Showing posts with label Grenfell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grenfell. Show all posts

Wednesday 20 September 2023

Kilburn tower block fire shows the necessity for Brent Council to engage with tenants - contribute to the engagement strategy and make it REAL!

 

 

Yesterday I asked a supplementary question on the Building Safety Act following the written answers provided prior to the meeting LINK. I will leave readers to judge whether the question was answered. 

Coincidentally, a fire broke out on the 13th floor of the tower block in Kilburn Square as the Council Meeting went on and Kilburn councillors left the meeting to go to the scene.

Life in Kilburn tweeted that there had been previous warnings about fires in that particular flat and these had gone unheeded by Brent Council.

 


The Daily Mirror followed this up and published a full piece HERE.

Three people have now been arrested in connection with the fire.

 


 


 

In 2017 I wrote an article on Wembley Matters about how the Kensington and Chelsea Council tried to silence a local blog, the Grenfell Action Group that had written about their concerns over the risks at Grenfell LINK prior to the fire and deaths. If one major lesson has emerged it is that residents who actually live in the blocks should be listened to and councils should engage with them.

 

That is being implemented six years on through a Resident Engagement Strategy. The council have a legal duty to set up a Resident Engagement strategy for each of the 41 Brent high-rises, including Kilburn Square.

 

Each strategy will allow anyone living in each building to engage with the council in making any decisions on both fire safety and structural issues in each high-rise.

 

These Resident Engagement strategies come within The Building Safety Act with most of it coming into force on the 1st October 2023.

 

The council are currently holding a consultation into what each strategy should include and they want to hear from anyone who lives in any of the 41 buildings in scope.

 

The Consultation can be found HERE. Brent Council explains:

 

The Building Safety Act (2022) introduced new requirements for building owners to demonstrate their ability to identify and manage safety risks in the properties they have responsibility for.

The Act specifically requires landlords to establish an engagement strategy for 'higher risk buildings' (18m in height OR seven storeys or more and containing at least 2 flats) and the document attached is a proposed engagement strategy for the 41 'higher risk buildings' owned and managed by Brent Housing Management.

 

The strategy details:

  • What information will be provided to residents
  • What decisions they will be consulted on
  • How residents views will be taken into account; and

How the appropriateness of consultation undertaken will be measured

 

The draft strategy is embedded below:

 

 


Friday 15 September 2023

Post-Grenfell crucial information for Brent Council tenants in buildings higher than 18 metres

In my capacity as a Brent resident I asked Brent Council a written question for Monday's meeting on the actions they have taken to comply with the Building Safety Act. This followed concerns expressed by tenants who suggested that Brent was lagging behind other London boroughs. It would be interesting to hear from tenants whether the answers allay their fears.

The questions and responses are below.

 

Question from Martin Francis to Councillor Promise Knight (Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness & Renters Security)

 

The following list of questions pertain to the Building Safety Act that received Royal Assent in April 2022 and the requirements for landlords, including local councils, therein. ‘Buildings in Scope’ refers to those buildings under the Building Safety Act, that are high-rise residential buildings that are 18 metres tall or higher, or at least seven storeys, with two or more residential units that are defined as ‘higher-risk’.

 

Across England there are approximately 12,500 of these buildings and the new regulator required all of them to be registered from April 2023, with a named person responsible for maintaining their safety. The registration process is a crucial stage in setting up the new building safety regime.  Registering buildings in scope will be a legal requirement and owners and managers who fail to comply by October 2023 will be investigated and may face prosecution.

 

On this basis, could the Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Renters Security address the following questions in relation to the Council responsibilities:

 

1.     Does the council know the details of the residents who cannot evacuate without help, or those whose first language is not English as part of any emergency arrangements in each of the 40 buildings in scope?

The council has previously undertaken work to proactively identify tenants living in our high-rise blocks who cannot evacuate without assistance in event of an emergency. The information the council received as part of this work is currently being reviewed. When tenants whose first language is not English are identified, the council records this and will make reasonable adjustments.

 

 

2.     Can you describe the details of the construction methods in each of the buildings in scope?

The construction method for each of the High Rise blocks is in the Fire Risks Assessment (FRA) for the property and is included in the Building Registration information provided to London Fire Brigade (LFB) and the Building Regulators. Furthermore, this information is contained in our asset database.

