Enforcement Policy & Public Register

What is the Public Register?

As part of our ongoing commitment to making the area safer, we visit and inspect a wide range of premises which fall under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

If fire safety problems are discovered at a premise which could put people at risk, we will take action to ensure that the premises are made safe from fire for everybody. This action can include the issuing of legal notices requiring ‘responsible persons’ to take specific actions, to ensure safety.

As an enforcing authority of fire safety legislation, we are required by the Environment and Safety Information Act 1988 to maintain a public register of the notices we have served.

Notices included on the register are:

Alterations notices: These may be served on the responsible person if the Fire and Rescue Authority is of the opinion that any structural alterations being made to the premises will constitute a serious risk to relevant persons (due to features of the premises, their use, and any hazard present or any other circumstances).

Enforcement notices: These may be served where the Fire and Rescue Authority is of the opinion that the person responsible for fire safety in the premises has failed to comply with any provision of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Prohibition notices: The Fire and Rescue Authority can prohibit or restrict the use of premises if the risk to people in the case of fire is so serious until the specified matters have been remedied.

How does it work?

Avon Fire and Rescue Service utilises the National Enforcement Register which is operated by National Fire Chiefs Council. The Enforcement Register has been moved to a new location and can be found here. At present historic records have not yet been moved to the new Register and can be viewed here. It is not currently possible to update the historic records and therefore if you have an enquiry about enforcement action taken by Avon Fire and Rescue Service please contact us via email on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The register is used by a number of different fire and rescue services and allows you to search by premises type, premises name or address or by issuing fire and rescue service. You can select Avon Fire and Rescue Service to view all notices served by this Fire Authority should you wish.

Each entry in the register will be indexed and contain sufficient detail to convey the substance of the notice to which it relates.

Information of notices will be available for public inspection on the register within 14 days of expiry of the 21 day statutory appeal period. Where an appeal is made, no notice will be recorded until a decision on the appeal is reached. No entry will be made if a notice is ‘overturned’ by the courts.

Should the status of a notice change, for example it is ‘withdrawn’ or ‘complied with’, the register will be updated to reflect these changes.

Entries will remain on the register for five years or for as long as they remain in force.