News Flat Living Fire safety 8
ARMAconference 10 Energy
11 whAt’s hAppening in leAsehold sector
New guidance aims to improve safety in purpose- built blocks
NewNatioNalfiresafety guidaNce ispublished
Anewguide to fire safety in purpose built blocks of flats has nowbeen published by The Local Government Group, aiming to bring consistency to fire risk assessments and help keep residents safe
N
ew guidance titled Fire Safety In PurposeBuilt Blocks of Flats is published by the Local Government Group
and sponsored by theCommunities Department and the Electrical Safety Council. It is intended to fulfil theneed foraclear andconsistentmessage to enable flat owners to comply with the relevantlegislation andprovide some definitivestandards of firesafety. By law, fireriskassessmentsmust be
carried outand afirepolicyestablished in thecommunalareas of blocks of flats. Theresponsibility forthese duties falls on the party with ultimate control of themanagementofthe building: the freeholder, landlord, Residents Management CompanyorRight To Manage Company. However, confusion often arises over
what is required as part of afirerisk assessment, itsprecise scopeand how frequently oneshouldbecarried out. This has led to widely varying outcomes, with excessive action being taken in some blocks of flatsand in others noneatall, potentiallyendangering lives. ARMAhas welcomed thepublication of thefirst,andmuch needed,national
8
firesafetyguide forpurpose builtblocks of flats. “The importance of this new guidance cannot be overestimated,” comments chairmanPeter Dening. “ARMAhavepushedlongand hard for somenational guidance on firesafety in purpose-builtblocksofflats andwe hope this newdocumentwillfinally providespecific andpractical advice to thoseresponsible forcarryingout fire risk assessments. As an indication of the significance and demand for this guidance in theleaseholdsector, ARMA recently devisedadedicated training courses in anticipation of its publication - they sold out within days”. Launched in July,the 192page
documentcoversguidanceonarange of topics including‘stay put’ policies,alarm systems, requirements of a fire risk assessment andthe lawrelatingtofire safety in thesebuildings. Thedocument also includes relevant case studies that focusonsomeofthe common issues foundinblocksofflats with suggested fire safety solutions. ARMAwaspartofanindustrygroup
established to help producethe guidance, whichalsoincludedthe Federation of Private Residents Associations along
with avariety of industry professionals. FPRA Chairmanandmember of the reference group BobSmytherman said: “Eversince TheRegulatoryReform
(FireSafety) Order2005was approved by Parliament on 7thJune2005and came in to lawon 1st October 2006 those of us responsible forfiresafetyinblocksofflats have beencalling forclear,comprehensive andunambiguous firesafetyguidance andIamdelighted thatwehave beenable to informthe newguide. “The previous advice coveredmost
types of property, but it was never sufficient for common parts of blocks of flats and somelandlords and residential management companieswhich are often runbyvolunteerdirectors were unsure of theirlegal responsibilities in such buildings. This wasalsocompoundedby fireriskassessors beingunclear about the level of investigation requiredwhen carrying out risk assessments,which often led to confusion over the need for things likefirefightingequipment,alarm systemsandemergencylightinginthe common ways.”●
Theguide is free to download from
www.arma.org.uk andfrom
www.local.gov.uk/fire-safety-guidance
Autumn2011 Flat Living
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64