 

3.     Can you provide the access and means of escape, including travel distances, in all the buildings in scope?

The access points and means of escape are clearly set out in all of the buildings. Travel distances in the buildings complied with the Building Regulations current at the time the building was constructed. We also have wayfinding information conspicuously displayed in all our blocks that provide access and means of escape information as well as direction/fire escape routes out of the property.

 

4.     Can you identify all the Building Safety risks in each of the buildings in scope?

The Fire Risk Assessments for each building identifies all safety risks which are being actioned in the required timescales.

 

5.     Can you provide the maintenance and inspection schedules for every building in scope using The Golden Thread of information? LINK

All maintenance and inspection schedules/records are on our New Compliance asset compliance management database. All new build blocks in scope are following the Gateway process.

 

6.     Can you set out the emergency plan for each building in scope, including their evacuation strategy?

 All information in regard to emergency plan and strategy are provided as part of the building registration with LFB and the fire strategy for each block is displayed in the lobby area in each block.

 

 

7.     Please set out your complaints system and that how you will operate an effective mandatory occurrence reporting system?

The Council’s principal accountable person for our occupied higher-risk buildings is working on establishing and operating a suitable system for the investigation of relevant complaints. Mandatory occurrence reporting is designed to help report structural flaws and fire risks that might arise at any point throughout the life cycle of a building and can cause catastrophes.

 

We are working to develop a suitable system(s) that will cover the following requirements:

·             Introducing a more reliable reporting system that complements RIDDOR and voluntary occurrence reporting regimes.

·             Strengthening the golden thread (or the digitally stored collection of information about a building and its safety).

·             Boosting residents’ engagement to improve the accuracy and frequency of fire and structural risks.

 

 

 

8.     Are you now able to publish a risk assessment for each of the buildings in scope?

All our Fire Risks Assessments are available for each resident upon request

 

9.     Do all fire doors in every building in scope meet the full standard of fire prevention?

 We carry out quarterly inspections of all the communal doors as well as service cupboard doors in each block, and a yearly inspection of the flat entrance doors to ensure all doors meet the full standard of fire prevention. 

 

10.   Do you know if any of the buildings in scope have any structural issues and can you provide full details of the utilities they use and if any of them impact on common parts of the building, or evacuation plans? Does fire stopping meets the appropriate standard so that compartmentation is not compromised?

We have carried out FRA4 inspections on all of our buildings in scope and we have identified any structural defect or issue in our buildings and we are confident that the fire stoppings in all our High-Rise properties meet appropriate standards of compartmentation.

 

11.   Have you identified the 'responsible person' for each block? 

All our FRAs has the detail of the responsible person for each block.

 

 

 


Thursday 3 August 2023

Is Brent Council able to meet all its obligations under the Building Safety Act by next month's deadline? Some questions.

 The Grenfell fire and the subsequent inquiry highlighted to role of local authorities in ensuring the safety of residents. The deadline is now the 29th of September 2023 for the council to meet all their obligations incorporated in  The Building Safety Act and more importantly  for tenants through The Fire Safety Order.

I missed the deadline for the last Questions to Brent Council and will be resubmitting them for the next Full Council but the urgency is such I am also publishing them here:

 

QUESTIONS TO BRENT COUNCIL

 

Q1-Do the council know the details of the residents who cannot evacuate without help, or those whose first language is not English as part of any emergency arrangements in each of the 40 buildings in scope?

 

Q2-Can you describe the details of the construction methods in each of the buildings in scope?  

 

Q3-Can you provide the access and means of escape, including travel distances, in all the buildings in scope?

 

Q4-Can you identify all the Building Safety risks in each of the buildings in scope?

 

Q5-Can you provide the maintenance and inspection schedules for every building in scope using The Golden Thread of information? LINK

 

Q6-Can you set out the emergency plan for each building in scope, including their evacuation strategy?

 

Q7 Please set out your complaints system and that how you will operate an effective mandatory occurrence reporting system?

 

Q8- Are you now able to publish a risk assessment for each of the buildings in scope?

 

Q9- Do all fire doors in every building in scope meet the full standard of fire prevention? 

