Fire Safety - A TUC guide for trade union activists

The TUC has published new fire safety advice for union reps following the Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017.

There are between 15,000 and 20,000 fires in non-residential buildings every year in the UK. Last year 2,000 of these fires were in industrial premises, more than 5,000 were in shops or similar commercial sites, while almost 2,000 were in schools or hospitals.

Union reps have a key role to play in fire safety and should challenge employers to take all aspects of fire safety, including prevention, as more than just a ‘tick-box exercise’.

The new guidance sets out the law around fire safety, explains what is required from a thorough fire safety assessment, and looks at how to implement fire safety policies that will prevent and protect workers.

There’s also a useful checklist for reps on what to look out for in terms of fire safety when they carry out their workplace inspections.