Fire Safety for Non-Profit Committees
Joining the committee of a charity, community group or non-profit is a rewarding way to give something back to your area, and it often brings responsibilities that nobody mentions at the first meeting. If your organisation owns, leases or manages a building, you may share a legal duty to keep the people who use it safe from fire. We regularly work with trustees, volunteers and committee members who find themselves responsible for village halls, community centres, youth clubs, sports pavilions and places of worship, often with no fire safety background at all.
This guide explains who is responsible, what the law expects, where voluntary organisations most often fall short, and a sensible order in which to put things right. None of it needs to be expensive or complicated, but it does need an owner and a written record.
Who is responsible for fire safety?
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which applies in England and Wales, every building other than a private home must have a Responsible Person. This is the person or body who makes sure the premises are reasonably safe from fire and that everyone can get out quickly if one starts. In a non-profit organisation, the role usually falls to one of the following.
- The committee or board of trustees, acting collectively.
- A building manager or caretaker, where one has been appointed and has day-to-day control of the premises.
- The tenant or leaseholder, where the building is rented, sometimes sharing duties with the landlord.
Fire safety tasks can be delegated to a named individual, and often are, but the committee remains collectively accountable. Every member therefore needs a basic understanding of how fire safety is managed and reasonable confidence that the arrangements work.
A note on where you are. The Order covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety legislation built on similar principles, so committees there should check the local requirements. In every part of the UK, the local fire and rescue service can inspect your premises and take enforcement action.
The key legal duties
The Responsible Person must do the following.
- Carry out a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment, and keep it under review as circumstances change.
- Put in place and maintain sensible fire safety measures, such as fire detection and alarms, emergency lighting, signage, extinguishers and fire doors.
- Keep escape routes clear and usable whenever the building is occupied.
- Appoint competent people to help, and give staff and volunteers the information and training they need.
- Prepare an emergency plan that people in the building can actually follow.
- Keep records of assessments, inspections, maintenance and drills.
Where the building is shared, for example when a hall is hired out for classes, parties or clubs, the committee must also coordinate fire safety information with the other users. Serious failures can lead to prosecution under the Order, with unlimited fines and, in the most serious cases, imprisonment, so it pays to be able to show that you took the duty seriously.
The assessment itself should be carried out by a competent person. For non-housing premises such as community halls, sports clubs and places of worship, the established guide to how an assessment is prepared is PAS 79-1, whereas BS 9792:2025 applies to housing and has replaced PAS 79-2. BS 8674 sets out the competence levels expected of individual fire risk assessors, which makes it a useful yardstick when deciding who to appoint. If part of your building includes residential accommodation, such as a caretaker's flat or supported housing, the housing standard may apply to that part. If you are commissioning an assessment for the first time, our guide on how to commission a fire risk assessment that actually protects you is a good place to start.
Common gaps we see in non-profit organisations
Most community and voluntary groups want to do the right thing. They are working with limited budgets, informal processes and a steady turnover of volunteers, and that tends to produce the same handful of problems.
- Outdated or missing assessments. The last review may have been years ago, or carried out by someone who has since left and taken the paperwork with them.
- Unclear maintenance responsibilities. Nobody is quite sure who tests the alarm, services the extinguishers or checks the fire doors.
- Patchy training. Volunteers may not know the evacuation routes or how to raise the alarm.
- Cluttered escape routes. Chairs, tables and storage creep into corridors and in front of exits over time.
- Changes that were never assessed. A new kitchen, a stage for events or a different pattern of lettings can alter the risk, as we explain in our guide to change of use and fire risk.
- Unclear accountability. Everyone assumes that someone else is dealing with it.
The fix is simple to describe. Clarify who does what, record decisions, and make fire safety a standing item on the committee agenda.
Your first three months on the committee
If you have just joined and want to get up to speed, the following order works well for most organisations.
- Step 1 Ask to see the latest Fire Risk Assessment. If it is more than a year old, or the building or its use has changed since it was written, it probably needs reviewing. If nobody can find one, that tells you where to begin.