 

Q10-Do you know if any of the buildings in scope have any structural issues and can you provide full details of the utilities they use and if any of them impact on common parts of the building, or evacuation plans? Does fire stopping meets the appropriate standard so that compartmentation is not compromised?

 

Q11- Have you identified the 'responsible person' for each block?

 

 

Some local councils appear to be ahead of Brent in terms of their public information on the  responsibilities of landlords including councils. This is from Tower Hamlets:

 

 





Monday 19 June 2023

UPDATE VIA COMMENT: Letter: Brent Council are failing to implement post-Grenfell measures, New CEO could face prison if Brent Council has not registered all their buildings in time.

Dear Editor,

 

I first told you about 'Safety Cases' in 2021 when they were required for contractors presenting their new developments for planning but now it is a legal requirement for all of Brent's buildings in scope (7 storeys or higher) who must publish a safety case by the 1st October 2023.

 

Several commentators reported on the Grenfell anniversary last Wednesday that almost every landlord in England has not published their Safety Case yet and that includes Brent.

 

It can take between 2 to 3 months to assemble all the information needed to make a safety case and Brent will need to make one for all the 40 buildings that I know of.

 

Brent must also register all their buildings in scope and apply for a safety certificate by the 1st Oct. 2023.  

 

Are you aware that some Council employees could end up in prison if they fail to comply with all the requirements before the 1st October 2023?

 

The government said all landlords should publish a Resident Engagement Strategy 12 months after it became the law and many councils across London have published theirs, but Brent has not published anything yet.

 

The government also gave a 2 month extension to all landlords to set up their Resident Panels, which are now due to be implemented on the 28th June 2023 but once again Brent seem not to be doing anything about them.

 

London Politics show (BBC 1) had a story about Grenfell and mentioned all the recommendations that are due to come in over the next 3 months but Brent seems to not be aware of any of their responsibilities over this issue.

 

There is a budget available for Residents' Panels, with £1,300 p.a. being available for Residents' Associations to co-ordinate them.

 

But you probably have guessed by now, the government give the money to the council who in turn pass it on to the Residents' Associations to hold at least one meeting a year with a maximum of 4, to explain how to prevent fires & other hazards in their buildings.

 

A local resident

(Details submitted)

 

 

Tuesday 23 May 2023

How will 2nd staircase requirement for 30metre plus buildings impact on Brent's current pipeline?

 I have asked Brent Council Press Office to provide a quote from the Council on how the requirement for a second staircase for buildings over 30m high will impact on developments currently in the pipeline in Brent. The requirement follows recommendations made after the Grenfell fire.

From Fire Protection Association LINK


As reported by Building, property consultants Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) and Connells have analysed that up to 124,000 new London homes could be greatly affected or delayed by new fire safety regulations – schemes that had been previously approved.

Following the government’s recent 12-week consultation on proposed changes to Approved Document B (ADB), in February 2023, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced, that he would be going ahead with the requirement for two stairwells in new buildings that were over 30 metres in height.

During his announcement, he stipulated that the Greater London Authority would only sign off on high-rise building applications that included two stairwells. As LSH and Connells note, this means that a current pipeline of 243 buildings (accommodating 123,632 new homes) will have to be scrapped as new designs are submitted by developers. The property consultants added that the new requirements could lead to current applications being “under threat of significant delay, or even being completely mothballed”.

The head of planning at LSH, Mary-Jane O’Neill, explained: “Given the tragic circumstances that led to the revision of fire safety regulations, there are few plausible grounds on which to oppose their implementation. But all of us involved in the process of development do need to process their implications and come up with some pragmatic solutions as a priority.”

The decision for a secondary staircase follows calls for better life safety measures for residents of high-rise buildings by giving them another means of escape in the event of a fire. It can also mean that fire crews have more access to take firefighting equipment to higher storeys when alternative routes might not be feasible. The need for a second staircase was one of the recommendations set out by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review and has also been backed by RIBA. The London Fire Brigade welcomed Sadiq Khan's decision, with further bodies wondering whether the height threshold should be reduced to 18 metres instead of 30. At the time, Charlie Pugsley, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, said:

Having pushed developers to include at least two staircases in tall residential buildings for some time, we support the government’s plans to bring in this clear limit for new buildings over 30m to further improve safety.

