On 23 January 2023 the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (“the Regulations”) came into force, placing new obligations on ‘Responsible Persons’ as defined in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The Regulations apply to all buildings which are made up of two or more domestic properties with common parts, which in practice will primarily be blocks of flats.
The Regulations apply to all buildings which are made up of two or more domestic properties with common parts, which in practice will primarily be blocks of flats.
Different rules apply to different sized buildings – some are only applicable to those buildings above 11m or 18m in height, including:
- All buildings – understandable fire safety instructions must be displayed in the building and also provided to new residents. Fire door instructions should also be provided.
- Buildings over 11m in height – communal fire doors should be checked every 3 months, and flat entrance fire doors should be checked every 12 months.
- Buildings over 18m in height – signage for emergency services should confirm the floor number and the details of flats on that floor, and a secure box detailing safety and other information should be available to emergency services. Information on external wall construction, and building and floor plans, should be provided to emergency services. There should also be monthly checks of things like emergency service lifts, smoke control systems, fire alarms, and evacuation alert systems.
Non-compliance with the Regulations can result in fines and/or imprisonment.
It is hoped that steps like these will help prevent another disaster on the scale of Grenfell Tower, although we are aware of many buildings that remain with potentially unsafe cladding.
