BAFE Scotland

BAFE Scotland

BAFE is a national fire safety register and recognises the different legislation in the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom's constituent countries. Scotland's fire safety regime differs to that of other parts of the United Kingdom.

BAFE in Scotland works with the Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and statutory and non-statutory bodies on the shared objectives of promoting fire safety and the reduction of fire accidents, injuries and fatalities.

The tragic event at the Rosepark Nursing Home in Lanarkshire, and the regular reports of fires in Scotland, remind us that constant improvement is required.

BAFE recognises that Scotland has its own legal framework on fire safety and jurisdiction. The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and The Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 sets out the responsibilities Duty Holders must follow.

In the FAQ guidance section of the Scottish Government FireLaw website it stated:

“If I purchase fire protection products or use the services of an installation or maintenance contractor, how can I be sure about the quality of the product or service?

Contractors should be competent and fire protection products should be fit for their purpose and properly installed and maintained. Third party certification is one method of providing a reasonable assurance of quality.

Third-party certification or assurance for products and services involves a certification body independently checking competencies and processes and that standards are being met. If the certification body is reputable, this can be an effective means of providing assurance.

Products and services that are not third-party approved are not necessarily less reliable, but third-party quality assurance can offer the comfort that products and services are fit for purpose.”

- https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/public-safety/Fire-Rescue/FireLaw/FireLaw/FAQ/Miscellaneous (external link/archived section of the GOV.SCOT website)

BAFE is very active on day to day business in Scotland. The team have a regular programme of fire extinguisher technician assessments to carry out and to monitor BAFE Registered Company compliance to the BAFE schemes.

We also routinely respond to all Scottish public body tenders for fire safety/fire protection requirements, promoting the value of using third-party certificated companies.

In addition, BAFE is promoting public policy changes and improvements. A particular focus is to achieve third-party certification of fire risk assessors. BAFE share concerns from the industry that those responsible for fire safety in buildings have no guarantee or assurance of the competence and validity of fire risk assessment advice which they receive. The BAFE SP205 scheme, Life Safety Fire Risk Assessment, exists for competent companies and sole traders who provide this service, which is assessed via UKAS Accredited Certification Bodies NSI or SSAIB.