This introduction of a clear threshold will give clarity to developers, local authorities and communities and prevent the continued practice of increasingly tall buildings being designed and constructed with only a single staircase.”

The new London-wide mandate, however, is expected to impact several London boroughs and their promises for more housing. Indeed, Architects’ Journal reports that construction work has stopped at 10 new residential blocks between three and 16 storeys in the east London borough of Havering. The £450 million residential scheme expected to replace 270 homes with 380 homes has now been halted over the current uncertainty around second staircase requirements. Developer Wates Residential, alongside Havering Council, has stopped construction until the government gives more clarity and reaches a “decision on new building safety legislation regarding taller buildings”.

In a statement, the developer said: “Regulations are likely to change to require two staircases in buildings over 30m, so we have taken the decision to pause the development at this early point in the construction process until we have a better understanding of what the new regulations will mean.”

Mary-Jane added that while legislative updates to fire safety measures are still ongoing, “housebuilders are unlikely to go back to the drawing board on these schemes until there is much more clarity around the required design standards”. In the meantime, developers will have put their existing plans on hold. 

There is no silver bullet on the horizon that will unlock the uncertainty surrounding tall buildings,” she said.

 

Monday 19 December 2022

Guidance for 'Responsible Persons' under Fire Regulations that come into force on January 23rd 2023

 Some time ago I asked the Lead Cabinet Member  for Housing in Brent a question about the Council's actions on the revised regulations post-Grenfell and was told that this would be done when the responsibilities were clarified. LINK

This is an update of those responsibilities that commence on January 23rd 2023 published by the Home Office earlier this month,  You will see that a considerable amount of work is involved:

EXTRACT

If you are a Responsible Person on whom duties are imposed under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations (hereafter referred to as “the Regulations”), find out what your responsibilities are under the Regulations.  The commencement date of the Regulations is 23 January 2023.  The duties in these Regulations supplement those imposed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended).

From:  Home Office

Applies to England only

This information is not exhaustive but is designed to provide you with a high-level summary.

Who is this guidance for?

This guidance is for people who have responsibilities under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (“the Regulations”).  You will have such responsibilities if, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (“the Fire Safety Order”), you are a “Responsible Person” (or a person who has some responsibilities) on whom the Fire Safety Order imposes various duties in relation to fire safety in a residential building, such as a block of flats or student accommodation.

Check your fire safety responsibilities under the Fire Safety Order - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

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.

To which buildings do the Fire Safety (England) Regulations apply?

These Regulations apply to all buildings in England that comprise two or more domestic premises (including the residential parts of mixed-use buildings) although there are more requirements depending on the height as explained in this guide.  These buildings are, principally, blocks of flats (whether purpose-built or converted from another type of building, such as a house or office building), but also include blocks used for student accommodation.  

The Regulations apply regardless of whether the flats are subject to a long (e.g. 99 years) lease or are rented, and regardless of whether the flats are used to accommodate the general public or a particular group of people (as in the case of, for example, sheltered housing for older people). 

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations impose duties on you if you are the Responsible Person for any building which:

  • contains two or more sets of domestic premises
  • contains common parts through which residents would need to evacuate in the case of an emergency

The Regulations 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).

The Regulations do not apply within individual flats, other than in respect of measures installed within flats for the safety of other residents of the building (e.g. sprinklers, smoke detectors connected to a communal fire alarm system, etc).

Enforcement of the Regulations is the responsibility of the same enforcing authority as enforces the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  In the case of a block of flats, this is virtually always the local fire and rescue authority. 

Do the Regulations only apply to high-rise residential buildings?

The sections that follow begin with requirements that apply to all residential buildings.  There then follow requirements that apply only to buildings of greater than 11m in height.  Finally, the guidance sets out requirements that apply only to high-rise residential buildings.  The section headings make it clear whether the section applies to all residential buildings, only to buildings of greater than 11m in height, or only to high-rise residential buildings.

Because Grenfell Tower was a high-rise block, much of the focus of the recommendations of the Public Inquiry was concerned with measures to ensure the safety of residents in high-rise blocks of flats.  However, the Government is determined to ensure that residents of all residential buildings are as safe as possible from fire and that they feel safe from fire. 

