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The introduction of the Fire Safety Order a year ago was just one element of a three-pronged change in fire safety provision. Bill Parlour examines the landscape.
As this article is written, smoke is still rising from burning landscapes and villages in Greece, investigations are ongoing after the tragic hotel fire in Newquay, and yet more fire is engulfing timber frame buildings during construction at a project in Hatfield. So what’s new in fire, one year on after the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and are we all really up to speed?
By now, the re-organisation of the fire and rescue services should be completed. The promise of the raised effectiveness of combined police and fire control rooms has recently attracted minimal comment in the media, despite early reported ‘bloomers’ of confused locations. But any hilarity should stop there, for you may not have noticed the coming into force of other parts of a ‘planned’ change in fire strategy since April this year, including the new edition of Approved Document B (with a new duty in Appendix G) and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. All of these are intended to act together to change the way that the fire safety of buildings is designed, constructed, managed and enforced. Let’s recap on the key points of the changes.
Order
One of the aims of the RRO is to reduce burdens on business. It has consolidated and rationalised much existing fire safety legislation and reduced the number of enforcing authorities that deal with general fire safety matters. The reform is intended to maintain and enhance the protection afforded to users of premises (and others who might be affected by a fire on the premises). In particular, the objectives of the RRO are to be achieved via a regime clearly based on risk assessment, fire prevention and mitigation measures, and to focus resources for fire prevention on those premises which present the greatest risk. Not least, it is designed to ensure that fire safety facilities and equipment (including fire alarms) are well maintained.
The major change has been the removal of fire certificates and the statutory bar. Generally, the statutory bar meant that once a premises had complied with the terms of a fire certificate, the fire safety enforcers could not later insist on improved fire safety provisions at that site, even if new risks were perceived later on. The requirement for making and maintaining fire risk assessments, day by day, may be a new experience that many do not really understand or apply, despite the 11 risk assessment guides made available by government for various types of building uses. In particular, do not ignore the words:
“You must be prepared to show that what you have done complies with any requirements or prohibitions of the RRO, irrespective of whether you have relied upon a particular standard.”
Note that the RRO falls under criminal law and that this places the onus of the fire safety in buildings on the responsible person, which definition includes:
– The employer (where there is one)
– The person in control of the premises in connection with the carrying on of a trade, business or other undertaking (for profit or not)
– The owner
– Any other person who to any extent exercises control over the place, including contractors on site.
In addition, fire precautions provided should be properly maintained and should be installed and maintained by a ‘competent person’. Under the RRO, a person is to be regarded as competent where he/she has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him/her properly to assist in undertaking the preventive and protective measures. For most buildings, the main enforcing body will be the local fire and rescue authority.
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has a role to play in supporting the RRO, mainly with training and education via its seminars and publications. But much remains to be done in the further education of designers, responsible persons, investigators and enforcers.
Building regulations
The reference in the RRO to the use of competent persons for the installation of fire protection systems is reinforced by Approved Document B 2006, which supports the Building Regulations for England and Wales. This is the second side of the fire legislation triangle:
“Since the fire performance of a product, component or structure is dependent upon satisfactory site installation and maintenance, independent schemes of certification and registration of installers and maintenance firms of such will provide confidence in the appropriate standard of workmanship being provided.”
The ASFP requires that all contractor members are also members of a 3rd party accreditation scheme, and these companies will give the responsible person meaningful completion of any work (look for the ASFP logo). ADB continues with:
“Building control bodies may accept the certification of products, component, materials or structures under such schemes as evidence of compliance with the relevant standard. Nonetheless, a building control body will wish to establish in advance of the work that any such scheme is adequate for the purposes of the Building Regulations.”
Free downloads of all ASFP publications, including product data sheets, are available at: www.asfp.org.uk for fire safety topics such as:
– Fire Protection for Structural Steel in Buildings: a new 4th edition includes the fire protection of steel cellular beams with reactive and non-reactive protection systems
– Fire Stopping and Penetration Seals for the Construction Industry’
– Fire Resisting Ductwork: the new 2nd edition includes data sheets for fire tested ventilation, smoke and kitchen extract systems
– A best practice document.
A new document for fire retardant products is currently being compiled and new advice to frequently asked questions is being generated for inclusion on the ASFP website before the end of the year.
Pass it on
Appendix G of Approved Document B reminds us of a new duty to communicate relevant fire protection information. We should all recognise that the aim of changes to the guidance is to improve the overall level of fire safety in buildings by reducing the occurrence and sizes of fire, through preventative measures. Building Regulation 16B requires:
“That where building work involves the erection or extension of a relevant building, or a relevant change of use of a building, then fire safety information shall be given to the responsible person at the completion of the project, or when the building or extension is first occupied.”
In this context, fire safety information for a relevant building subject to the RRO 2005 under Article 3 means:
“Information relating to the design and construction of the building or extension, and the services, fittings and equipment provided in or in connection with the building or extension, which will assist the responsible person to operate and maintain the building or extension with reasonable safety.”
