Did you know due to the Grenfell Tower Fire and the subsequent Independent Inquiry report in October 2019, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 has been introduced under article 24 of the Fire Safety Order 2005. The regulations came into force on the 23^rd January 2023.

The standard recognises the new duties placed upon the responsible person will take time to implement and so they felt that the gap between the laying out of the regulations in which was published in early December 2022 and the commencement is reasonable.

This blog offers the responsible person a step-by-step guide through the key points of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.

Recapping who is the responsible person?

The concept of a responsible person is not a new one. Genuinely this is normally:

• The building owner
• The employer
• The person that has control of the premises

The responsible person is the person on whom most of the duties set out in the Fire Safety are imposed.

Reason for change

Following the devastating Grenfell Tower fire which happened in June 2017, the government established in August 2017 the independent Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Some of the recommendations made were directed towards the government and required a change in the law. The recommendations were made to prevent such a tragedy happening again. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have implemented most of these recommendations. Note, the above is not to replace the Fire Safety Order 2005, it is designed to expand and clarify some of the existing points.

The regulations apply to England only and have been introduced as an important step towards implementing the recommendations made in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report.

This new standard will hopefully create a culture where good housekeeping is a must and the fire safety measures that are in place are checked, reported and monitored to satisfy the requirements laid out in the regulations.

Defining a High-rise building

In England, a high-rise building has been commonly defined as a building 18 metres high (or at least seven storeys). It has been referred that these types of buildings become more restrictive at this height and fire-fighting tactics change.

Who will be affected?

The regulations make it a requirement in law for the responsible person(s) of;

• High-rise residential blocks of flats to provide information to the Fire & Rescue Services which will assist them to both plan and respond to an operational incident.
• Multi-occupied residential buildings which are high-rise buildings & those above 11 metres in height to provide additional safety measures.
• All multi-occupied residential buildings to provide and communicate to residents fire safety instructions and information on the necessity and importance of fire doors.

The regulations apply to existing buildings, the requirements for new buildings may differ.

Let us break it down – What needs to be done to conform (key points)

In High-rise residential buildings the duty of the responsible person(s) will be to provide to their local Fire & Rescue Service the following information:

• Building Plans – Up to date electronic building floor plans and to leave on site in a secure information box/cabinet a hard copy of these plans, along with a single page building plan which identifies key firefighting equipment.
• External Wall Systems – Details about the design and materials of the high-rise buildings external wall system. Also supply any material changes to these walls and provide information in relation to the level of risk that the design and materials of the external wall structure gives rise to and any mitigating steps taken.

The responsible person(s) will also need to undertake monthly checks on the following;

• Lifts and other Key Fire Fighting Equipment – the operation of the lifts intended for use by firefighters, and evacuation lifts in their building and check the functionality of other key pieces of firefighting equipment. Any defective lift or equipment found during these checks will need to be reported to their local Fire & Rescue Service as soon as possible if faults cannot be fixed within 24 hours. The checks and outcomes will also need to be made available to the residents.
• Secure Information Boxes – Install if not in position already and maintain a secure information box/cabinet in their building. It must contain the name and contact details of the responsible person along with the hard copies of the building floor plans.

The responsible person(s) will need to Install the following Wayfinding Signage which will be required to;

• Wayfinding Signage – be visible in low light and smoke conditions. The signage will need to identify flat and floor numbers in the stairwells or relevant buildings.

In residential buildings with storeys over 11 metres in height, the responsible person(s) will be required to carry out annual and quarterly checks on the following;

• Fire Doors – Flat entrance doors will need to be checked annually and quarterly checks on all fire doors in the common parts.

In muti-occupied residential buildings with two of more sets of domestic premises with shared parts, the responsible person(s) will be required to provide;

• Fire Safety Instruction – Relevant Fire Safety instructions to their residents, which will need to include how to report a fire and instruction which sets out what residents must do if fire has occurred, this will be based on the evacuation policy of the building.
• Fire Door Information – to the resident’s relating to the importance of fire doors and looking after them. The instruction should make the resident feel safer in their own homes with the knowledge that they are being protected from smoke and fire spreading from one compartment to the next.

Fire and Rescue incident statistics for year ending March 2022

When looking into the Fire and Rescue Services incident statistics for England provided by the Government for year ending March 2022, it states that the FRSs attended 783 fires in purpose-built high-rise flats or maisonettes with zero fatal fires. In medium-rise purpose built dwellings there were over 1900 fires with 9 fires being fatal. In low-rise (1 to 3 storeys) there were over 4500 fires with 20 being fatal.

To summarise

Following the Grenfell Tower Fire, change needed to happen and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 demonstrates this. The requirements put upon the Responsible Person(s) will set the standards to make sure all residents have the knowledge that the dwellings they live in are as safe against fire as possible. The culture of Fire Safety instruction and periodic checking of the fire precautions within the buildings will enable, if required the Fire and Rescue Service to provide an effective operational response.

Here at Fireline we have definitely seen an increase in residential fire awareness since the Grenfell Tower Fire. We have dealt with many enquiries to meet the requirements of insurance companies along with responsible persons and individuals wanting to safeguard their buildings and homes and themselves against the possibility of fire.