What is a high-rise residential building?

For the purpose of the Regulations, a residential building is to be considered as high-rise if either of the following circumstances apply:

  • the building is at least 18 metres above ground level, measured from the lowest ground level adjoining the outside of the building to the height of the floor in the top storey (ignoring any top storey that contains only plant or machinery); or
  • the building is seven storeys or more, excluding any storeys below ground level).

A mezzanine floor is to be treated as a storey if its floor area is at least 50% of the floor area of the largest storey in the building which is not below ground level.

Responsible Persons

It is the Fire Safety Order that defines the meaning of Responsible Person in the context of both the Order and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations. 

As the term “Responsible Person” has a legal definition, it is not open to building owners, enforcing authorities or others to choose to “make” someone the Responsible Person, nor can the responsibility for compliance with either the Fire Safety Order or the Fire Safety (England) Regulations be delegated to others (though the Responsible Person will normally need to engage other parties, such as contractors, to assist them in compliance).

Under certain circumstances, duties can also fall on individuals other than the Responsible Person if any of the requirements of the Fire Safety Order relate to matters within their control.  In such circumstances, the Responsible Person will still also retain their duties under the Fire Safety Order.

For all practical purposes, in the case of a block of flats, the Responsible Person will be the person who has control of the premises in connection with carrying on a business.  This will, typically, be the freeholder or the managing agents for the block, or, for example, a residents’ management company.

If any part of the building is a workplace, the employer of persons employed to work in that workplace will be a Responsible Person.  This can occur if, for example, a concierge is employed or parts of the building are used for commercial purposes. 

So, there may be circumstances in which there is more than one Responsible Person within the same building.  However, even in these circumstances, overall control of the building most commonly rests with the freeholder, managing agents or a residents’ management company.

Sometimes, confusion arises from the term “Person”, because it might be expected that the “Responsible Person” is an individual living person (or what, in law, is described as a “natural person”). However, commonly, the Responsible Person will be an organisation, such as a property company or firm of managing agents (or what, in law, is described as a “legal person”).

If you are unclear as to whether you are the Responsible Person for the purpose of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations, or otherwise are unsure as to the correct identity of the Responsible Person, you should seek legal advice. It is not the role of, for example, the fire and rescue service to advise you in this respect, though, in enforcing the Regulations, the fire and rescue service may require to be informed as to the identity of the Responsible Person. 

Duties of the Responsible Person (General)

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.

Duties of the Responsible Person (Buildings over 11m in height)

If you are the Responsible Person for a building which contains two or more sets of domestic premises and is above 11m in height (typically a building of five storeys or more), the Fire Safety (England) Regulations impose additional duties to those described above.  For the purpose of these duties, the height of the building should be measured as described (PDF, 4.18MB)

These additional duties are set out below.

Fire door checks (Communal areas)

All fire doors in communal areas of the building must be checked at least every three months.  Typically, these doors will include:

  • doors to stairways and stairway lobbies
  • cross-corridor doors, which sub-divide corridors
  • doors to storage and electrical equipment cupboards
  • doors to riser shafts, within which various services run

In checking these doors, you must ensure that the doors are effectively self-closing (or, in the case of cupboard and riser doors, are kept locked shut).  Self-closing doors should fully close into their frames when the doors are opened at any angle and released. 

A simple way to check this is to:

  • firstly, open the door fully, then let it go
  • then open the door to around 15 degrees and let it go

In both cases, the door should fully close into the frame, overcoming the resistance of any latch or friction with the floor.

You should also check that doors, frames and any glazing are undamaged and that any intumescent strips and smoke seals (where provided) are also undamaged. 

Defects in the doors, frames and self-closing devices should be rectified as soon as reasonably practicable. 

It is not intended that these checks should involve any more detailed, technical examination of the doors, or of the original standard of installation, nor is it intended that these checks need to be carried out by specialists.  It is expected that the Responsible Person, or their staff, should, with simple instruction, be able to carry out the checks. 

Flat entrance door checks

You must use best endeavours to undertake checks of all flat entrance fire doors at periods not exceeding 12 months. 

