every employer at a place of employment to comply with these Regulations.

(2) Where there is more than one place of employment in a building it shall be the duty of the person in control of the building to comply with these Regulations in respect of those parts of the building in common use.

Places of employment to be provided with fire fighting equipment

5 All places of employment shall be provided with fire fighting equipment approved by the Minister and such equipment shall be prop-
erly maintained and so placed as to be readily available for use.

Duty to provide certain places of employment with means of escape in case of fire

6 (1) All places of employment shall be provided with such means of escape in case of fire for the persons employed to work therein as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case.

(2) In determining, for the purposes of this regulation, what means of escape may reasonably be required in the case of any place of employment regard shall be had (among other things) not only to the number of persons who may be expected to be working at the place at any time but also to the number of persons (other than those employed to work therein) who may reasonably be expected to be resorting to the place of employment at that time.

Doors affording means of escape not to be locked

7 (1) While employees are at work at a place of employment no door which affords a means of escape for employees in the building shall be locked or fastened in such a manner that they cannot easily and im mediately be opened from the inside.

(2) All locks or fastenings oil doors forming part of a means of escape shall be of a type approved by the Minister.

Washrooms not to be obstructed

8 The contents of any room in a place of employment, being a room in which work is done by an employee shall be so arranged or dis posed that there is free passage way for all employees in the room to a means of escape in case of fire.

Additional requirements in certain places of employment

9 In every place of employment or building in which—

(a) more than twenty persons are employed at any one time;

(b) more than ten persons are employed at any one time elsewhere than on the ground floor of the building;

(c) persons are employed in premises or underneath which explosives or flammable materials are stored;

(d) persons are employed in premises regarded by the Min ister as a fire risk,

the following additional requirements shall apply—

(i) the place of employment or building shall be provided with effective means in case of fire of giving warning capable of being operated without exposing any person to undue risk;

(ii) all exits forming part of a means of escape shall be distinctively and conspicuously marked by notices printed in letters of adequate size or with illuminated signs;

(iii) employers shall ensure that all their employees are familiar with the means of escape, the rou tine to be followed in the case of fire and shall carry out practice fire drills from time to time and, in the case of a building occupied by more than one employer, all the employers shall coop erate in developing a suitable fire drill.

Duty on employers to ensure means of escape from places of em ployment

10 Where there is more than one place of employment in a building it shall be the duty of every employer at his place of employment to en sure that—

(a) the means of escape in case of fire which are provided are properly maintained, free from obstruction and pro vided with adequate and reliable illumination;

(b) free access to the means of escape is maintained at all times;

(c) employees receive appropriate instructions and training in what to do in case of fire.

Exemption

11 The owner of any building constructed before the 2nd day of September 1972 where persons are employed may apply to the Minister under section 11 of the Act for an exemption from any of the provisions of these Regulations.