Wully,
Hopefully things will soon be a lot simpler when new fire legislation is introduced in Scotland but for the moment we are stuck with some complicated issues. You dont say whether you work in the fire/safety industry so I will try to keep it as straight forward as possible.
Certain premises are exempt from the requirement of having a fire certificate but only if they meet the criteria laid down by the Fire Precautions (Factories, Offices, Shops and Railway Premises) Order 1989 and without more info it is difficult to assess whether your example fits this, though at a guess given the type of premises you describe I would suggest you would require a fire certificate.
With this in mind any amendments must be passed to the fire authority before work commences for their agreement and to amend the fire certificate on completion. This would be done alongside your relevant Building Control Dept and their approval of any alterations which may affect Part D (Structural Fire Precautions) & E (Means of Escape) of Technical Standards not to mention Part S (Disabled Access). If you have a fire certificate it must be available for inspection on the premises.
On top of all that you also have to comply with The Fire Precautions (Workplace Regulations) 1997 and The Disability Discrimination Act.
Fire certificates will soon be a thing of the past as the requirement is for Fire Risk Assessment in line with Health & Safety Legislation and the new fire regulations will incorporate this.
Clear as mud? Believe me this is a condensed answer! :oops:
Hope this at least gets you started.
Gio
