36 SAFETY, SECURITY & FIRE PROTECTION
In a fire tragedy might you be held responsible?
“ARE THOSE INVOLVED IN THE PROVISION OF FIRE PROTECTION AT ANY LEVEL, BE IT COMPLEX OR SIMPLE, AWARE THAT THEY SHARE LIABILITY FOR ITS SUITABILITY OF PURPOSE AND ITS OPERATION IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE? AND THAT ANY LIABILITY WOULD THEREFORE EXTEND TO FUTURE COURT ACTION?” ASKS FIRECO’S FIRE SERVICES MANAGER TOM WELLAND.
W
ith recent Association of British Insurers (ABI) fire loss figures revealing a picture of worsening
public fire protection in the UK with fire damage up by some 16% to £1.3b, representing a record high, questions are being raised as to whether the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the CDM Regulations 2007 and Regulation 16B of the Buildings Act are working together to raise the installation of appropriate fire protection measures.
The Construction, Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2007, enforced by the Health and Safety Executive, concentrates on managing the risk and the health and safety of all those that use a building and those who maintain it.
So who is responsibile? If it is your responsibility to specify the materials and/or appoint a contractor, you are also required to ensure that they can prove competency for all fire protection materials used, plus all the installation and commissioning work. And it’s no longer simply a duty of care or a voluntary code – it is a legal obligation.
If you knowingly ignore advice that leads to a failure in the fire performance of any element of installed fire protection within a building, you are likely to be found to be just as culpable as the deficient installer. You share liability for the provision of information required under Building Regulation 16B that tells the user of the building about the fire prevention measures provided in that building. Otherwise, the user cannot make
an effective risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
In the event of a fire and deaths, a court will want to know the reasoning why the fire protection system was selected; the basis for selection of the installer; whether adequate time was provided for its installation and whether there was adequate liaison between the different parties to ensure it was installed correctly.
Avoid the over-prescription trap! As high profile cases in the press confirm, fire and rescue authorities nationally are showing an increasing desire to prosecute, so many professionals may feel that they are being bulldozed into hasty decisions of over- specification that they’ll come to regret. So it’s important to realise that there is often more than one way to achieve an acceptable level of fire safety in a building.
One example of this is Fireco’s System X wireless fire safety system that offers exceptional flexibility when managing a building's fire safety. System X uses Wi-Fi technology to communicate with an unlimited number of fire safety devices within a 100m range (subject to a site survey), so installation is quick and easy.
System X is suitable for all environments including offices, hotels, restaurants and public areas, in particular where there is a requirement for fire doors to be held open legally, is fully fail to safe and compliant with BS EN 1155 and BS 7273-4 and suitable for any category of fire door.
Fireco are IFE and ISFM approved fire safety consultants to a number of the UK’s leading companies and organisations and manufacturers of a wide range of simple, effective fire safety solutions including Dorgard wireless fire door retainers and System X wireless fire safety system.
For more information contact Fireco on 0845 241 7474, email
services@firecoltd.com
Fireco Click here to request literature
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