This week (23 January 2023), the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force. In this article, PBC Today explores what the new laws mean for fire safety compliance in the UK
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017, the UK Government issued the 2022 Regulations as a step towards implementing the fire safety recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report.
The new regulations aim to ensure greater responsibility for fire safety in residential buildings
The regulations currently only apply to England and are being introduced under Article 24 of the Fire Safety Order.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations require the Responsible Person(s) to provide information about their buildings to their local fire and rescue services to assist them to plan and provide an effective operational response.
What information will the Responsible Person need to provide?
In high-rise residential buildings, the Responsible Person(s) will be required to:
- Provide local fire services with up-to-date electronic building floor plans and a single-page building plan which identifies key firefighting equipment.
- Provide information about the design and materials used in the external wall system of the building and inform the fire and rescue service of any material changes.
- Undertake monthly checks on the operation of lifts intended for use by firefighters, and report any defects if found.
- Install and maintain a secure information box with the name and contact details of the responsible person, including hard-copies of building floor plans.
- Install wayfinding signage that is visible in low light and smoky conditions which will identify flat and floor numbers in the stairwells of relevant buildings.
- In high-rise residential buildings over 11 metres, the Responsible Person must also undertake annual checks of all fire doors in common parts.
In multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, Responsible Person(s) are required to:
- Provide relevant fire safety instructions to residents, such as how to report a fire, and what to do once a fire occurs.
- Provide all residents with information relating to the importance of fire doors in fire safety.
Who qualifies as a Responsible Person?
The new government regulation defines a Responsible Person as a person responsible for the safety of themselves and others who use regulated premises.
In other words, a Responsible Person is usually the owner of a building or a person in control of the premises in residential properties.
Why is the new Fire Safety Regulation being implemented, and why is it important?
June 2022 marked five years since the Grenfell Tower fire. The fire, whilst a great tragedy, highlighted the serious flaws in fire safety in buildings across the UK.
The Grenfell Tower fire was caused by an electrical fault that spread rapidly up the building’s dangerous combustible aluminium composite cladding and insulation, which caused the death of 72 people.
The incident was named the deadliest structural fire in the UK since the Piper Alpha oil-platform disaster in 1988. Inquiries into the Grenfell Tower fire found that the main reason that the fire spread was that the building’s exterior failed to comply with regulations and was unsafe for residents.
The building’s ‘stay-put policy’ – a policy enforced for high-rise buildings to stop the fire from spreading from one flat to another, failed to keep people safe as the flats themselves were not self-contained due to the materials the building was constructed with.
The fire also highlighted the danger of a similar situation arising in other properties constructed with the same materials.
Ensuring that fire safety is non-negotiable
Zutec chief operating officer, Emily Hopson-Hill, discusses the regulations and what they mean for the construction industry: “Unfortunately, fires in residential mid- and high-rise buildings remain an all-too-common occurrence, putting the lives of tenants in the affected and surrounding buildings in serious danger.
“Our hope is that the new regulations for Fire Safety which will now make it a legal requirement for responsible persons (RPs) of high-rise buildings to provide fire and rescue services with information on their buildings for effective operational response in electronic formats,will compel everyone throughout the supply chain to consider fire safety as non-negotiable, and improve protocol to protect residents.
“Significantly the new legislation will hopefully encourage asset owners and contractors to appraise current approaches to implementing and inspecting fire systems, as well as increasing the use of digital tracking, management, auditing, approvals and reporting to improve quality, safety, accuracy and compliance.”
Lydia Bamford
Digital Editor
