Are you up to date with the amended Fire Regulations?

Amendments to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Outlined in S.156 of The Building Safety Act 2022.

Article 21A – Information to be provided to residents (domestic premises)

            22A(1) – Information to be provided to other responsible persons.

            22A – Information to be provided to new responsible persons (Sale of premises etc)

            22B – Cooperation with accountable persons, particularly for high-risk buildings.

27 – Unlimited fines for non-conformity can be issued and will be based on turnover and profit.

Are you up to date with the amended fire regulations?  These amendments place an emphasis on the recording and sharing of relevant fire safety information and on the identification of responsible person/s.

The amendments have been made to clarify responsibilities with regard to fire safety and aim to ensure:

• Cooperation & coordination between responsible persons and duty holders.
• Recording & sharing of fire safety information (throughout the lifespan of the building).
• Clarity and ease for Enforcing Authorities when taking action for non-conformities.
• Residents have access to comprehensive information about fire safety in their buildings.
• Evacuation plan, fire safety information, risks to residents, preventive and protective measures, Identification of responsible person/s, identification of fire risk assessor etc.

Recording Requirements:

• Fire Risk Assessment
• Fire safety Plan – appropriate and effective in managing risk.
• Management of preventative/protective measures, reviews, monitoring etc.
• Details of responsible persons/duty holders
• Details of risk assessor
• Details of contractors (fire alarm engineers etc.)
• Details of any risk-based guidance used.
• Evidence of information provided to tenants etc.

In the case of high-risk buildings, it is recommended that the responsible persons ensure that they have a current matrix of responsibility, detailing exactly who is responsible for what within the building.

In the case of landlords and letting agents for example, the management contract should clearly state who is responsible for what.

As built plans should be provided to users and managers of buildings where these are available and particularly in the case of all new builds.

Fire safety and evacuation information should be provided to tenants/premises users.  Landlords should be mindful of keeping up to date with information sharing and recording, particularly where there is a high turnover of lease holders or for houses in multiple occupation (HMO).

Fire Service

The Fire Service will be able to request this information prior to any audit, inspection or following a fire etc.  This information can be requested at any time and annual requests may be made in writing. 

In addition to inspections and audits of premises, the Fire Service have the authority to carry out PACE Interviews (Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984).  They have the right to request information prior to the inspection, audit or interview, particularly where they are investigating for potential prosecution.

If this information is provided, they will clarify that it conforms to the amended regulations and confirm this in their findings.  However, a refusal or inability to provide the information could be considered a failure to comply with the made regulations and result in prosecution.

Failure to comply with and breaches of the Fire Safety Order can be included in any Enforcement Notices issued.  A failure to comply with the Notice itself will be considered a breach of the Order.

 
Prosecutions:

For general prosecutions, it is essential to establish the following:

• The correct responsible person or duty holder. Where this is not clear, it could result in all relevant parties facing prosecution.
• There has been a breach of the Fire Safety Order.
• That relevant persons (users of the premises) were put at risk.
• There was a risk of death or serious injury.

Prosecutions can lead to 2 years imprisonment and unlimited fines.

Courts take breaches of fire safety extremely seriously even in cases where no fire has occurred, and no actual harm was caused – it is more about the potential for a safety breach to put persons at risk of death or serious injury in the event of fire.

For charities, the penalties imposed for both the charity and individual trustees, or senior representatives of the charity have increased substantially in the last few years.

The fines are still relatively high, albeit reduced if the charity can prove that a large fine would substantially affect the charity's ability to provide its services.

*Further information can be found at www.firesafetylaw.co.uk