While basic information on the location and types of fire protection measures may be adequate for ‘simple’ buildings, for more complex ones a detailed record of the fire safety strategy – and procedures for operating and maintaining any fire protection measures of the building – will be necessary. This should include all the assumptions in the design, and details of all the passive fire protection measures, including items such as compartmentation, cavity barriers, fire stopping, fire service penetrations, fire doors, self closing doors, fire ducts, dampers and shutters. So, in the event of a fire, the flow, scope and content of all relevant fire protection information will become a prime focus in allocating any liability.
Construction regulations
The CDM Regulations 2007 are enforceable under criminal law and provide the vitally important third side to the fire legislation triangle. The aim is for health and safety considerations to be treated as an essential normal part of a project, and not as an afterthought or bolt-on extra.
While dramatic change has been avoided, old rules have been radically changed to avoid misinterpretations, to limit excessive paperwork and to focus on real life on-site health and safety. An approved Code of Practice supplements the Regulations. Six guides are available, aimed at specific roles:
– The client
– The CDM coordinator
– The designer
– The principal contractor
– The contractor
– The worker
The CDM coordinator is appointed on behalf of the client, and need not necessarily be located on site. The duties include advising on the selection of competent designers and contractors, and helping to clarify the information needed. All information must be updated if circumstances change. If clients do not appoint a CDM coordinator they will be legally liable if required work and actions are not taken.
The role and identification of ‘the designer’ may need special attention if unintended liabilities are to be avoided. Manufacturers supplying standardised products that can be used in any project are not designers (but in all other cases they could be) and their new responsibilities need to be clearly understood. Such critical points may be learned too late if left until a court of law is involved. Relevant documents can be downloaded from www.hse.gov.uk and at www.cskills.org.
In conclusion, much has changed over the past 12 months. Government may consider that the record downloads of RRO-related information have informed everyone concerned, but in my own experience, this is far from the truth. One small business I know had indeed become aware of the RRO, but was unaware that it was the ‘responsible person’. It considered that the ‘once over’ from the alarms and extinguisher man was all that was needed.
Moving up in size, the councillors responsible for a meeting hall were completely unaware of the RRO, unaware of the 11 risk assessment guidance documents, and were being driven into expensive corners by ‘advice’ from an alarms company representative.
Some of us may have squirmed at the comments made to TV interviewers by some people in the wake of any recent fire. One thing’s for sure – most businesses have been alerted by organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses, but there are many other ones where ignorance remains bliss.
Bill Parlour is technical officer of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection. Approved Document B 2006 can be downloaded from www.planningportal.gov.uk
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The introduction of the Fire Safety Order a year ago was just one element of a three-pronged change in fire safety provision. Bill Parlour examines the landscape.
As this article is written, smoke is still rising from burning landscapes and villages in Greece, investigations are ongoing after the tragic hotel fire in Newquay, and yet more fire is engulfing timber frame buildings during construction at a project in Hatfield. So what’s new in fire, one year on after the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and are we all really up to speed?
By now, the re-organisation of the fire and rescue services should be completed. The promise of the raised effectiveness of combined police and fire control rooms has recently attracted minimal comment in the media, despite early reported ‘bloomers’ of confused locations. But any hilarity should stop there, for you may not have noticed the coming into force of other parts of a ‘planned’ change in fire strategy since April this year, including the new edition of Approved Document B (with a new duty in Appendix G) and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. All of these are intended to act together to change the way that the fire safety of buildings is designed, constructed, managed and enforced. Let’s recap on the key points of the changes.
Order
One of the aims of the RRO is to reduce burdens on business. It has consolidated and rationalised much existing fire safety legislation and reduced the number of enforcing authorities that deal with general fire safety matters. The reform is intended to maintain and enhance the protection afforded to users of premises (and others who might be affected by a fire on the premises). In particular, the objectives of the RRO are to be achieved via a regime clearly based on risk assessment, fire prevention and mitigation measures, and to focus resources for fire prevention on those premises which present the greatest risk. Not least, it is designed to ensure that fire safety facilities and equipment (including fire alarms) are well maintained.
The major change has been the removal of fire certificates and the statutory bar. Generally, the statutory bar meant that once a premises had complied with the terms of a fire certificate, the fire safety enforcers could not later insist on improved fire safety provisions at that site, even if new risks were perceived later on. The requirement for making and maintaining fire risk assessments, day by day, may be a new experience that many do not really understand or apply, despite the 11 risk assessment guides made available by government for various types of building uses. In particular, do not ignore the words:
"You must be prepared to show that what you have done complies with any requirements or prohibitions of the RRO, irrespective of whether you have relied upon a particular standard."
Note that the RRO falls under criminal law and that this places the onus of the fire safety in buildings on the responsible person, which definition includes:
• The employer (where there is one)
• The person in control of the premises in connection with the carrying on of a trade, business or other undertaking (for profit or not)
• The owner
• Any other person who to any extent exercises control over the place, including contractors on site.
