As heralded in a previous article the Home Office on
18 May announced the commencement of the Fire Safety Act 2021 which will
make sure all blocks of flats are properly assessed for fire safety
risks and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations
2022 which will help ensure people feel safe in
their homes.
These legislative changes will meet many of the Grenfell Tower
Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations for fire safety improvements in
multi-occupied residential buildings including duties on building
owners to ensure that fire and rescue services have the information
they need to plan their response to a fire in a high-rise building
and imposing a minimum frequency for checks on all fire doors in
mid and high-rise blocks of flats.
The regulations will come into force on 23 January 2023
following the publication of supporting guidance which is due later
in 2022.
In summary, for high-rise residential buildings (a
multi-occupied residential building at least 18 metres in height or
7 or more storeys), "responsible persons" must:
- share electronically with their local fire and rescue service
(FRS) information about the building's external wall system and
provide the FRS with electronic copies of floor plans and building
plans for the building
- keep hard copies of the building's floor plans, in addition to
a single page orientation plan of the building, and the name and UK
contact details of the responsible person in a secure information
box which is accessible by firefighters
- install wayfinding signage in all high-rise buildings which is
visible in low light conditions
- establish a minimum of monthly checks on lifts which are for
the use of firefighters in high-rise residential buildings and on
essential pieces of firefighting equipment
- inform the FRS if a lift used by firefighters or one of the
pieces of firefighting equipment is out of order for longer than 24
hours
For multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres in
height, responsible persons must:
- undertake quarterly checks on all communal fire doors and
annual checks on flat entrance doors
In all multi-occupied residential buildings, responsible persons
must:
- provide residents with relevant fire safety instructions and
information about the importance of fire doors
The Fire Safety Act clarifies the scope of the Fire Safety Order
to make clear it applies to the structure, external walls
(including cladding and balconies) and individual flat entrance
doors between domestic premises and the common parts.
The "Responsible Person" is the person who is responsible for
the safety of themselves and others who use premises regulated
under the Fire Safety Order. This is normally a building owner, or
in residential properties, any other person in control of the
premises. The responsible person is the person on whom most of the
duties set out in the Fire Safety Order are imposed. Further
information on the fire safety responsibilities of the Responsible
Person & Duty Holder can be found on the Home
Office website.
The Home Office has published a series of "Factsheets" to
accompany the Regulations including:
- An overview of the new duties
- Secure Information Boxes
- Design of materials of external walls
- Floor plans & building plan
- Lifts & essential fire-fighting equipment
- Wayfinding signage
- Information to residents
- Fire doors
These factsheets are available on the Home Office website.
The Regulations do not include the implementation of Personal
Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) but the government has responded
to earlier consultations on PEEPs and has launched a new
consultation on an alternative package of proposals to support the
fire safety of residents whose ability to self-evacuate may be
compromised.
This includes a new proposal known as "Emergency Evacuation
Information Sharing" which would require
designated "Responsible Persons" - individuals responsible for fire
safety in their building - of the highest risk buildings to assess
the needs of their most vulnerable residents and consider what
might reasonably be done to mitigate any risks to fire safety. The
consultation closes on 10 August 2022.
Fire and Rescue Services will also be required to be provided
with up-to-date information on where these residents live within
the building to inform their operational strategy and prioritise
resources to further assist and effect the evacuation of these
residents in the event of fire.
The announcement of the Fire Safety Act Regulations are
accompanied by a Fire Reform White Paper setting out
what the Government describe as the "most comprehensive plans for
fire reform in decades which will help strengthen the emergency
services and seek to ensure people feel safer in their homes".