SAFETY & SECURITY 87


STAYING UP TO SPEED WITH FIRE SAFETY


Housebuilders and developers must stay up to date with the latest fi re regulations to ensure compliance of a property portfolio is maintained. Here, Simon Jones of Kidde Safety Europe summarises the most recent updates to be aware of.


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f you are responsible for a housing development, a robust approach to fi re safety is vital to help safeguard residents as well as ensure regulatory compliance. There are many factors that contribute to this overall fi re safety strategy – and alarms will have a fundamental role to play. Despite this, a research survey undertaken in 2021 highlighted that 27% of UK renters did not have a smoke alarm on each storey of their home and private renters (32%) were less likely to have an alarm than social renters (20%). In addition, the research showed that 51% of tenants surveyed did not have a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm fi tted in their property.


ENGLAND AND WALES


Approved Document B of the Building Regulations for England and Wales stipulates that new builds and any materially altered properties must have interlinked AC smoke alarms on each  oor  equivalent to an LD3 alarm system as defi ned in BS 539-6:2019. A heat


alarm in the kitchen is not a current legal requirement but is recommended in the aforementioned system. Approved Document J was recently amended to expand the requirements for CO alarms. As such, in addition to the requirement that any room with a new or replacement solid fuel appliance must include a CO alarm, it is now a further requirement for a CO alarm to be fi tted in any room containing fi xed gas and oil-burning appliances (excluding gas appliances solely used for cooking).


SCOTLAND


Scotland was the fi rst to enhance its regulations for fi re safety and under the Housing (Scotland) Act in February 2022. Since then, all homes in Scotland, whether new builds or existing, must have interlinked smoke and heat alarms installed, thus raising the category of protection to LD2. These can be either ceiling mounted or if there is not space and it is allowed by the manufacturer these can be wall mounted. The updates also stipulated:


A RESEARCH SURVEY UNDERTAKEN IN 2021 HIGHLIGHTED THAT 27% OF UK RENTERS DID NOT HAVE A SMOKE ALARM ON EACH STOREY OF THEIR HOME AND PRIVATE RENTERS (32%) WERE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE AN ALARM THAN SOCIAL RENTERS (20%)


• One smoke alarm in the living room (or the room that is used most regularly by the occupant)


• One smoke alarm in every hallway or landing


• One heat alarm in the kitchen  Carbon monoxide alarms with sealed-in


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