You must keep a record of the steps taken to comply with this requirement, including, in any case where access to a flat was not granted for this purpose during any 12-month period, the steps taken to try to gain access.

In checking these doors, you must ensure that the doors are effectively self-closing.  The doors should fully close into their frames when the doors are opened at any angle and released, overcoming the resistance of any latch on the door.  A simple way to perform this check is described above for communal area doors.

You should also check that doors, frames and any glazing are undamaged (and that glazing has not, obviously, been replaced with glazing that might not be fire-resisting), and that any intumescent strips and smoke seals (where provided) are also undamaged. 

Defects in the doors, frames and self-closing devices should be rectified as soon as reasonably practicable and depending on the risks identified.

It is not intended that these checks should involve any more detailed, technical examination of the doors, or of the original standard of installation, nor is it intended that these checks need to be carried out by specialists.  It is expected that the Responsible Person, or their staff, should, with simple instruction, be able to carry out the checks. 

In the case of any leasehold flats, arrangements will need to be made with the leaseholders to grant access to their flats for the purpose of flat entrance door checks.  In the event of an impasse, a court order can be obtained for this purpose.  It is recommended that any new leases include this right of access. 

Where inspections identify the need for repair or replacement of any fire door (e.g. communal or flat entrance door), this work must be undertaken by a competent contractor as soon as reasonably practicable.

Duties of the Responsible Person (High-rise buildings)

If you are the Responsible Person for a high-rise residential building which contains two or more sets of domestic premises, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations impose further additional duties to those described above.  These further additional duties are set out below.

There are a few requirements for premises of this height that require information to be sent electronically to your local fire and rescue service. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) can signpost you to your local service. In addition, it will have information on what type of file size and format they can take, and what email address to use.

Wayfinding signage

Because of the height of the building, there is a need to provide suitable signage to assist fire and rescue service crews with orientation in the event of a fire. (If the building was designed after November 2020, the appropriate signage should already have been incorporated within the building for compliance with the Building Regulations.)

The principles that apply to this signage are as follows:

  • When firefighters reach the landing of any stairway, there should be signage that clearly indicates to them the floor number on which they are located and the flat numbers on that floor.
  • When firefighters use a lift designed for their use to reach floors, the same signage should be clearly visible to them when the lift doors open. 
  • The signs must be visible both in normal conditions and in low lighting or smoky conditions.

Read a detailed specification for these signs (PDF, 4.18MB), including the size of the lettering, the typeface to be used, the mounting height and suitable wording.

You must make sure that the signs are maintained in good condition, so it is important that you check them regularly (e.g. during other legally required checks within the building).

Secure information box

In the event of a fire in any high-rise residential building, it is important that certain information is readily available for the fire and rescue service. 

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations require that the information is held in a secure information box, which must be positioned at a location in or on the building that is readily accessible to the fire and rescue service. The box must be capable of containing the documents required by these Regulations, and it must be reasonably secure from unauthorised access and vandalism. 

You must provide the local fire and rescue service with the details necessary to access the secure information box and must inform the fire and rescue service as soon as practicable if there are any changes to these details.  Typically, a secure information box is protected against unauthorised access by means of a lock that is openable only with a key that is legally protected from copying and that is carried on fire and rescue service appliances.  However, other alternative means of securing the box might be acceptable to the local fire and rescue service, with whom there should be some discussion prior to adopting an alternative.

For the purposes of these Regulations, your secure information box must contain:

  • the name, address and telephone number within the United Kingdom of the Responsible Person
  • the name and contact information of such other persons within the United Kingdom as are provided with facilities to, and are permitted to, access the building on behalf of the Responsible Person
  • a copy of the floor plans and building plan

You must inspect the secure information box at least annually to ensure that it remains secure and accessible to the fire and rescue service. It is strongly recommended that you also ensure that the information within the box remains accurate. 

Good practice can be found on the provision of secure information boxes in high-rise residential buildings.

While it contains useful guidelines for example on the appropriate positioning on boxes, it proposes a higher specification of security of the box than is required by the Regulations. 

Information on external wall construction

You must prepare a record of the design of the external walls of the building, including details of the materials from which they are constructed. You must provide this record to the local fire and rescue service by electronic means.

