If you own or manage agricultural buildings in Cumbria, you have a legal duty to assess and manage fire risk in those buildings. Grain stores, machinery sheds, fuel stores, and workshops all fall under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 whenever people work in or visit them. This guide covers what the law requires, where Cumbrian farms most commonly fall short, and what to do about it before this year's harvest.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, any non-domestic building where people work or visit must have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. That includes grain stores, livestock buildings with staff areas, machinery workshops, and farm offices. The "responsible person" is usually the farmer, landowner, or farm manager.
The responsible person must identify fire hazards, decide who might be at risk, evaluate the risks, and put measures in place to reduce them. According to gov.uk Fire Prevention and Protection Statistics, agricultural premises remain among the highest-risk rural locations for fire. Grain stores and machinery areas account for a significant share of farm fires nationally.
This goes beyond paperwork. The Order requires you to provide appropriate fire detection, maintain escape routes, and make sure anyone working on site knows what to do if a fire breaks out.
Grain dust is highly combustible. During harvest and drying season, dust builds up in storage areas and around conveyors, creating conditions where a single ignition source can cause a serious fire. August and September are peak months for this risk across Cumbria's arable and mixed farms.
Machinery workshops present a different set of hazards. Welding, cutting, battery charging, fuel storage, and oily rags stored near heat sources all play a part. Many farm workshops have evolved over decades, with electrical installations that haven't been inspected in years and fire exits blocked by equipment.
HSE guidance on fire and explosion in agriculture highlights that poor housekeeping, outdated electrics, and a lack of fire detection are the most common contributing factors in farm fires.
Having worked with rural businesses across Cumbria, from the Eden Valley to the west coast, we see the same issues coming up again and again. Many farm buildings have never had a formal fire risk assessment carried out. Others had one done years ago that hasn't been reviewed since the building's use changed.
These are the gaps we find most often:
Electrical installations in older barns and workshops that haven't been tested or upgraded. Grain drying equipment running without regular maintenance checks. No fire extinguishers, or extinguishers that are years out of service. Escape routes through machinery areas that are blocked or poorly lit. No fire detection at all in buildings where people work alone, sometimes for hours at a time during harvest.
Seasonal workers and contractors add another layer of complexity. If someone is working on your farm, even temporarily, you need to make sure they know the escape routes and fire procedures. Under the Fire Safety Order, this falls on the responsible person.
August and September are the highest-risk months for grain store fires. If your grain drying equipment, electrical systems, and fire extinguishers haven't been checked this year, now is the time to act. A fire during harvest can destroy an entire year's crop in minutes.
Not every farm building needs a full fire alarm system. The requirement depends on what your fire risk assessment identifies. A small open-sided hay barn with no electrical supply is a very different situation from a large grain store with drying equipment and staff working inside.
Where your risk assessment identifies the need for fire detection, BS 5839 sets out the standard for system design, installation, and maintenance. For many agricultural buildings, a simple smoke or heat detection system linked to an audible alarm is enough. The important thing is that the decision comes from a proper assessment, not a guess.
If you're unsure whether your farm buildings need fire alarm systems, a fire risk assessment will give you the answer.
Beacon Fire Protection covers farms and rural businesses across Cumbria, from Penrith and the Eden Valley through to Carlisle, Kendal, and the west coast. If your agricultural buildings haven't been assessed, or if your last assessment predates changes to how you use the buildings, it's worth getting a fresh review before harvest season is in full swing.
Yes. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, any non-domestic premises where people work or visit must have a fire risk assessment. This includes grain stores, workshops, farm offices, and livestock buildings with staff areas. The responsible person, usually the farmer or landowner, must carry out or commission the assessment.
It depends on the hazards present. Dry powder extinguishers are common in machinery areas because they cover multiple fire classes. CO2 extinguishers are suitable near electrical equipment. Your fire risk assessment should identify which types are needed and where they should be positioned. All extinguishers must be serviced annually by a competent person.
There is no fixed interval in law, but the assessment must be kept up to date. You should review it whenever the building's use changes, after any significant alterations, following a fire or near-miss, or at least annually. For many Cumbrian farms, the start of harvest season is a practical trigger for an annual review.