Fire Safety

MDT working recognises the complex nature of higher-risk building work and the range of disciplines required. MDT members will be brought together to assess each application, whether initial building control approval, change control or completion certificate. The MDT will also be involved throughout the construction phase for inspections, interventions and assessments of further information. The inspection schedule will be agreed upon by the MDT, who will provide a lead contact for applicants throughout the process. The MDT will assess the completion certificate application alongside the ‘as built’ information submitted, including change control details. A completion certificate will only be issued where there is sufficient evidence that what was built meets the functional requirements of building regulations as agreed.

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

The BSA applies to all residential buildings that comprise of two or more properties and extends to residential care homes and Hospital accommodation. It requires that risk management measures must be taken to address potential building safety risks and reduce the severity of any incident, should it occur. Risks are defined as the spread of fire (including all forms of combustion, for example, smoke, fumes, and heat), or structural failure.

Act establishes the Health and Safety Executive as the Building Safety Regulator, to underpin the key regulatory reforms in the new building safety regime. The Building Safety Regulator will start to call in buildings for assessment and issue Building Assessment Certificates from April 2024. With a requirement to respond within 28 days, each building should have a building safety regime in place by this time. Compliance is achieved through the development of a Building Safety Case and a Building Safety Case Report.

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.

There is no definitive answer to whether your building is a high fire risk, as different factors may affect the level of risk. However, you can use a fire risk assessment to evaluate the potential hazards and risks in your building and determine the appropriate measures to reduce them. A fire risk assessment is a legal requirement for all premises that the public has access to, as well as for businesses and blocks of flats.

A fire risk assessment involves five steps:

1. Identify the fire hazards, such as sources of ignition, fuel and oxygen.
2. Identify people at risk, such as employees, visitors, residents and anyone who may be particularly vulnerable, such as children, elderly or disabled people.
3. Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks, by implementing fire prevention and protection measures, such as fire alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, escape routes and signage.
4. 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.
5. 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.

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.

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.

Building Safety Case

A Building Safety Case is the process of pulling together any information and supporting evidence used to manage the risk of fire spread and the structural safety of your building. It provides a compelling, comprehensible and valid case that a building is safe.

Building Safety Case Report

A Building Safety Case Report summarises the arguments and evidence of the safety case and documents the progress against the safety management plan. It identifies the major fire and structural hazards associated with your building and shows how any risks are being managed as far as reasonably possible to prevent a major incident.

The building should be measured from the lowest point of the external area immediately adjacent to the building, to the top of the finished floor level of the highest occupied floor. Do not include storeys or rooftops that are maintenance access only or that are solely for the storage of the plant.

The Building Safety Act applies to all buildings that require building control approval. However, any hospital, care home or building with more than one residential unit, which is over 18m or 6 storeys high will be subject to a higher requirement through the regime and will need to go through the gateway process.

The Principal Designer under the BSA has a different role to that of the Principal Designer under CDM. There are some similarities of skills and approach between the two roles and both roles can be delivered by the same entity if the entity possesses suitable competencies for both. The Principal Designer Building Regulations must be appointed by the client and be checked to ensure they are competent to undertake the role.

Any structures that have any adjoining characteristics will be considered as one higher-risk building when being designed and constructed. These structures do not have to have access directly to one or another of those blocks to be considered as one building and one entity.

A fire risk assessment involves five steps:

1. Identify the fire hazards, such as sources of ignition, fuel and oxygen.
2. Identify people at risk, such as employees, visitors, residents and anyone who may be particularly vulnerable, such as children, elderly or disabled people.
3. Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks, by implementing fire prevention and protection measures, such as fire alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, escape routes and signage.
4. 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.
5. 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.