Must all workplaces, including community Playgroups, have a Fire Marshall appointed?

Question

If this is not Law yet, will it be in future and when is this required by? I am in UK.

Answer 1

no, but having someone who has the authority to move people on, if they are causing an obstruction, or other common sense things, such as checking that fire extinguishers are in their places, and haven't been (ab)used is a very useful thing, as it takes away the problem of "everybody thinking it's somebody's job, and nobody doing it" as it were... I've been in situations where a person authorised to do a check has noticed a fire extinguisher had been abused, and had it replaced has saved an area of a building I've been present in, because shortly after the replacement, a fire broke out, and the extinguisher was brought into action, thereby saving the building... if the extinguisher hadn't been replaced, the building may have been burned to the ground!

Answer 2

no matter what space is, being a building or public playground ( i dont know what a playgroup is) the governing city / county is going to be concerned with the public's safety.

a fire marshall is usually mandatory to approve any new project being built. their primary concern is the protection of life in case of an emergency. is there adequate space for safety vehicles to access the space? does the space need fire protection such as water sprinklers, stand pipes or hydrants?

each state is different with their fire / life safety requirements. but in general, like i said, a fire marshall will review anything new being built and has reviewed everything that has been built.

Answer 3

We have a fire safety person appointed at our Church. It's no problem. He just makes sure the aisles are clear and everybody knows what to do and the electrical equipment is not set up risky and the codes are enforced. Takes about 30 minutes a year. Maybe an hour. Gives him a title. Probably actually makes us safer, too.