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Building Safety Act 2022

This is a new bill which has been made to make provision about the safety of people in or about buildings and to the standard of buildings.  The bill was introduced to amend the Architects Act 1997 and also to amend provision about complaints made to a housing ombudsman.

It came into force on April 28 this year (2022).

The Act extends the limitation period under the DPA from 6-15 years in respect of any work carried out on or after 28 April 2022.  This includes new builds, refurbishment and rectification works) and, retrospectively, to thirty years for any work completed before 28 April 2022.

Therefore as fire risk assessors, we have to take into account the external façade of the building and also using PASS 9980 as a guide, make a decision as to whether any changes are required to these areas for life safety assessments.

The internal fire safety measures in a building will also play a huge part in making this determination and a good suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment will come up with suitable, common sense and justified recommendations.

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These field fires near Crawley were extinguished from firefighting crews from West Sussex including a team from East Grinstead.  During the hot weather, fire crews all over the country faced a very busy spell and field fires were among the most common of jobs.

The dry weather had left the fuel in these fields very dry and if ignited by a discarded cigarette or another careless act, can easily ignite and spready very rapidly. On a windy day, these flames can take hold and spread very fast often endangering nearby residential properties.

One of the first jobs that firefighting crews must consider is whether any of these nearby properties require evacuation.  This can of course include commercial properties.  It is unlikely to be something considered during a fire risk assessment of a property that a nearby field could potentially catch their building alight. However, it goes to show how a fire start from somewhere a significant distance away but still cause problems during certain weather conditions.

This recent fire in Bexleyheath, London was started in a shop with flats above.  The fire was believed to have started in an electrical cupboard.

There are implications here for fire risk assessors when assessing shops because you have to consider the escape of the occupants above and whether a fire in the shop could impact upon their means of escape.

The key things to look for are whether adequate separation is provided between the commercial and residential premises and whether an interlinked fire detection warning system is required.  What is the construction, age and conversion details.  Do the occupants of the flat have to escape down an internal staircase and is that adequately compartmentalized to provide a safe escape for them. Perhaps they have an external rear metal escape staircase which could reduce the risk.

When dealing with a fire incident, fire crews have to consider surrounding properties and whether there is the need for these places to evacuate. 

Whether dealing with an actual fire or carrying out a fire risk assessment, we have to consider the building as a whole and not just what we first walk into.

This article highlights how work was not correctly completed or completed at all at Marie Curie House in London.  Once again, here we have issues with contractors work not being up to scratch.  It also highlights failures with the qualifications of fire risk assessors and how items were missed on the assessment during subsequent years.

This is where it is important that everybody works together to manage fire safety within a building.  From architects, building control officers, contractors, responsible persons and fire risk assessors it is imperative that everybody is on the same wavelength and works together to achieve the correct goal.

You can see how one failure from an unqualified risk assessor can lead to the wrong findings or no findings and work not getting completed by the contractors.  This is then only picked up at a later stage either after a fire or after an inspection from the fire service.

This article recommends all workplaces should review their fire risk assessment and escape plans before the Christmas period to make sure they are on top of their game and can ensure Christmas runs smoothly with reduced fire risks.

The build-up to Christmas is always a busy time with many retail shops having an increased quantity of stock to deal with which leaves their premises with more combustible materials, a higher fire loading and potential reduced escape routes.

Therefore it is a good time to review your fire risk assessment and make sure all of the recommendations have been completed and you are up to date.  That way you will be better prepared to deal with any increased risks that may come your way.  By making sure that your fire alarms, emergency lights and fire extinguishers are regularly maintained and tested, you will have the knowledge that they should work in an emergency situation.

Another good idea is to regularly check escape routes and clear away any unnecessary combustible materials.  Keeping a daily or weekly checklist is a good idea.  You can also check on your electrics and fire doors to make sure these are in good order.

This list of fire safety tips for your flat and home is useful and its always good to stay on top of fire safety advice.  From my experience the most important things for fire safety in the home are:

Make sure you have a working smoke alarm (ideally mains-wired).  Make sure you test it on a regular basis and change any batteries when necessary

Make sure you keep your property as clean as possible and maintain good housekeeping procedures

Keep ignition sources away from combustible materials

Keep electrical appliances switched off where possible and don’t overload sockets

If you are permitted to smoke in your property, be careful and never leaving cigarette ends unextinguished

Never leave your cooking unattended and be extra careful after consuming alcohol

A council in South London has warned thousands of tenants are at risk after work from over 400 fire risk assessments have been uncompleted causing huge backlogs. 

Having a fire risk assessment completed and then ignoring the findings defies the object and this is most likely the case with many buildings across the UK.  I have often gone back and reviewed one of my assessments only to find the same issues the following year.

 It would not wash in court to just say you have had the fire risk assessment completed and you view this as compliance with the law.  It is due diligence on behalf of the responsible person to go through the assessment, complete the work from the action plan and share the assessment with relevant persons.

I can imagine with some councils there is a pass the buck mentality and one person passes the problem onto the next person and the assessments get lost in the system somewhat.

This property fire in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was dealt with by 6 fire appliances and resulted in 3 casualties suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

It is imperative that smoke alarms are fitted to enable occupants to safely make their escape if a fire takes hold.  It is the smoke that kills and if everybody is safely out of a property then the firefighting crews can then deal with the fire in a controlled and strategic way.

I am unsure whether this was a single private domestic dwelling or whether it started in a flat and occupants had to be led to safety via the communal staircase.

If it was the latter, then a fire risk assessment should have been in place to protect that communal staircase and fire escape.

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