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For multi-occupied residential buildings , fire safety responsibility is often wrongly shrouded in ambiguity . Only recently , the CEO of Grenfell Tower ’ s management body passed blame to staff for an outdated building safety plan , of which information on vulnerable residents was 15 years out of date .
This baton-pass type approach simply isn ’ t effective , or even appropriate for a topic as vital as fire safety . After all , the standards associated with fire safety are by obligation , robust . Yet , for multi-storey and multi-occupied residential buildings in particular , history has uncovered a pitfall of wrong doings and poorly constructed fire safety practices .
With that , the pressures to do better have been mounting , and amidst the whirlwind of reformed conventions this year - consider EU and COVID updates - fire safety has rightly remained high on the agenda . Meaningful strides have been made towards improving fire and building safety , with the government providing a revised £ 5.1 billion in funding for the removal of ACM cladding in high-rise blocks , and significantly , upon examination of the final report of the Hackitt Review , further amending legislations in a bid to make regulations as airtight as possible .
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Updated regulations
In April , the Fire Safety Act 2021 ( FSA ) was introduced , seeking to amend the Fire Safety Order 2005 ( FSO ) by improving identification , assessment and enforcement in high-rise residential buildings . The newly reformed act further clarifies the duties that responsible persons must manage in order to reduce the risk of fire within their multi-storey structures , as well as the potential penalties , should those responsibilities be neglected .
Focusing on all components of a building , the new policies cover everything from structure and external walls ( including cladding and windows ) to the entrance doors to individual flats and the fire doors for domestic , multi-occupancy premises . In addition , the FSA is set to take forward recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase one report , highlighting accountability for lifts , evacuations , fire safety instructions and ensuring flat entrance doors comply with present-day standards .
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Crucially , the introduction of the FSA will empower fire and rescue services to take enforcement action where necessary , leaving building owners ( responsible parties ) liable should they fall non-compliant . Considering East London was hit with another major fire incident in a 19-storey residential block only a week after these legislations were introduced , the changes have come at an opportune time .
More recently , the Building Safety Bill ( BSB ) was introduced
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to the House of Commons on 5th July . As the name suggests , the BSB focuses heavily on enforcing higher safety standards for all residential buildings - also protecting occupants and providing them with a larger platform to voice their concerns . Once again , scrupulous responsibility is at the forefont of the new framework , with improved compliance and tougher penalties linked to the various stages of building design , construction , completion and finally occupation . FSA and |
BSB combined , there ’ s simply no room for shortcuts anymore .
Fundamentals matter
Separate to the procedural removal of ACM cladding , attention shifts to what building owners can accomplish internally to improve fire safety standards . Beyond comprehensive risk assessments and evacuation plans , referenced at multiple stages of the reformed FSA is the use of fully compliant , fully tested fire doors . Often found propped open ,
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