SAVE LIVES: STAY ON TOP OF FIRE SAFETY CHANGES

On 23rd January, the longanticipated new fire safety duties started coming into force – the first of several pieces of fire and building safety legislation arriving in 2023.

Before I touch on what has been introduced, we should remember why these changes are happening. The Grenfell Tower fire took 72 people’s lives, dozens more people were injured, 20 of them seriously. These new fire safety measures, along with others in building safety, must be learnt and followed to prevent more people from needlessly losing their homes, friends, family, and lives.

Kicking o the series of new requirements in 2023 and our first welcome step towards safer homes are the new information requirements and maintenance checks for fire doors, li s and firefighting equipment from the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which flow from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The Regulations give new duties to the Responsible Person (RP) with regards to certain information provisions to residents and the fire and rescue services, and maintenance checks. These apply to residential buildings, with the specific requirements determined by building height. The RP must also utilise the Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool (FRAPT) to develop a strategy for reviewing fire risk assessments.

More extensive fire safety management information can be found in our newly updated ‘Fire safety management’ good practice guide, available free to IWFM members.

On Wednesday 8th February, I will host a webinar to discuss another of the key legislative changes coming into force this year: the Building Safety Act 2022. Joining me are Andrew Moore, the competence lead at the Health and Safety Executive and Anthony Taylor, Chair of the Building Safety Alliance and a member of the IWFM Life Safety Working Group. You will find the registration link on the IWFM website under “Events”. If you miss the webinar, you will be able to access the recording, under “Insight”.

Higher-Risk Buildings

Also on 23rd January, the Higher-Risk Buildings (Key Building Information etc.) Regulations 2023 entered Parliament for debate and approval. The Regulations set out the high-level key building information that the principal accountable person (i.e. the person responsible for repairs to the structure and exterior) will provide to the Building Safety Regulator and clarify who is responsible for which parts of a higher-risk building when there are multiple accountable persons. The key building information will enable the Building Safety Regulator to: analyse trends and risks in high-rise residential buildings; prioritise assessment of fire and structural safety in existing high-rise residential buildings and thus e ectively tranche the call-in and assessment of safety case reports; identify similar buildings or systems if an issue emerges. There is and will remain much for FMs to learn as the changes come in. It is crucial that FMs are on top of the new requirements if we are to prevent another tragedy like Grenfell.