FIRE RISK ASSESSMENTS

ARE YOU THE RESPONSIBLE OR ACCOUNTABLE PERSON FOR A BUILDING?

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If so are you ready for your new legal requirements in line with The Fire Safety Act 2021, The Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022?

Following the Grenfell Towers Tragedy an overhaul of existing regulations and legislation was undertaken following the inquiry.

The inquiry highlighted deficiencies with both the Regulatory Reform (fire Safety) Order 2005 and Building Regulations 2010. The consequences were that the property had insufficient fire safety management, the fabric of the property had failed and the combination of these two made the operational response by LFB extremely hazardous and dangerous and claimed the lives of 72 residents.

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WHAT DOES THE FIRE SAFETY ACT 2021 DO?

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In the case of multi-occupied residential buildings, the Fire Safety Act puts beyond doubt that structure, external walls and flat entrance doors fall within the scope of the Fire Safety Order.

The Fire Safety Act will require responsible or accountable persons to ensure that these elements are included in their fire risk assessments if they have not been covered already.

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WHAT DOES THE BUILDING SAFETY ACT 2022 DO?

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This Act makes ground-breaking reforms to give residents and homeowners more rights, powers, and protections – so homes across the country are safer.

It overhauls existing regulations, creating lasting change and makes clear how residential buildings should be constructed, maintained and made safe.

Accountable persons will need to demonstrate that they have effective, proportionate measures in place to manage building safety risks in the higher-risk buildings for which they are responsible.

If your building is over 18m or 7 storeys by October 2023 you will need by law a Safety Case Report.

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THE FIRE SAFETY (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022

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In October 2019, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry published the findings of Phase 1 of the Inquiry. 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.

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.

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

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• 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

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How will a type 2 and 4 Fire Risk Assessment or Compartmentation Survey assist me in satisfying my new legal obligations?

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 A type 2 or 4 FRA or type 2 or 4 compartmentation survey will greatly assist you in satisfying your various new legal requirements. 

A type 2 and 4 FRA is an intrusive assessment type which will inspect and assess the fabric/structure of a building as well as the current FRA 1 contents.

A type 2 or 4 compartmentation survey is an intrusive assessment type which will inspect and assess the fabric/structure of a building and will assess the compartmentation abilities of compartments within the premises. An assessment of previously fire stopped works can also be assessed for compliancy.

A type 2 or 4 FRA will enable you as the accountable/responsible person/s to establish if the property’s structure can support the current emergency evacuation strategy in place and if current mitigating measures are suitable and sufficient. It will also indicate the compartmentation abilities of each compartment in the property, and will highlight the risk of fire growth spread and travel out of compartment of origin and how this will affect the property and impact on life safety in the event of a fire

A type 2 or 4 compartmentation survey will enable you as the accountable/responsible person/s to establish if the property’s structure can support the current emergency evacuation strategy in place and if current passive fire protection (PFP) measures are suitable and sufficient. It will also indicate the compartmentation abilities of each compartment in the property, and will highlight the risk of fire growth spread and travel out of compartment of origin and how this will affect the property and impact on life safety in the event of a fire.

By performing intrusive inspections we will be able to assess the structure and its anticipated performance in a fire situation.

Using this information on how the property will perform in a fire situation we can assess if the current emergency provisions are adequate or inadequate. If an in date FRA has already completed a fire risk assessor or fire engineer of sufficient competency can review the current FRA alongside the compartmentation survey and establish if the property will perform as required/expected to in order to ensure the emergency evacuation policy and fire safety provisions are suitable and sufficient based upon the fabric of the building and it’s compartmentation abilities.

As of October 2023 every HRB (high rise building) over 18m/7 storeys is required to be registered and a Safety Case Report prepared.

A type 2 and type 4 FRA/compartmentation survey will satisfy various information gathering requirements in order for you to produce a safety case report.

The following list is not exhaustive and may be subject to change. Additionally, the information required for the golden thread of information will vary depending on the building

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Basic building information required:

• Your building’s construction

• Resident profile

• Refurbishment

• Fire prevention and protective measures

• Structural safety

• Services and utilities

• Maintenance and inspection

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A type 2 or 4 compartmentation survey or FRA will be able to provide a significant amount of information required and assist in other areas of the report.