New changes to fire safety legislation

Building Safety Act 2022 imposes new duties on Responsible Persons

New fire safety regulations come into force from 1st October.

In brief, the Building Safety Act 2022 amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO).

Government has now released guidance to the new legislation, which we’ve summarised in this post.

Who does the new legislation apply to?

The new legislation applies to Responsible Persons of all workplaces, commercial buildings and non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings.

You can check whether you a Responsible Person here.

What changes have been made to the legislation?

If you are a Responsible Person, you will need to do the following from 1st October.

• Record your completed fire risk assessment and fire safety arrangements in full.
  This now has to be done regardless of the size or purpose of the premises.
• Record the identity of any individual/organisation you engage to undertake/review all or any of your fire risk assessment.
  This is in order to give enforcing authorities a clear record of who completed the assessment.
• Find out the identities of, and identify yourself to, other Responsible Persons who share or have duties in respect of the same premises.
  These could be Responsible Persons from businesses that share the same premises, or a landlord or managing agent with responsibility for a multi-occupied residential building.
• Find out the identities of, and identify yourself to, any Accountable Persons who share or have duties in respect of the same premises.
  Residential buildings that are at least 18 metres in height, or have 7 or more stories, and which contain at least two residential units must have an Accountable Person. This is typically a landlord but can be a management company.
• Record and share your contact details with other Responsible Persons and residents of multi-occupied residential premises.
  This is to ensure you can be contacted when needed.
• In buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, provide residents with fire safety information in an easily understood format.
  This must include details of any risks identified in the fire risk assessment, any safety measures that are in place, the name and UK address of the Responsible Person, the identity of anyone appointed to make or review the fire risk assessment, and the identity of any person nominated to implement firefighting measures.

In addition, the legislation requires that:

• Departing Responsible Persons must share all relevant fire safety information with incoming Responsible Persons.
  This is to ensure continuity of critical fire safety information.

What happens if I don’t comply?

If you don’t comply with the new legislation, you can be fined. Fines for certain offences will also increase from 1st October. These include offences such as not providing a fire inspector with a copy of your fire risk assessment when requested and failing to comply with the requirements relating to luminous tube sign installation.

Need help to comply with the new regulations?

If you’d need help with complying with the new regulations, Environtec can help you. We can offer everything from fire risk assessments and fire training through help with your fire strategy.

To learn more about how we can help you, please call our Fire Safety Manager Syd Barret today on 01245 381900 or email enquiries@environtec.com