Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Approved Document B
- Official government guidance on how buildings should be designed and built to meet fire safety requirements in the building regulations.
- Autoclave
- A machine that uses pressurised steam to sterilise instruments and equipment so they are safe to reuse.
- BS 5306
- The British Standard covering the provision, commissioning and servicing of fire extinguishers.
- BS 5839-1
- The British Standard for the design, installation and maintenance of fire detection and alarm systems in buildings.
- BS 9999
- The British Standard giving a code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Closed-circuit television (CCTV)
- A video camera system used to monitor and record activity in and around the premises for security.
- Cold chain
- Keeping vaccines and certain medicines within a safe temperature range from delivery to use.
- Compartmentation
- Dividing a building into fire-resisting sections so that fire and smoke are contained and prevented from spreading quickly.
- Competent Person
- Someone with the training, knowledge and experience needed to advise on or carry out a particular safety task properly.
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
- The law for safely managing chemicals and other hazardous substances at work.
- Controlled drug
- A medicine whose supply, storage and records are tightly restricted by law because of its potential for misuse.
- Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR)
- The law requiring employers to control the risks of fire and explosion from dangerous substances such as medical oxygen and flammable liquids.
- Decontamination
- The combined process of cleaning, disinfecting and, where needed, sterilising equipment so it is safe to reuse.
- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
- A periodic inspection report on the safety of a building's fixed electrical wiring and installation.
- Emergency voice communication (EVC)
- A fixed system of phones or points that lets people at refuge areas talk to fire wardens or rescuers during an evacuation.
- Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
- The law setting out specific fire safety duties for buildings in England, including recording the findings of a fire risk assessment.
- Fire Safety Act 2021
- The law that clarified that fire safety duties cover a building's structure, external walls and flat entrance doors.
- Fundamental standards
- The minimum standards of safety and quality below which care must never fall.
- General practice (GP)
- A local medical practice providing everyday family healthcare, usually the first point of contact for patients.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- The main law setting out employers' general duties to protect the health and safety of staff and others affected by their work.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the standards that providers of regulated care must meet, enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
- Health Technical Memorandum (HTM)
- A series of official guidance documents on the design, installation and operation of safe healthcare premises and systems.
- Hot works
- Maintenance or building tasks that create heat, sparks or flames, such as welding, soldering or grinding, which raise the risk of fire.
- Means of escape
- The routes and exits provided so that everyone can leave a building safely in the event of a fire.
- Medical oxygen
- Oxygen supplied for patient treatment; it strongly supports combustion and makes any fire burn faster and hotter.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Permit-to-work
- A formal written authorisation that sets out safety conditions before higher-risk work, such as hot works, may begin.
- Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP)
- A tailored plan setting out how a person who cannot evacuate unaided will be helped to leave a building safely in an emergency.
- Portable appliance testing (PAT)
- The routine inspection and testing of plug-in electrical equipment to check it is safe to use.
- Refuge point
- A safe, fire-protected area where people who cannot use stairs can wait to be assisted during an evacuation.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
- The main fire safety law for most non-domestic premises in England and Wales, requiring a fire risk assessment and fire precautions.
- Residual risk
- The level of risk that remains once existing control measures have been taken into account.
- Responsible Person
- The person who holds the legal duty for fire safety in a premises, usually the employer or whoever has control of it.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Risk assessment and method statement (RAMS)
- A contractor's combined document setting out the hazards of a job and the safe step-by-step method for carrying it out.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Suitable and sufficient
- The legal standard for a risk assessment: thorough and proportionate enough for the hazards and circumstances involved.
- Syncope
- A temporary loss of consciousness, commonly known as fainting, caused by a brief drop in blood flow to the brain.