Following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, the government launched an independent review of building regulations and fire safety leading in December 2018 to a call for evidence on the technical review of Approved Document B of the Building Regulations. While this review is ongoing the Government has identified certain issues that can be addressed more quickly. Currently there is a … Read More

The HSE have issued a safety alert concerning high capacity electrical capacitors in industrial equipment. The alert follows investigations into a fire in 2018 that occurred in an industrial uninterruptable power supply system manufactured by Vertiv Infrastructure (previously known as Emerson / Chloride). The cause of the fire was traced to the dangerous failure of an ICAR branded capacitor. industrial … Read More

We previously reported how the Scottish Government was running a consultation looking at fire safety for people who live in high rise domestic buildings. The consultation closed on 17th July and the Scottish Government has now announced changes to the Scottish Building Standards technical handbook that strengthen the requirements affecting external wall cladding for buildings over 11m tall. The new … Read More

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 regulates fire safety in non-domestic premises such as workplaces and the common parts of residential buildings. These regulations cover such matters as fire risk assessment, duties to take general fire safety precautions, consult with and provide fire safety information, instruction and training for employees, fire detection, emergency exits etc. In conjunction with the … Read More

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation exercise to gather information and views on proposed actions to strengthen fire safety for people who live in high rise buildings. Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 the Scottish Government began a review of the fire safety regime for high rise domestic buildings in Scotland. A report was published in December 2018 … Read More

Individual fire authorities are responsible for creating appropriate strategies for their own area.  With limited resources and many calls on those resources fire authorities have to make difficult decisions about how they allocate those resources. Sometimes those decisions can be controversial, response to fire alarms is sometimes a sensitive area. The latest figures from the Home Office show that 40% … Read More

The London Fire Brigade recently published the results of in depth inspections they carried out at 177 care homes across the capital. They state that serious fire safety failures were found in 57% of the homes. The main areas of concern were with fire risk assessments, emergency plans and staffing levels, staff training and fire doors, protected corridors and staircases. … Read More

The HMICFRS (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) is currently carrying out an inspection of all 45 fire and rescue services in England. This is the first independent inspection in 12 years and is focussing on how effective and efficient the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks … Read More

Following the Grenfell Tower fire a number of tall buildings were identified with cladding that did not meet fire safety standards. Subsequently work has begun to remove and replace existing cladding from a number of tall buildings. Fire is one of a number of hazards associated with construction and refurbishment work, however the ease of ignition and the rate of … Read More

The building standards system that applies in Scotland is different to those that apply in England and Wales. As part of their response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy the Scottish Government launched a review of building standards and fire safety in Scotland. The recommendations and conclusions of the review panel have now been published, among other things they recommend that: … Read More