Following the Grenfell Tower fire, the Government introduced the Building Safety Act 2022. This legislation introduced a selection of new fire safety regulations for high rise buildings.
In this post we will discuss these new fire safety regulations for high rise buildings, to help you ensure you stay compliant.
What Qualifies as a High Rise Buildings in the New Fire Safety Regulations?
If a building has seven storeys or more, or if it is at least 18 metres high, and if it has at least two residential units, then it is classed as a higher risk high rise building. As part of these new regulations, buildings that meet this criteria must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Responsible Persons for High Rise Buildings
Under these new regulations, all high rise buildings must assign a responsible person to provide key information to Fire and Rescue Services. This information is intended to help the authorities effectively plan their response in the event of a fire.
Responsibilities of Responsible Persons
Under Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, responsible persons are required to:
- Provide local fire services with electronic building plans, along with details of external wall systems, specifying the building material used. They must also keep hard copies of these plans in secure information boxes.
- Install signage throughout the building to help firefighters find their way in the event of a fire.
- Conduct monthly checks of all onsite firefighting equipment, including any firefighting lifts.
- Immediately report any issues with any firefighting equipment to the local fire and rescue services.
- Undertake annual checks of all residential entrance doors, along with quarterly checks of all onsite fire doors in the building’s communal areas.
Responsible persons must also provide any residents in the building with relevant fire safety instructions, which includes information on the importance of fire doors. They should instruct residents on how to report a fire, and on the actions they should take once a fire has broken out, in line with the building’s evacuation strategy.
Floor Plans and Building Plans Requirements for High Rise Buildings
As we mentioned above, the responsible person in a high rise building must keep hard copies of the building’s plans in a secure information box, while also providing local emergency services with digital copies.
These building plans must specify which lifts in the building are to be used for evacuation, and which are to be used by firefighters. They must also highlight where all of the key firefighting equipment in the building is to be found. This should include specifying all inlets and outlets for dry-rising and wet-rising mains, along with the locations of any shut-off controls for sprinkler and smoke control systems.
Other Fire Safety Regulations For High Rise Buildings
In addition to these ongoing checks and reporting duties, responsible persons must undertake routine monthly checks of the following:
- Rising mains
- Smoke control systems
- Fire suppression systems, such as sprinklers
- Fire detection and fire alarm systems. This includes any systems that are linked to other fire safety equipment, including smoke control systems.
- Evacuation alert systems. Please note that the responsible person does not have to test the system itself each month, but they must perform a visual check of the control system and indicating equipment.
- Any automatic door opening or closing systems that are linked to the fire detection and alarm systems.
The responsible person must keep a record of all of these monthly checks, and all residents should be able to access these records on request.
Should the responsible person detect a fault in any of these systems, they must aim to rectify it within 24 hours of discovery. If this is not possible, they must notify the local fire and rescue services of the fault, before notifying them again once the fault has been addressed.
In the event of a fault, the responsible person should consider the potential impact, and implement temporary mitigation measures if necessary.
You can read a full guide to the ongoing responsibilities outlined by the regulations.
Get Dedicated Property Insurance Cover With James Hallam
If you are a property owner, developer or a building manager, then you have a legal obligation to ensure that all of these fire safety regulations are followed in any high risk high rise residential buildings in your portfolio.
If you do not comply with these regulations, you will face some harsh penalties, and potentially even prosecution. On top of this, if you fail to protect your property and your tenants against fire risks, it could also compromise your buildings insurance policy.
James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals. Talk to us, and we can help you ensure you have enough cover to protect your high rise property at a competitive price. We will also provide expert risk advice to help you meet all relevant fire safety regulations for your building.
Get in touch for a free quote today.