- Step 2 Find out who maintains what. Establish who tests the alarm, services the extinguishers and inspects the fire doors, and make sure the certificates and logbooks are kept in one place.
- Step 3 Walk the escape routes. Check that exits open easily, routes are clear and signage can be seen. If you run events, make sure the volunteers on duty know where to direct people.
- Step 4 Look for higher-risk activities. Kitchens, stage lighting, candles and portable heaters all add risk and may need specific controls.
- Step 5 Check your insurance conditions. Many insurers expect an up-to-date Fire Risk Assessment and evidence of maintenance, and a gap here can complicate a claim.
- Step 6 Start keeping records. Simple notes showing that checks were done and problems were fixed carry real weight if the fire and rescue service ever inspects.
A simple rhythm of routine checks
Once the basics are in place, fire safety becomes a matter of habit. The exact schedule depends on your assessment and the systems installed, but a typical community building will follow a pattern something like this.
- Weekly. Test the fire alarm, using a different call point each time, and record the result. Confirm that exits and escape routes are clear before the building is used.
- Monthly. Carry out a short functional test of the emergency lighting, and make a quick visual check of extinguishers and fire doors.
- Annually. Arrange servicing of the alarm and extinguishers, and a full-duration test of the emergency lighting, using competent contractors. Review the Fire Risk Assessment and hold an evacuation drill.
- Whenever something changes. New equipment, building work, a new type of event or a change in who uses the building should prompt a fresh look at the assessment.
Make it a standing item. Five minutes at each committee meeting, covering any incidents, overdue actions and upcoming events, is usually enough to keep fire safety from drifting. Minute the discussion, because those minutes become part of your evidence.
What about hirers, volunteers and event organisers?
Fire safety applies to everyone who uses the building, and hirers and visiting groups are often the people least familiar with it. A church hall or community centre that hosts a children's party on Saturday and a fundraising quiz on Sunday has quite different risks from one day to the next, and the people running those events need to know what is expected of them.
- Give every hirer and volunteer group a short written briefing, or include the key points in the hire agreement.
- Show them the alarm call points, the exits and the assembly point.
- Ask that they never block fire doors or store items in escape routes.
- Make sure one named person is responsible for safety at every event, and that they know how to raise the alarm and start an evacuation.
- Agree in advance who is responsible for any temporary equipment brought in, such as catering appliances, decorations or lighting.
Simple, consistent communication prevents most problems before they start, and it works best in a culture where volunteers feel comfortable raising concerns and near-misses without feeling that they are causing a fuss.
How Fletcher Risk can help
We specialise in helping non-profit and community organisations manage fire safety in a way that is affordable, proportionate and suited to how volunteer-led groups actually operate. We work with charities, community buildings and places of worship across the North West, North Wales and the West Midlands, and our support typically includes the following.
- Fire Risk Assessments tailored to community buildings, charities and places of worship.
- A clear fire safety policy and practical checklists designed for volunteer-led organisations.
- Training sessions for committees, wardens and event organisers.
- Fire door inspections and advice on keeping compartmentation effective.
- Annual reviews, so that your arrangements stay current as your committee and your building change.
The key takeaway
When you join a non-profit committee, you are helping to protect the people who use your building as well as the organisation that runs it. Fire safety does not need to be complicated or costly. With a current assessment, a clear maintenance routine and a few named responsibilities, a committee can meet its legal duties and give everyone who walks through the door a much better chance of getting home safely.
Taking over fire safety for a committee or charity?
If you have just joined a committee, or you suspect your organisation's Fire Risk Assessment is out of date, we are happy to talk it through with you before anything is committed. We will explain what an assessment would involve for your building and what a sensible first year of actions looks like, without obligation. Whenever you are ready, please get in touch.
Ask About Your Building Get in TouchThis article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, fire safety requirements vary depending on the building, its use and its location, and should be confirmed through a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment carried out by a competent person. For specific guidance, please contact Fletcher Risk or another qualified fire safety professional.