Yes Wee Brian is bang on the cash. FRA acts as a consultee only. It has no powers of enforcement whatsoever in regulated sports ground / stadia. Duty to enforce fire safety order falls to Local Authority quite bizzarely with some very dubious results. Generally most LA follow the recommendations of the FRA thankfully.
Please don't tar every LA with the same brush; I'm chair of the SAG group covering a League 1 stadium, we place immence value on the input of the GMFRS representative, not just on fire safety issues but everything. The problem is that over the 25+ years that I've been involved with the SAG we've had in excess of 40 GMFRS representatives on the group, and probably more than twenty FP Liaison officers.
During the introduction of the RRO LA staff undertook the same training as Fire Service representatives in the North West, use the same audit tools, the framework of the same documentation and the same enforcement powers.
LA staff undertake inspections of the whole premises at least annually, require regular renewal/review of the FRA's which reflect both match day operation and 24/7/365 usage by staff and other occupants. LA staff are regular visitors to the stadium and undertake during performance inspections. Additionally we attend any relevant staff training to ensure the quality of information imparted.
Overall I don't believe we do a bad job, and we are certainly not in competition.
