The Fire Safety (England) Regulations (the regulations) 2022 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. The Regulations apply to England only; more details can be found on the UK Government website.
The regulations seek to improve the fire safety of blocks of flats in practical, cost-effective ways for individual leaseholders and proportionate to the risk of fire.
For high-rise residential buildings (a multi-occupied residential building at least 18 metres in height or 7 or more storeys), responsible persons must:
- share electronically with their local fire and rescue service (FRS) information about the building’s external wall system and provide the FRS with electronic copies of floor plans and building plans for the building
- keep hard copies of the building’s floor plans, in addition to a single-page orientation plan of the building, and the name and UK contact details of the responsible person in a secure information box which is accessible by firefighters
- install wayfinding signage in all high-rise buildings which is visible in low-light conditions
- establish a minimum of monthly checks on lifts which are for the use of firefighters in high-rise residential buildings and on essential pieces of firefighting equipment
- inform the FRS if a lift used by firefighters or one of the pieces of firefighting equipment is out of order for longer than 24 hours
For multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres in height, responsible persons must:
- undertake quarterly checks on all communal fire doors and annual checks on flat entrance doors
In all multi-occupied residential buildings, responsible persons must:
- provide residents with relevant fire safety instructions and information about the importance of fire doors