Today on 23rd January 2023, the Government’s proposals for fire safety reform come into force, following on from the commencement of the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the launch of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.
So, what does this mean for your business? Here’s a brief overview of everything you need to know…
The proposals were set out in the Fire Reform White Paper last year, which proposed to:
• Improve the Fire & Rescue Service, through training initiatives and increased learning opportunities, including a College of Fire and Rescue.
• Transfer fire governance to a single, elected individual who can be held accountable. They will be responsible for overseeing operationally independent Chief Fire Officers.
• Engage with the public through a 10-week consultation to gather views from the public.
The White Paper, the Act, and the Regulations are, in large part, a response to the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which killed 72 people. The public inquiry into these tragic events resulted in several recommendations for improving fire safety in the UK. So, how do these changes to the law enact these recommendations?
Fire Safety Act 2021
The Fire Safety Act 2021 commenced on 16th May 2022, meaning it is now in effect and must be followed as UK legislation.
The Act amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, clarifying what should be included in fire risk assessments of multi-occupancy residential buildings. It concentrates on two key elements:
Grenfell Tower, like many other high-rise buildings, was clad using combustible materials made of plastic and aluminium. This cladding, which burns so easily, acted as fuel for the fire and accelerated it.
So what does this change in legislation mean for responsible persons?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order already puts a duty on responsible persons to regularly review their fire risk assessment. What the Fire Safety Act does is draw attention to elements of buildings that some fire risk assessments have previously overlooked. Responsible persons should consider whether a more in-depth assessment of the external walls is required – especially if their building uses cladding.
A competent fire risk assessor can tell you if your building needs this in-depth treatment or not. Buildings with brick or masonry external walls, or low-risk buildings which don’t present a significant risk of fire spread won’t need a redo.
Simply review your fire risk assessment regularly, as before. Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. The new Regulations fit into the existing Fire Safety Order, implementing some of the recommendations put forth by the inquiry. These regulations will come into force today on Friday, on 23rd January 2023.
Again, the new rules chiefly apply to high-rise buildings. In high-rise residential buildings, responsible persons must:
However, all multi-occupied residential buildings, regardless of height, must provide:
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)
One area not covered by the raft of changes is those who cannot self-evacuate. Disabled and mobility-impaired residents are especially vulnerable in high-rise buildings. The Grenfell inquiry found that 15 residents of the 72 who died in the fire were unable to evacuate without assistance. PEEPs are used to document how individuals will be evacuated if they have difficulty responding to a fire
alarm, or escaping a building unaided, in the event of an emergency. The Government’s recent consultation on
resolving this issue received overwhelming support for requiring responsible persons to develop PEEPs.
However, their response rejected this idea, citing “significant issues” with the “practicality, proportionality and safety” of PEEPs. Chiefly, they noted that the cost issues of staffing and equipping high-rise properties to comply with PEEPs may become disproportionate to
the risk.
Another consultation is now being analysed, which ran between May and August last year - Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing +. This seeks to introduce an “alternative package of proposals” with a greater focus on improving building evacuation strategies, including the controversial ‘stay put’ model. Whilst action on this recommendation is still being considered, we still have the Fire Safety Order. Presently, the law puts a duty on the responsible person to provide an evacuation plan for all people in their building. This
includes people with disabilities, so those who cannot evacuate in the same way as others must have a plan. In
most buildings, this means working with individuals to prepare a PEEPs to detail how they will escape in
an emergency.
So, until further measures are introduced and passed into law, responsible persons still need to have a documented plan to get everyone out safely in an emergency.
Source: Croner UK - https://croner.co.uk/
