Fire Safety Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the fire safety and building safety terms you will come across, from responsible person to FRAEW.
Responsible personThe person with legal duties for fire safety under the Fire Safety Order, often the employer, owner, landlord or occupier.
Fire risk assessmentA structured review of a premises to identify fire hazards and people at risk, and to set out the action needed to reduce that risk.
CompartmentationDividing a building into fire-resisting compartments (walls, floors, doors) to limit the spread of fire and smoke.
Means of escapeThe routes and facilities that let people leave a building safely in a fire, such as protected corridors and stairs.
Intumescent sealA strip fitted to a fire door that expands when heated to close the gap between door and frame.
Cold smoke sealA seal that limits smoke passing around a door at normal temperatures, before a fire takes hold.
Fire door (FD30 / FD60)A door assembly tested to resist fire for a set time, typically 30 (FD30) or 60 (FD60) minutes.
Self-closing deviceA device that returns a fire door fully into its frame so it is closed when a fire occurs.
Emergency lightingLighting that activates if the power fails, to keep escape routes visible.
Passive fire protectionBuilt-in protection such as fire doors, compartmentation and fire-resisting construction, as opposed to active systems like alarms.
FRAEWFire risk appraisal of external walls: a specialist assessment of cladding and external wall construction, carried out under PAS 9980.
HMOHouse in multiple occupation: a property rented by several unrelated people who share facilities, with specific fire safety duties.
Stay put / simultaneous evacuationTwo evacuation strategies for blocks of flats: residents staying put unless affected, or everyone leaving at once.