FIRE SAFETY (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS UPDATE 2023

Background to the Fire Safety (England) Regulations

In 2017, at Grenfell Tower, a high-rise block in West London, a tragic fire resulted in the deaths of 72 residents, the most serious loss of life in a single fire in the UK since World War 2. The Government immediately ordered a Public Inquiry into the fire. 

In October 2019, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry published the findings of Phase 1 of the Inquiry. The findings included many important recommendations to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. The Government undertook, in principle, to introduce new regulations that would bring the recommendations into force. These regulations take the form of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and extend duties imposed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Duties of the Responsible Person

(For multi-occupied residential buildings and those with common parts)

Information to residents

You must display fire safety instructions in a conspicuous part of the building. The instructions must be in a comprehensible form that residents can reasonably be expected to understand.

The instructions must cover the following matters:

• the evacuation strategy for the building (e.g. stay put or simultaneous evacuation)
• instructions on how to report a fire (e.g. use of 999 or 112, the correct address to give to the fire and rescue service, etc.)
• any other instruction that tells residents what they must do when a fire has occurred

These instructions must also be provided directly to new residents as soon as reasonably practicable after they move into their accommodation, as should also be the case if there are any material changes to the instructions (e.g. as a result of alterations to the building). In addition, these instructions should be reissued to all existing residents at periods not exceeding 12 months. 

You must also provide relevant information about fire doors, particularly residents’ flat entrance doors, as these play an important part in containing any fire within the flat in which it starts. In particular, you must provide information to all residents to the effect that:

• fire doors should be shut when not in use
• residents or their guests should not tamper with self-closing devices on fire doors
• residents should report any fault with, or damage to, fire doors immediately to the Responsible Person

Again, the information about fire doors must be provided to residents as soon as reasonably practicable after they move into their flat and at periods not exceeding 12 months thereafter.

FOR HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS OVER 18 METRES IN HEIGHT:

Floor Plans and Building Plans

An up-to-date electronic floor plan identifying key fire fighting equipment must be made available and shared with the local fire and rescue service. A plan will need to be prepared for each floor, however where floors are identical, only one plan needs to be produced.

An additional single page building plan must also be provided which includes the location of all key fire fighting equipment, access points and environs.

Secure Information Boxes

UK contact details of responsible person/s, copies of floor plans identifying fire fighting equipment, a single page block plan identifying key fire fighting equipment must be made available, with access granted to the fire and rescue service.

Boxes should be maintained and contents kept up-to-date annually by the customer.

Wayfinding Signage

This signage must include clear markings identifying floor and individual flat numbers.

The floor identification signs should meet all of the following conditions:

a. The signs should be located on every landing of a protected stairway and every protected corridor/lobby (or open access balcony) into which a firefighting lift opens.
b. The text should be in sans serif typeface with a letter height of at least 50mm. The height of the numeral that designates the floor number should be at least 75mm.
c. The signs should be visible from the top step of a firefighting stair and, where possible, from inside a firefighting lift when the lift car doors open.
d. The signs should be mounted between 1.7m and 2m above floor level and, as far as practicable, all the signs should be mounted at the same height.
e. The text should be on a contrasting background, easily legible and readable in low level lighting conditions or when illuminated with a torch.

The wording used on each floor identification sign should take the form Floor X, with X designating the number of the storey, as intended for reference by residents. The floor number designations should meet all of the following conditions:

a. The floor closest to the mean ground level should be designated as either Floor 0 or Ground Floor.
b. Each floor above the ground floor should be numbered sequentially beginning with Floor 1.
c. A lower ground floor should be designated as either Floor –1 or Lower Ground Floor.
d. Each floor below the ground floor should be numbered sequentially beginning with Floor –1 or Basement 1.

All floor identification signs should be supplemented by flat indicator signs, which provide information relating to the flats accessed on each storey. The flat indicator signs should meet all of the following conditions:

a. The signs should be sited immediately below the floor identification signs, such that the top edge of the sign is no more than 50mm below the bottom edge of the floor identification sign.
b. The wording should take the form Flats X–Y, with the lowest flat number first.
c. The text should be in sans serif typeface with a letter height of at least half that of the floor indicator sign.
d. The wording should be supplemented by arrows when flats are in more than one direction.
e. The text and arrows should be on a contrasting background, easily legible and readable in low level lighting conditions or when illuminated with a torch.

NOTE: In the case of multi-storey flats with two or more entrances, the flat number should only be indicated on the normal access storey.

FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS WITH STOREYS OVER 11 METRES IN HEIGHT:

Fire Doors

Undertake a quarterly check of all fire doors in the common parts and a best endeavour annual check of all flat entrance doors that lead onto common parts.

The quarterly check must be carried out by a responsible (competent) person and must include:

• If there has been any alterations or damage to a door’s glazing apertures or air transfer grille
• If there are any gaps around the door frame and that seals and hinges are fitted correctly
• That the door closer shuts the door
• That the door closes correctly around the whole frame
• That there is no visible damage (either deliberate or from wear and tear) to the door or door closer

FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT COMPETENCY

November 2020 saw the publication by the Fire Sector Federation (FSF) of Approved Code of Practice. A National Framework for Fire Risk Assessor Competency.

The Code details the “functional requirements” needed by a competent fire risk assessor, which links to the definition given for a competent person, this being “a person, suitably trained and qualified by knowledge and practical experience, and provided with the necessary instructions, to enable the required task(s) to be carried out correctly”.

Ultimate responsibility for the completion of a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment to meet legal compliance rests with the duty holder (ie the responsible person in England and Wales).

Where the duty holder intends to appoint another person to complete the fire risk assessment on their behalf, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 will make it a legal requirement to appoint a competent person.

This will apply whether the person is inhouse or an external third-party.

The Fire Sector Federation Approved Code of Practice is seen as the benchmark for competency of fire risk assessors.