Addressing Fire Safety Challenges in the Built Environment

Fire safety has become one of the most critical and complex challenges facing the UK’s built environment. Since the Grenfell tragedy and the introduction of the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022, building owners, housing providers and property managers are now operating within a significantly more demanding regulatory framework.

For organisations responsible for large residential portfolios, particularly buildings over 11m and higher-risk buildings, demonstrating compliance while protecting residents has become a major operational challenge. At Keegans, we work alongside and collaboratively with our clients to navigate this complexity and deliver practical, compliant, proportional and resident-focused fire safety solutions.

The Evolving Fire Safety Landscape

Recent legislation has fundamentally reshaped how building safety must be managed across the lifecycle of a building. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced clearer accountability, stronger regulatory oversight and new duties for building owners and created a number of duty holders, particularly for higher-risk buildings. The Act also established the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), which oversees design approval, construction compliance and building safety management for higher-risk residential buildings.

This new regime requires building owners and accountable persons to demonstrate a much higher level of transparency and control over building safety information. They must now maintain comprehensive records, develop Safety Case Reports, and ensure that building information forms part of a secure “Golden Thread” of data accessible throughout a building’s life.

For many housing providers and property owners, particularly those managing older building stock, achieving this level of compliance presents significant challenges.

Key Fire Safety Challenges Facing Building Owners

Navigating Increasingly Complex Regulations

The introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 , Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2021 and evolving technical guidance such as PAS 9980 and replaced technical standards such as BS9991:2024 have increased the regulatory burden placed on building owners/developers, and the wider professional design team and contractors.

Those responsible for the management of buildings must now demonstrate robust governance, documented safety strategies and ongoing risk management across their portfolios. Many organisations require specialist expertise to interpret these requirements and translate them into practical compliance strategies.

Legacy Buildings and Incomplete Information

Many existing residential buildings, particularly those constructed decades ago, lack reliable as constructed information, fire strategies or maintenance records.

This lack of reliable and accurate documentation makes it difficult for building owners to produce the evidence required for Building Safety Case Reports or External Wall Assessments. In many cases, intrusive surveys, façade investigations and compartmentation inspections are needed simply to understand the existing risk profile of a building.

External Wall System Risks

Following Grenfell, the fire performance of external wall systems has become a major focus for regulators, building owners and residents. The inappropriate use of some forms of combustible materials, missing/defective cavity barriers and closers and poorly detailed façade systems can significantly increase the risk of rapid fire spread in high-rise buildings.

Identifying and remediating these issues often requires detailed Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEW) and intrusive investigations in accordance with PAS 9980:2022, alongside careful design of compliant replacement systems.

Delivering Remediation Within Budget Constraints

Many housing providers are under pressure to deliver critical fire safety remediation while managing limited funding and competing investment priorities.

Projects which include cladding replacement, compartmentation repairs, replacement of fire safety systems and fire door upgrades can involve significant cost and logistical complexity, particularly when undertaken in occupied buildings.

Balancing life safety improvements with long-term asset management planning is therefore a key challenge for many large property owners/managers.

Working in Occupied Buildings

Undertaking fire safety works in occupied residential buildings introduces significant additional operational risks. Intrusive investigations, remediation works and temporary safety measures must be carefully planned to protect residents and property while minimising disruption.

This requires clear communication, detailed phasing strategies and in some cases the drafting of retrospective fire strategies and close collaboration with designers, contractors, residents and regulators.

The Importance of Competent Fire Safety Expertise

The demand for specialist fire safety engineering expertise has increased significantly in recent years. However, the industry faces a shortage of competent and qualified professionals capable of delivering robust assessments and evidence based technical advice.

Ensuring competence is therefore essential. At Keegans, our fire safety team includes Chartered Building Surveyors, Chartered Building Engineers, Fire Engineers and accredited assessors with qualifications such as RICS Level 6 External Wall Assessment, Fire Risk Assessment certification and professional memberships with organisations including the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) and the Institute of Fire Safety Managers (IFSM).

This technical capability is supported by ongoing training, continuous professional development and regular knowledge sharing across our multidisciplinary teams.

How Keegans Supports Clients

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Fire Safety

One of the biggest challenges in fire safety remediation is coordinating the multiple disciplines involved in delivering safe, compliant buildings.

Keegans provides a fully integrated consultancy service that combines fire safety expertise with building surveying, architecture, project management, cost consultancy and retrofit services. This multidisciplinary capability allows us to support clients throughout the entire project lifecycle, from initial risk assessment to remediation and long-term asset management.

Comprehensive Fire Safety Services

Our services include:

Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs)
Fire Risk Assessments of External Walls (FRAEWs)
EWS1 forms
Building Safety Case preparation
Hazid assessments
Retrospective Fire strategies and fire safety engineering advice
Fire Statements for Planning Submissions
Fire strategies for New Construction
Technical Notes Fire Engineering solutions
Compartmentation surveys (intrusive investigations)
Cladding remediation and façade design
Building Safety Act compliance consultancy – Principal Designer Building Regulations

Through structured methodologies and clear reporting, we ensure clients receive practical, evidence-based recommendations that support informed decision-making.

