Firefighting

Fire is a serious risk for the environment. You should always try to reduce the risk of fire and so reduce the environmental damage that fire and firefighting can cause.

What you must do

Carry out a fire risk assessment to identify and reduce potential causes of site fires. Use the assessment to reduce potential sources of ignition, stop the ways fire could spread once started and set up fire controls such as extinguishers and sprinklers.

Use and store flammable or explosive materials safely.

Check that your firefighting foams are authorised and all banned foams have been replaced.

From 4 July 2025, PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) and related substances are banned in firefighting foams. If you are a business who stores this type of foam, often referred to as C8 and used for Class B fires, you must:

Stop using it immediately
Decontaminate any systems where it is being used
Dispose of the foam safely. Discharge to sewers, land, watercourses, or on-site drainage is not permitted

SEPA have developed Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) to help with compliance with these bans.

Create an incident response plan which includes measures for protecting the environment if there is a fire. Keep the plan up to date, practise it, display it clearly for all staff and review it regularly.

In the event of fire, prevent firewater from escaping, for example by temporarily blocking drains or using a containment barrier. Firewater is water which has become contaminated after being used for firefighting.

Ensure all staff know how to react if there is a fire.

You may have responsibilities for fire safety in your business premises.

Firefighting equipment

Comply with ozone depleting substances and fluorinated gases regulations

Ensure that your fire protection systems and fire extinguishing equipment comply with the ozone depleting substances (ODS) and fluorinated gases (F-gas) regulations.

Ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and fluorinated gases (F-gases)

Do not keep or use firefighting or fire protection equipment containing halons, PFOA or PFOS. These are banned and must be disposed of at a licensed facility.

If your fire protection or firefighting equipment contain F-gases you must:

use appropriately trained and qualified people to service, maintain and decommission your equipment
regularly check for and repair leaks - how often you do this will depend on the CO2 equivalent of the F-gas in your system (in Tonnes CO2 )
clearly label all equipment with the amount and type of F-gases they contain.
recover F-gases during servicing and maintenance and at the end of the equipment's life.

If your fire protection system contains the equivalent of 5 tonnes of CO2 or more of F-gases you must:

keep records about your equipment, including service history
check for leaks at least once a year

For systems with:

50 tonnes or more CO2 equivalent you must check for leaks at least every six months.
500 tonnes or more CO2 equivalent you must test for leaks every three months.

For example:

HFC23 - 0.3kg is equivalent to 5 tonnes of CO2 , 3.4kg is equivalent to 50 tonnes of CO2
HFC 227- 1.6kg is equivalent to 5 tonnes of CO2 , 15.5 kg is equivalent to 50 tonnes of CO2

F-gas Support has information sheets covering F-gases and fire protection system Standards for UK businesses.

F-gas Support: F gases and ODS - Impact on fire protection

Hold F-gas qualifications

Since July 2010, if you work with F-gases in fire protection systems and firefighting equipment you will need to hold a qualification issued by the Fire Industry Association (FIA).

Fire Industry Association (FIA)

You will need to pass specific modules to carry out certain tasks and work on different types of equipment.

For further details contact F-gas Support.

Email: defra.helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Banned foams

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are highly polluting chemicals previously used in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) to fight fires involving flammable liquids like fuel (Class B fires), also known as C8 foam.

As of 2025:

All uses of PFOA containing firefighting foams are banned in the UK and EU, with disposal via licenced incineration required
PFOS remains banned, with disposal via licenced incineration required

You must:

Remove and dispose of any existing stocks appropriately
Decontaminate systems before use with alternative foams include fluorine free foams

SEPA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

During testing or firefighting exercises:

Do not use PFOA or PFOA containing foams
Do not allow used foam to escape to the environment
Contain foam run-off and dispose of it either off-site at an authorised facility or seek approval from the water and sewerage provider to discharge foams to the foul sewer

Comply with Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulations

If you store large quantities of dangerous substances, you may need a major accident prevention policy under the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulations.

For more information on preventing accidents and emergency plans, see our COMAH guidance.

Control of major accident hazards (COMAH)
Hazardous/special waste

On-site burning

You must not burn tyres, plastics, chemicals, oil or any form of waste on your site unless you are authorised by your local council to do so in a boiler, furnace or incinerator.

If you emit dark smoke you could be prosecuted by your local council in Northern Ireland or SEPA in Scotland.

Burning Waste

Control firewater

Firewater is water that has become contaminated during firefighting and is often classed as hazardous/special waste.

You must:

Prevent its release to the environment by containing it using suitable equipment (e.g. drain covers, booms, bunds)
Store and dispose of it properly via an authorised waste management company or to the foul sewer with the approval of the water or sewerage provider

Good practice

Minimise your fire risk

You should store chemicals, fuel, oil or other flammable materials correctly to reduce possible fire risk.

Oil storage
Chemical storage
Store flammable and oxidising substances, chemicals or materials separately
Install sprinkler systems and extinguishers throughout your site
Enforce no smoking zones
Install and maintain smoke alarms
Minimise flammable substances on your site

Invite the Fire and Rescue Service and relevant authorities to your site to discuss potential outcomes of fires, how to prevent them, best practice techniques and how to develop an incident response plan.

Assess firefighting response options as part of the plan. You may consider a controlled burn to minimise water and air pollution.

GPP 28 Controlled Burn (Coming soon)

Contain firewater

To prevent firewater from running into surface drains, polluting nearby watercourses (rivers, streams and groundwater), foul drainage systems, and land, you should:

construct containment lagoons, tanks or systems on impermeable surfaces to hold firewater
isolate containment systems from surface drains, watercourses, land or sewers

Guidance for Pollution Prevention 18 contains guidance on firewater containment systems.

GPP 18 Managing fire water and major spillages

Bund containment systems. This involves building a secondary barrier around the main containment system, to hold products and firewater if the main containment fails. Ensure the bund is resistant to both heat, and the products you store.