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Fire Safety Act 2021 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The Government have made recent changes to the Fire Safety legislation that Responsible Persons (RPs) need to be aware of.

Suffolk Fire And Rescue Service welcomes the commencement of the Fire Safety Act in England and Wales, and the Regulations in England, as important steps forward in strengthening the Fire Safety Order and improving fire safety. The Act clarifies that Responsible Persons (RPs) for multi-occupied residential buildings must manage and reduce the risk of fire for the structure and external walls of the building, including cladding, balconies and windows, and entrance doors to individual flats that open into common parts.

Fire Safety Act 2021

The Fire Safety Act 2021 (the Act) received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021 and commenced on 16 May 2022. The Act amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order).

What does the Fire Safety Act do?

The Act clarifies that where a building contains 2 or more sets of domestic premises, the Fire Safety Order applies to:

  • the building’s structure and external walls (including windows, balconies, cladding, insulation and fixings) and any common parts
  • all doors between domestic premises and common parts such as flat entrance doors (or any other relevant door).

Further information on the Fire Safety Act can be found at Fire Safety Act 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (the Regulations) 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 and will come into force on 23 January 2023.

What do the Fire Safety (England) regulations require responsible persons to do?

Most of the requirements set out in the Regulations are imposed on the responsible person (RP), which RPs need to plan and prepare for ahead of the Regulations coming into force.

The regulations require RPs in multi-occupied residential buildings to take specific actions, depending on the height of the building:

  • some provisions apply regardless of height
  • more are needed once a building reaches 11 metres, and
  • further requirements are introduced when a building reaches 18 metres (or 7 storeys) or more.

The Regulations apply to England only. The Regulations can be found at on the UK Government website.

You can find out more in the FAQs below and where to go for further information.

Fire Safety Act 2021 FAQs

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 FAQs

Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool

The National Fire Chiefs Council NFCC has supported the Home Office Task and Finish Group in the production of a new Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool (FRAPT).

The FRAPT is an online tool designed to assist responsible persons to develop a strategy to prioritise their buildings to review their fire risk assessments, to ensure they take into account the clarifications outlined in the Act.

The Fire Risk assessment Tool can be accessed at Prioritise updating your fire risk assessments as a Responsible Person | Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool (bpt.homeoffice.gov.uk)

What do the Fire Safety (England) regulations require responsible persons to do?

Most of the requirements set out in the Regulations are imposed on the responsible person (RP), which RPs need to plan and prepare for ahead of the Regulations coming into force.

The regulations require RPs in multi-occupied residential buildings to take specific actions, depending on the height of the building:

  • some provisions apply regardless of height
  • more are needed once a building reaches 11 metres, and
  • further requirements are introduced when a building reaches 18 metres (or 7 storeys) or more.
An infographic displaying the information found in this section in a visual way.

The Regulations set out requirements for responsible persons of all multi-occupied residential buildings, of two or more sets of domestic premises:

  • Fire Safety Instructions: they must provide relevant fire safety instructions to their residents on how to report a fire and what a resident must do once a fire has occurred.
  • Fire Door Information: provide residents with information relating to the importance of fire doors in fire safety.

The Regulations also set out requirements for RPs of multi-occupied residential buildings of over 11 metres in height:

  • Annual and quarterly checks fire door: They must undertake best endeavors to carry out annual checks of flat entrance doors. They must undertake quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common parts.

The Regulations for high-rise residential buildings (at least 18m or 7 storeys in height) also require responsible persons to:

  • Building Plans: provide their local FRS with up-to-date building floor plans by electronic means and to place a hard copy of these plans, alongside a single page building plan which identifies key firefighting equipment, in a secure information box on site.
  • External Wall Systems: provide to their local FRS information about the design and materials of a high-rise building’s external wall system and to inform the FRS of any material changes to these walls. Also, they will be required to provide information in relation to the level of risk that the design and materials of the external wall structure gives rise to and any mitigating steps taken.
  • Lifts and other Key Fire-Fighting Equipment: undertake monthly checks on the operation of lifts intended for use by firefighters, and evacuation lifts in their building and check the functionality of other key pieces of firefighting equipment. They will also be required to report any defective lifts or equipment to their local FRS as soon as possible after detection if the fault cannot be fixed within 24 hours, and to record the outcome of checks and make them available to residents.
  • Secure Information Boxes: install and maintain a secure information box in their building. This box must contain the name and contact details of the RP and hard copies of the building floor plans.
  • Wayfinding Signage: install signage visible in low light or smoky conditions that identifies flat and floor numbers in the stairwells of relevant buildings.

What do RPs need to do now?

RPs need to start planning now to be prepared for the changes.

RPs are encouraged to:

  • Begin to use the Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool (the FRAPT), to start forming their fire risk assessment review prioritisation strategies. RPs should first consider the accompanying guidance. RPs should ensure their reviewed assessments take into account the requirements of the FSO (as amended).
  • Consider what steps are necessary to be ready to share additional information with FRSs by 23 January 2023.
  • RPs are advised not to begin submitting their information to FRSs at this stage, unless this has already been agreed with your local FRS.
  • The preferred format for how RPs provide information to FRSs will be detailed within the Home Office guidance, which is currently being produced. 
  • In preparation, RPs are encouraged to begin preparing to comply with the new Regulations. For example, RPs can begin work now on some aspects, e.g. installation of wayfinding signage, and procurement of secure information boxes.

Where can I find out more information?

You can find out more by visiting the NFCC website.

The Fire Safety Act can be found here with factsheets and guidance here. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations can be found here on the UK Government website.

The Home Office has produced a series of fact sheets which provide more detailed information on what the Regulations mean in England:

Contact details

To find out more about the Fire Safety Act and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations, contact our Fire Business Support Team on:

Phone: 01473 260588
Email: fire.businesssupport@suffolk.gov.uk
Office hours: 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4pm on Friday.

SFRS is not responsible for the content of third-party websites we link to. These tools may not be accessible to users of assistive technology.

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