Delivering Complex Remediation Projects

Keegans has successfully delivered fire remediation programmes across a wide range of residential and mixed-use developments.

For example, at Highbury College, we managed the removal of combustible ACM cladding and the installation of a compliant façade system while coordinating a multidisciplinary design and project management team. The project ensured the building met current fire safety regulations while remaining operational during construction.

Similarly, at Denning Point, a 23-storey residential tower in London, we supported the safe removal of unsafe cladding and the design of a compliant replacement system using non-combustible materials, helping the client achieve regulatory compliance and restore resident confidence in the building’s safety.

Similarly, at Turney’s Court in Nottingham, a 19th-century residential conversion, we undertook a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) which identified high-risk combustible materials within parts of the façade. Working within an occupied building, we supported the development and delivery of a remediation strategy involving the removal of combustible elements and the installation of a fully non-combustible external wall system, alongside enhanced compartmentation and fire stopping. Acting in a multidisciplinary role including Employer’s Agent, Quantity Surveyor and Fire Engineer, we ensured the project achieved full regulatory compliance while minimising disruption to residents and improving overall building safety.

Resident-Focused Delivery

Fire safety projects are not just technical exercises; they directly impact the people living in the buildings we work on.

At Keegans, we place residents at the centre of our delivery approach. Through clear communication, resident engagement sessions and carefully phased works, we ensure that safety improvements are delivered without compromise to safety while minimising disruption to residents’ daily lives.

Supporting Safer, More Resilient Buildings

The building safety landscape will continue to evolve as regulations, guidance and industry best practices develop.

For building owners and asset managers, navigating this environment requires specialist expertise, strong governance and collaborative project delivery.

At Keegans, we combine over 40 years of property consultancy experience with dedicated fire safety expertise to help clients understand risk, achieve compliance and deliver safer buildings for residents.

By working collaboratively with our clients, regulators and industry partners, we help ensure that buildings are not only compliant with today’s regulations but are also future proofed to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

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Service FAQs

What is the latest FRAEW Process?

Following an RICS led cross-industry working group investigation into best practices when reporting and valuing tall buildings within the secured lending arena, a revised standard process has been published together with a revised EWS1 form which was updated to reflect the Government Building Safety announcement, notably the immediate withdrawal of the Consolidated Advice Note (CAN) and the publication of BSI PAS9980:2022 – Assessing the external wall fire risk in multi-occupied residential buildings.

There is a requirement for a fire safety risk assessment of the external wall system to be conducted by a suitably qualified, and competent professional for buildings with a residential floor height above 18 metres (six storeys) and some 4/5 story buildings that have a significant element of external cladding.

The requirements are as set out in the RICS guidance note 'Cladding for Surveyors' - https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/news/news--opinion/fire-safety/cladding-for-surveyors-supplementary-info-paper-1.pdf

What classifies a building as a high fire risk?

A high fire risk building in the UK is a building that is subject to more stringent regulations and oversight due to the potential consequences of a fire. The definition of a high fire risk building depends on whether the building is in the design and construction phase or the occupation phase.
According to the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023.

A high fire risk building during the design and construction phase is a building that is at least 18 metres in height or has at least seven storeys and contains at least two residential units, a care home, or a hospital. However, some buildings are excluded from this definition, such as secure residential institutions, hotels, and military barracks.

A high fire risk building during the occupation phase is a building that is at least 18 metres in height or has at least seven storeys and contains at least two residential units. This definition excludes buildings that are regulated as workplaces under the Fire Safety Order, such as care homes, hospitals, secure residential institutions, hotels, and military barracks.

What steps are involved in a fire risk assessment?

A fire risk assessment involves five steps:

Identify the fire hazards, such as sources of ignition, fuel and oxygen.
Identify people at risk, such as employees, visitors, residents and anyone who may be particularly vulnerable, such as children, elderly or disabled people.
Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks, by implementing fire prevention and protection measures, such as fire alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, escape routes and signage.
Record your findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training, by documenting the results of your assessment, developing a clear procedure for evacuation and fire fighting, and informing and instructing all relevant people on their roles and responsibilities.
Review and update the fire risk assessment regularly, by checking that the measures are still effective, taking into account any changes in the premises or activities, and making improvements if necessary.

When will the Building Safety Act become law?

The Building Safety Act has been approved by parliament and has received Royal Assent in April 2022, so is now law. However, the various requirements will come into effect over the next 12-18 months. All buildings in scope (HRBS) of the Act will need to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator, with registrations being expected at any time between April 2023 and October 2023. Once registered, the Accountable Person(s) or landlord must apply for a Building Assessment Certificate, a process which is expected to begin April 2024.

Who does the Building Safety Act impact?

Landlords, freeholders and/or persons or organisations in charge of the repair and maintenance of high-rise residential buildings that are 18m or above, or seven or more storeys high will need to develop a building safety case and report for their buildings.

Andrew Morrison