Fire Safety Flashcards
Can you tell me about the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022?
- Regulations introduced under article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, to implement recommendations made as part of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (Phase 1).
- The Government’s Fire Safety Consultation ran from July to October 2020. This included proposals to implement the inquiry’s recommendations in a practical way. The FSER 2022 were then made to bring the changes into force.
- The regulations sit alongside the Fire Safety Act 2021 amendments to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
- The regulations impose new duties on the Responsible Person of multi-occupied residential buildings. The extent of the duties varies depending on the height of the building.
- Responsible persons of high-rise blocks of flats are to provide information to Fire and Rescue Services to assist them to plan and, if needed, provide an effective operational response.
When did the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 come into force?
23 January 2023.
What buildings do the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply to?
- These Regulations apply to all buildings in England that comprise two or more domestic premises (including the residential parts of mixed-use buildings).
- These buildings are, principally, blocks of flats (whether purpose-built or converted from another types of building, such as a house or office building), but also include blocks used for student accommodation.
What parts of buildings do the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply to?
- Parts of the building that are used in common by the residents of two or more domestic premises (e.g. communal corridors and stairways)
- Flat entrance doors
- The walls and floors that separate any domestic premises from other domestic premises, plant rooms, etc. or from parts of the building that are used in common by the occupants of two or more domestic premises
- Plant rooms and other non-domestic areas of the building, such as tenant halls, offices, laundries, gymnasia and commercial premises
- External walls of the building, including doors or windows within an external wall, and attachments to an external wall (e.g. balconies)
Who enforces the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022?
The Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA).
How do the FSE regulations apply to different buildings?
- In all multi-occupied residential buildings (building with two or more sets of domestic premises), the regulations require Responsible Persons to provide residents with fire safety instructions (reporting and fire and evacuation strategy) and information on the importance of fire doors (keep fire doors shut, no tampering with self-closers and the requirement to report faults or damage to fire doors immediately to the Responsible Person).
- Fire doors – (buildings of 11m in height – typically 5 storeys or more) - Undertake annual checks of flat entrance doors and quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common parts.
In higher risk (18m or 7 storeys and above) buildings, additional information is required, including:
- Building plans – Electronic copies to be issued to Fire Service and hard copies kept in the secure information box on site.
- External wall systems – Provide Fire Service with information about the design and materials used and to inform of any material changes.
- Lifts and fire fighting equipment - Monthly checks of lifts intended to be used by fire service and other key pieces of fire fighting equipment. If a fault within any equipment cannot be rectified within 24 hours, the local fire and rescue service must be notified electronically.
- Secure information box – To be kept and maintained on site, with hard copies of building plans and the name and contact details of responsible persons. To be inspected annually to ensure the information is accurate and the box is secure and accessible to the fire and rescue service.
- Wayfinding signage - To install signage visible in low light or smoky conditions that identifies flat and floor numbers in the stairwells of relevant buildings.
What is the definition of a Responsible Person?
- The responsible person is the person who is responsible for the safety of themselves and others who use a regulated premises.
- Anyone who has a degree of control over certain areas within a premises, for example landlords, tenants, occupiers, employers and managers. The Responsible Person is the person on whom most of the duties set out in the Fire Safety Order are imposed.
What is Article 24?
Article 24 under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 implements recommendations made within the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report.
What categories of buildings does Article 24 apply to?
- High-rise residential buildings (18m or 7 storeys).
- Residential buildings with storeys over 11 metres in height.
- All multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises.
What do the regulations require under law require responsible persons to do regarding higher risk buildings?
These regulations will make it a requirement in law for responsible persons of high rise residential buildings of 18m in height, or at least 7 storeys, containing 2 or more domestic dwellings, to provide information to Fire and Rescue Services. The information is intended to help them plan and, if needed, provide an effective operational response.
What is the Fire Safety Act 2021?
- The Act came into force on 16 May 2022 and amends and extends the Regulatory (Fire Safety) Reform Order 2005, increasing obligations of Responsible Persons, specifically for domestic premises.
- The Act was put in place to improve fire safety in multi-occupied domestic premises following Grenfell in 2017.
- The Act requires Responsible Persons of multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises to update their fire risk assessment to include an assessment of the building’s structure, external walls and flat entrance doors.
- The Act allows the fire and rescue service to enforce against non-compliance in relation to external walls and individual doors opening onto common parts of multi-occupied residential premises.
What is the Building Safety Act 2022?
- Received Royal Assent on 28th April 2022.
- The Act builds on the recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
- Applies to all building projects where Building Regulations apply.
- The Act is intended to deliver the fundamental reform of the building safety system called for in Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations.
What is the Building Safety Regulator?
- The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is the Building Control Authority for all higher risk buildings in England (at least 18m or 7 storeys with 2 or more residential units, as well as hospitals and care homes that meet the same height threshold).
- The role of the BSR is undertaken by the HSE.
Who is the Accountable Person?
The Accountable Person (AP) is a new role (distinguished from the Responsible Person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005) for residential high-rise buildings (HRBs). This will be the organisation or person who owns or has responsibility for the building. It may also be an organisation or person who is responsible for maintaining the common parts of a building, for example corridors or lobbies.
How does the BSA affect the role of Building Control Officers / Approved Inspectors?
- The Building Safety Act 2022 provides for Registered Building Control Approvers to take over from approved inspectors.
- Building control companies and approved inspectors to register by October 2023.
What are the three gateways under the Building Safety Act 2022 applicable to higher risk buildings?
Gateway one – at the planning application stage
- Applicants are to provide a fire statement along with a fire strategy document – this will need to be produced by a fire engineer.
Gateway two – before building work starts (applies to both new-build and refurbishment).
- Gateway three – when building work is completed (prior to occupation).
What is the golden thread of information?
- The BSA 2022 includes provisions to require the creation and maintenance of a golden thread of information. The intention is to ensure that the right people have the right information at the right time to ensure buildings are safe, and building safety risks are managed throughout the building’s lifecycle.
- This information will ensure that the original design intent and any subsequent changes to the building are captured, preserved and used to support safety improvements.
- For new builds, the dutyholders must start to collect this information during the design and construction process. Once construction is complete, the information must be handed over to the new building owner. This information will be managed by the Accountable Person during occupation.
The golden thread is mandatory to ensure a building’s safety. It must be:
- kept digitally
- kept securely
- a single source of truth for the building
- available to people who need the information to satisfy their legal duties
- available when people need the information
- presented in a way that people can use.
What must a Principal Accountable Person do by 1st October 2023?
- All higher-risk residential buildings in England will need to have been registered with the Building Safety Regulator by 1 October 2023. The Principal Accountable Person (covered by the changes to the RRO) are required to do this. The principal accountable person is usually an organisation but can be an individual in limited circumstances.
- Care homes and hospitals are not classed as HRB’s during occupation and therefore are not required to be registered.
Do you know why Article 24 in the regulations is important?
Regulations made under article 24 can impose requirements on responsible persons or others, including building owners and building managers, in relation to mitigating the risk to residents for specific premises.
How can fires start and spread within buildings?
- Three things are required for a fire to start – an ignition point (e.g. faulty electrical equipment), a fuel source (e.g. the actual appliance and material around it) and lastly oxygen (which in most instances we cannot avoid). These three elements make up what is known as the ‘fire triangle’.
- Fires can spread due to the omission of or poorly installed fire stopping e.g. sealing around penetrations through fire compartments, cavity barriers.
- The use of combustible materials.
How can fires be contained by the structure or layout of buildings?
Compartmentation.
