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FIRE SAFETY GUIDANCE NOTE 
Risk Assessments For Petrol Filling Stations Required Under Fire Safety Legislation 

1 INTRODUCTION

Since the introduction of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002, the conditions attached to petroleum licenses issued under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928, have been significantly reduced.
The onus is now on the employer/responsible person to identify and assess the risks arising from the delivery, keeping and dispensing of petroleum spirit and other motor fuels (such as liquefied petroleum gas).

2 RELATED LEGISLATION

• The Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928
• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (Regulation 5).
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

3 WHAT DOES THE LEGISLATION REQUIRE THE EMPLOYER /RESPONSIBLE PERSON TO DO?

They must:

• Find out what dangerous substances are present in their workplace/premises and what the fire and explosion risks are;
• Put control measures in place to either remove those risks or, where this is not possible, to control them;
• Put controls in place to reduce the effects of any incidents involving dangerous substances;
• Prepare plans and procedures to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies involving dangerous substances;
• Make sure that employees are properly informed about and trained to control or deal, with the risks from the dangerous substances;
• Identify and classify areas of the workplace/premises where explosive atmospheres may occur and avoid ignition sources (for example from unprotected equipment) in those areas;
• Provide a plan indicating where the hazardous zones are located on the premises;
• Carry out a risk assessment and provide a record of the significant findings of that assessment, including the measures that have been or will be taken by the employer/responsible person to control the risk.
• Keep a record of the risk assessment and significant findings available on the premises for inspection;
• Review the risk assessment periodically and following any significant changes.
The requirement to assess the risks from the dangerous substances should not be considered in isolation. It should be carried out as part of the overall risk assessment required by Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 rather than a separate exercise.

Appendix 1, is a suggested format that you may wish to consider as a method of recording the required information and Appendix 2 lists some of the control measures that may be necessary for each activity.

Following this guidance is not necessarily the only way to comply with the legislation, however, the advice offered here represents best practice.

4 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Legislation and detailed guidance on and the storage and dispensing of petroleum spirit and LPG as automotive fuels may be obtained from the following bibliography. Listed alongside each document is the organisation from which it may be obtained. You can also visit the national Fire Gateway website at www.fire.gov.uk.  Appendix 3 shows a list of publications available.

The above publications are current at the time of preparation of this Guidance Note.