The Fire Safety Bill

Legislating

If the Fire Safety Bill successfully passes through Parliament, the current legislation for fire safety in England and Wales will be amended. Currently, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) requires the duty holder for each non-domestic premises to undertake a fire risk assessment (FRA) and implement appropriate fire safety precautions. The common parts of blocks of flats, and buildings converted into flats, are covered by the FSO which means that there must be a FRA. However, since the dwellings themselves are excluded, the FRA tends to be very limited, covering only the common stairways and corridors.

Confusion

It’s been evident for some time that many fire risk assessments for blocks of flats didn’t protect residents adequately.

The fire at Lakanal House, a tower block in Camberwell, in July 2009, killed six and injured many more. An inquest found that the rapid spread of the fire was aided by combustible cladding on the outside of the building. The removal of fire-stopping materials during past refurbishment of the flats’ interiors were factors missed in the FRA carried out by Southwark Council.

Following Lakanal there were changes to the guidance on FRAs in purpose-built blocks of flats, and the competency of fire risk assessors, but no changes to the law. Then came the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 revealing the ongoing inadequacies of the whole system for fire safety assurance in high rise buildings.

Turning point

Following the independent review of building regulations and fire safety, the government has put forward this Fire Safety Bill. The amendments it offers will bring two aspects of multi-occupancy residential building into the scope of the FSO :

1. The structure and external walls, including cladding, balconies, windows and doors.
2. Entrance doors to individual flats and other doors which open into common parts.

This will mean that building owners and managers must review these in the FRA and carry out any remedial action required. We can expect fire and rescue services to take enforcement action against those who fail to comply.

When will this be in force?

The timescales are unclear at present. The Bill had its first reading in the House of Commons in March 2020 and needs to pass through the various stages before coming into force.

Tip. If you’re responsible for the management of buildings which are divided into flats consider how you’ll comply with the new rules which could come into force later in 2020. Ensure that the scope of any FRA you commission includes structural fire safety issues, any materials on the exterior of the building and internal doors to flats. This may mean you need to change to more experienced fire risk assessors than previously.

Note. There is presently no indication that Scotland or Northern Ireland will make similar amendments.