Changes in Fire Safety Legislation – What you need to know!

Fire Safety Act 2021 – what does this mean for multi-occupied buildings?

On 16 May 2022, the Fire Safety Act 2021 came into force in England and Wales.

The Act clarifies that responsible persons (RPs) for multi-occupancy residential buildings must manage and reduce the risk of fire for the structure and external walls of the building, including cladding, balconies and windows, and entrance doors to individual flats that open into common parts.

Residential buildings with two or more domestic premises with common areas will therefore need to ensure the current Fire Risk Assessments comply with the new requirements of the Act.

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

In addition, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 will come into force on 23rd January 2023 in England only and will require RPs in multi-occupancy residential buildings to take further specific actions, depending on the height of the building.

Full information can be found here.

The new provisions that may apply depending on the size of the building are:

1 – Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool – Online tool designed to assist RPs to prioritise their building’s fire risk assessments

2 – Residents – Fire Safety Instructions – RPs to provide residents with instructions on how to report a fire, what the fire evacuation strategy is, and any other information on actions residents might have to take after a fire has occurred

3 – Residents – Fire Door Information – RPs to advise of the importance of keeping doors closed, that doors and self-closing devices are not tampered with, and that any faults or damage to doors should be raised immediately.

Residents will receive this information when they move into a multi-occupancy residential building and then on an annual basis.

4  – Fire Door Checks – RPs will be required to ensure the following take place:

• Quarterly checks of all fire doors (including self-closing devices) in the common parts
• On a best endeavour basis – annual checks of all flat entrance doors (including self-closing devices) that lead onto a building’s common parts.

5 – Secure Information Box – RP to install a suitably secure information box in or on their high-rise building. They will also be required to provide in the box:

• Their UK contact details
• The UK contact details of any other person who has the facilities to and is permitted to access the building as the responsible person considers appropriate
• Copies of the building’s floor plans – which identify specified key fire-fighting equipment
• A single page block plan – which identifies specified key fire-fighting equipment

Access should be given to the fire and rescue service. Boxes should be maintained, and their contents kept up to date in line with the duties imposed by the regulations and the Fire Safety Order.

6 – Design & Materials of External Wall – RP to provide the fire and rescue service with information about the design and materials of the building’s external walls and to inform the fire and rescue service of any material changes made to them.

RP will also be required to provide additional information to the fire and rescue service in relation to the level of risk of spread of fire that the external wall structure (its design and materials) pose and the steps they have taken to mitigate these risks.

7 – Floor Plans & Building Plans – RP of high-rise residential buildings to draw up and share electronically up-to-date floor plans identifying the location of key fire-fighting equipment with the fire and rescue services. A plan will need to be prepared for each floor, but where floors are identical only one plan needs to be produced.

RP will also be required to provide the fire and rescue services with an additional single page building plan which should include the location of all key fire-fighting equipment. The plans should be simple to assist quick and critical decisions taken by operational fire-fighters during an incident.

8 – Wayfinding Signage – RP to install Wayfinding Signage in their buildings. This includes clear markings identifying floor and individual flat numbers.