Fire Regulation Changes
Fire Regulation Changes
A heads up on what's round the corner
I think it is fair to say the regulatory environment for fire is a pretty confusing place right now. Hopefully the below sights you on a few changes coming towards the end of the year.
There are THREE parts to this note:
Fire Safety Regulations
Building Regulations (relating to fire)
Approved Document B
To be clear, the above is separate to duties and changes coming in via the Building Safety Act (aka Building Safety Bill).
I’m not a fire engineer!! Use this as a prompt to do your own research.
1. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have been introduced as an important step towards implementing the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report. The Regulations are being introduced under Article 24 of the Fire Safety Order (see background below) and will come into force on 23 January 2023.
The Regulations only apply to England, with most requirements sitting with the Responsible Person (RP). These apply to multi-occupied residential buildings, with specific actions dependant on the height of the building. The image below is a good summary.
Background… The Fire Safety Act 2021 (the Act) received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021 and commenced on 16 May 2022. The Act amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order).
2. The Buildings etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022
In April I wrote about the Building Safety Bill (BSB, or Building Safety Act) - think “golden thread” and “gateways 1, 2 and 3”. Following recent Royal Assent on 28th April this year, legislation will be put in place to enable the provisions over the next 12-18 months, but in the meantime the Government is introducing an update to Building Regulations, which is the The Buildings etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022. This is what is widely referred to as ‘the cladding ban’. It comes into force on 1st December 2022.
Some of the changes (relating to fire are):
bring into scope hostels, hotels, and boarding houses
prohibits certain metal composite materials (MCM) to become part of external walls when building work is undertaken
amends exceptions of materials in external walls to meet stringent reaction to fire requirements, e.g. components of solar shading devices
updates the reaction to fire classification standards that must be demonstrated
3. Approved Document B (AD B)
Approved Document B (Fire Safety) is being updated, with the changes coming into force on 1st December 2022, to align with the update to Building Regulations (see 2 above). Key changes are:
tighter provision on materials and products as well as external surfaces of external walls in residential buildings under 18m (where the “ban” doesn’t apply)
provision of evacuation alarm systems in residential buildings over 18m
provision of premises information boxes in residential buildings over 11m
Like a said, confusing! But I hoped this helped with awareness.