This record must identify the level of risk to which the design and materials of the external walls gives rise, as determined by the fire risk assessment that you are required by the Fire Safety Order to carry out. You must also record any mitigating steps that have been taken in respect of that risk. 

Other than in blocks of flats with external walls of traditional masonry construction, unless the above information is readily available and known to be reasonably accurate, determining the information required by the Fire Safety (England) Regulations will normally require special skills, not normally held by a typical fire risk assessor engaged to carry out the fire risk assessment required by the Fire Safety Order.  Where necessary, you must seek the advice and assistance of someone with sufficient training and experience/knowledge.  You will, however, remain responsible for compliance with the Regulations.

In the case of external wall construction that is known to be of traditional masonry construction, it might be reasonable to assume that the risk of external fire spread is acceptable without further investigation, in which case this should be recorded within the record provided to the fire and rescue service.  However, even in the case of low- risk, traditional masonry construction, if there are attachments (such as balconies or decorative cladding) that, because of their combustibility, might result in rapid external fire spread, further appraisal by a specialist is likely to be necessary. 

The purpose of providing this information to the fire and rescue service is to assist them with operational pre-planning and to provide information that will be of value to front line crews at the time of a fire. 

Accordingly, the information should be presented in a form, and be restricted to high-level detail, that is of practical value for this purpose; over-elaborate detail of construction, without any explanation of the implications in respect of fire performance and risk, may not be of practical value.    

On the other hand, it is unlikely that simple identification of materials used in the external walls, whether combustible or not, will always help the fire and rescue service.    

Typically, other than in the case of low-risk, traditional masonry construction, the information that should be provided will comprise the following:

  • an overview of the design of the external wall
  • brief information on the materials of construction, insulation and any cladding
  • any known defects in the construction (either as originally built or currently)
  • the level of risk presented by the external walls, cladding and any attachments (as determined, where necessary, by an appraisal carried out by specialists)
  • any mitigating steps that have been taken in relation to the risk as identified in the fire risk assessment

A code of practice for fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding is published by the British Standards Institution as PAS 9980.

A suitable template for recording the information must be provided electronically to the fire and rescue service.

If any significant changes are made to the external walls of the building, the record described above must be revised, and the revised version must be provided to the fire and rescue service.

Floor plans and building plan

In the event of a fire in a high-rise building, plans of the building are of great assistance to fire and rescue service crews.  Accordingly, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations require that you must prepare a plan for each floor of a high-rise residential building. 

An exception to the above is that, if the plans for each floor would be the same in all material respects, you can prepare just one single plan for those floors, provided the plan clearly indicates the floors to which it relates.

The floor plans must, together, identify the location of all lifts (identifying any designed for use by firefighters or for evacuation) and key fire-fighting equipment in the building including rising mains, smoke control systems and fire suppression systems. 

In addition, you must prepare a single-page building plan, which shows the following:

  • the environs of the building (e.g. the building and its immediate surroundings)
  • details of the use of the building, for example for commercial or residential purposes
  • access for fire and rescue appliances
  • the dimensions of the building
  • information on the number of storeys of the building and the number of basement levels (if any)
  • information regarding the presence of maisonettes or scissor section flats
  • inlets for dry rising mains
  • inlets for wet rising mains
  • the location of shut-off controls for any sprinkler systems
  • access points for the building
  • the location of the secure information box
  • the location of the central controls for any smoke control system
  • the location of any firefighting shaft
  • the location of main stairways in the building
  • the location of the controls for any evacuation alert system

You must place a hard copy of the floor plans and the building plan in the secure information box. In addition, you must provide the local fire and rescue service with a copy of these plans by electronic means (i.e. email). 

If any changes are made to the layout of the building or the location of the key fire‑fighting equipment described above, you must update the floor plans and building plan as soon as reasonably practicable after the changes are made.  You will then need to update the plans provided to the fire and rescue service by electronic means.

Lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment

In high-rise residential buildings, one or more lifts are designed to be used by fire and rescue service crews to reach upper floors during a fire.  In addition, there are other systems and equipment that will be used by the crews, such as rising mains (i.e. dry or wet risers) by which the crews obtain water on upper floors. 