In addition, fire precautions provided should be properly maintained and should be installed and maintained by a ‘competent person’. Under the RRO, a person is to be regarded as competent where he/she has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him/her properly to assist in undertaking the preventive and protective measures. For most buildings, the main enforcing body will be the local fire and rescue authority.
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has a role to play in supporting the RRO, mainly with training and education via its seminars and publications. But much remains to be done in the further education of designers, responsible persons, investigators and enforcers.
Building regulations
The reference in the RRO to the use of competent persons for the installation of fire protection systems is reinforced by Approved Document B 2006, which supports the Building Regulations for England and Wales. This is the second side of the fire legislation triangle:
"Since the fire performance of a product, component or structure is dependent upon satisfactory site installation and maintenance, independent schemes of certification and registration of installers and maintenance firms of such will provide confidence in the appropriate standard of workmanship being provided."
The ASFP requires that all contractor members are also members of a 3rd party accreditation scheme, and these companies will give the responsible person meaningful completion of any work (look for the ASFP logo). ADB continues with:
"Building control bodies may accept the certification of products, component, materials or structures under such schemes as evidence of compliance with the relevant standard. Nonetheless, a building control body will wish to establish in advance of the work that any such scheme is adequate for the purposes of the Building Regulations."
Free downloads of all ASFP publications, including product data sheets, are available at: www.asfp.org.uk for fire safety topics such as:
• Fire Protection for Structural Steel in Buildings: a new 4th edition includes the fire protection of steel cellular beams with reactive and non-reactive protection systems
• Fire Stopping and Penetration Seals for the Construction Industry’
• Fire Resisting Ductwork: the new 2nd edition includes data sheets for fire tested ventilation, smoke and kitchen extract systems
• A best practice document.
A new document for fire retardant products is currently being compiled and new advice to frequently asked questions is being generated for inclusion on the ASFP website before the end of the year.
Pass it on
Appendix G of Approved Document B reminds us of a new duty to communicate relevant fire protection information. We should all recognise that the aim of changes to the guidance is to improve the overall level of fire safety in buildings by reducing the occurrence and sizes of fire, through preventative measures. Building Regulation 16B requires:
"That where building work involves the erection or extension of a relevant building, or a relevant change of use of a building, then fire safety information shall be given to the responsible person at the completion of the project, or when the building or extension is first occupied."
In this context, fire safety information for a relevant building subject to the RRO 2005 under Article 3 means:
"Information relating to the design and construction of the building or extension, and the services, fittings and equipment provided in or in connection with the building or extension, which will assist the responsible person to operate and maintain the building or extension with reasonable safety."
While basic information on the location and types of fire protection measures may be adequate for ‘simple’ buildings, for more complex ones a detailed record of the fire safety strategy – and procedures for operating and maintaining any fire protection measures of the building – will be necessary. This should include all the assumptions in the design, and details of all the passive fire protection measures, including items such as compartmentation, cavity barriers, fire stopping, fire service penetrations, fire doors, self closing doors, fire ducts, dampers and shutters. So, in the event of a fire, the flow, scope and content of all relevant fire protection information will become a prime focus in allocating any liability.
Construction regulations
The CDM Regulations 2007 are enforceable under criminal law and provide the vitally important third side to the fire legislation triangle. The aim is for health and safety considerations to be treated as an essential normal part of a project, and not as an afterthought or bolt-on extra.
While dramatic change has been avoided, old rules have been radically changed to avoid misinterpretations, to limit excessive paperwork and to focus on real life on-site health and safety. An approved Code of Practice supplements the Regulations. Six guides are available, aimed at specific roles:
• The client
• The CDM coordinator
• The designer
• The principal contractor
• The contractor
• The worker
The CDM coordinator is appointed on behalf of the client, and need not necessarily be located on site. The duties include advising on the selection of competent designers and contractors, and helping to clarify the information needed. All information must be updated if circumstances change. If clients do not appoint a CDM coordinator they will be legally liable if required work and actions are not taken.
The role and identification of ‘the designer’ may need special attention if unintended liabilities are to be avoided. Manufacturers supplying standardised products that can be used in any project are not designers (but in all other cases they could be) and their new responsibilities need to be clearly understood. Such critical points may be learned too late if left until a court of law is involved. Relevant documents can be downloaded from www.hse.gov.uk and at www.cskills.org.
In conclusion, much has changed over the past 12 months. Government may consider that the record downloads of RRO-related information have informed everyone concerned, but in my own experience, this is far from the truth. One small business I know had indeed become aware of the RRO, but was unaware that it was the ‘responsible person’. It considered that the ‘once over’ from the alarms and extinguisher man was all that was needed.
Moving up in size, the councillors responsible for a meeting hall were completely unaware of the RRO, unaware of the 11 risk assessment guidance documents, and were being driven into expensive corners by ‘advice’ from an alarms company representative.
Some of us may have squirmed at the comments made to TV interviewers by some people in the wake of any recent fire. One thing’s for sure – most businesses have been alerted by organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses, but there are many other ones where ignorance remains bliss.
Bill Parlour is technical officer of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection. Approved Document B 2006 can be downloaded from www.planningportal.gov.uk