In addition, high-rise residential buildings normally incorporate other special fire safety measures on which the safety of both residents and firefighters may depend.  An example is a smoke control system that is intended to limit the passage of smoke into any stairway by removing smoke from common corridors and lobbies.  These systems are commonly, in turn, operated by a fire detection system. 

In some high-rise residential buildings, there may be other systems or equipment that are provided for fire and rescue service use, such as evacuation alert systems, by which the fire and rescue service can operate special evacuation alert sounders within flats.

It is essential that all of these systems which are present operate correctly in the event of fire. Accordingly, the Regulations make requirements regarding routine checking of all such systems and equipment.  These checks are in addition to the servicing and maintenance of the systems (usually by a contractor) required by the Fire Safety Order. 

You must undertake monthly routine checks of all lifts that are intended for use by firefighters.  Similarly, you must undertake monthly checks of any evacuation lifts that are provided for the evacuation of disabled people in the event of fire.

You must also undertake monthly checks of the following:

  • rising mains
  • smoke control systems
  • fire suppression systems
  • fire detection and fire alarm systems, including any systems linked to other fire safety equipment, such as smoke control systems
  • evacuation alert systems (a visual check of the control and indicating equipment, but not testing of the system)
  • automatic door opening or closing systems linked to fire detection and fire alarm systems

You must keep records of all of these monthly checks.  The records of these checks must be accessible to residents of the building.

If any of these checks reveal a fault in one of the above systems or equipment, you must take steps the rectify the fault.  If the fault cannot be rectified within 24 hours of its discovery, you must, as soon as reasonably practicable, notify the local fire and rescue service by electronic means.  You must also then inform them by electronic means when the fault has been rectified. 

NFCC has developed templates for reporting faults and rectifications that can be used to send this information to your local fire and rescue service. Many fire and rescue services would prefer you to use these templates as it helps them process the information in a way that is useful for operational colleagues.

Responsible persons should consider the impact of the fault (e.g. the impact of smoke control system failure on means of escape) and the need for any consequent mitigation measures. Responsible persons should also consider the need to review the fire risk assessment for the building, particularly in the case of faults that will be of a prolonged nature.  Consideration should also be given to any potential impact on evacuation arrangements (e.g. in the event of failure of an evacuation lift). The need for continued compliance with duties under the Fire Safety Order should be taken into account.

It is not envisaged that any of the above checks will need to be carried out by specialists or contractors (though some Responsible Persons may choose to have the checks carried out by maintenance contractors that carry out other routine maintenance checks on a monthly, or more frequent, basis).  The checks required generally involve only visual inspection or simple functional operating checks.

However, the routine checks must confirm that the system or equipment is in efficient working order and in good repair, based on guidance for routine checks provided by the relevant industry standard or any recommendations made by the manufacturers of equipment within an operators’ manual.

The following are examples of the types of checks you will likely carry out for the above requirements but do make sure you refer to any operator’s manual for specifics about your equipment:

Lifts

The monthly check will involve operation of the firefighters’ switch (or evacuation lift switch) to ensure that it causes the lift to return to the fire and rescue service access (or evacuation) level, after which it can be operated only by the controls within the car.  It should then be ensured that these controls enable the lift to be taken to an upper floor, on which the doors can then be opened and closed from within the car.  You should also ensure, by means of a random check, that the landing controls are disabled and cannot call the lift to the floor in question.

Smoke control systems

Typically all that is required is to carry out one test each month to ensure that the smoke control system is capable of responding to a signal from any associated fire detection and fire alarm system.  Additionally, it should respond to operation of any manual control provided for use by the fire and rescue service.  Similarly, in the case of fire doors that are normally held open but close automatically on operation of a fire detection system (which are not common in blocks of flats), the monthly check will simply confirm that the doors do close on operation of the system.

Other systems and equipment

Normally it will be sufficient to carry out a visual check to ensure that the systems and equipment are undamaged and have not been subject to interference.  For example, this would apply in the case of the inlet and the landing valves of rising mains and the control valves of fire suppression systems.

Evacuation alert systems

No routine tests should be carried out; the system should only be tested at the time of routine maintenance (e.g. by a contractor).  The monthly check only involves a visual examination of the enclosure for the system control and indicating equipment to ensure that it has not been damaged or, for example, subjected to vandalism.