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Safety and communications


and practices continue to evolve and prevent those undertaking building work from taking responsibility for their own actions. Although residents in social housing include


a wide range of people with disparate needs, a major fire safety challenge for many housing providers is being able to adequately adapt their provision to specifically protect their most vulnerable residents, especially when facing tight budget constraints. Statistics in many countries – not just the UK


– show that the majority of domestic fire fatalities and those with serious injuries are people who are considered to be vulnerable. This includes the elderly, the disabled and those unable to readily escape from a fire. In addition to this, new research published


by the Building Research Establishment (BRE)2 has highlighted a number of issues related to many of the widely used fire safety technologies employed today – raising concerns about their ability to protect vulnerable people, and making recommendations about what more needs to be done to ensure more adequate protection.


Slow to adopt


While safety technology has come a long way since the invention of the traditional glass bulb sprinkler in 1882 – especially following the rapid growth of smart and interconnected devices –


adoption of these innovative technologies has been relatively slow by housing providers, despite being a significant development and trend for the built environment. As Dame Judith Hackitt explained in her


recommendations, by introducing an outcomes based framework that requires people who are part of the ‘system’ to be competent (to think for themselves rather than blindly following guidance, and to understand their responsibilities to deliver and maintain safety and integrity throughout the life cycle of a building), more would be done to tailor solutions to the needs of tenants and protect more lives as a result. Based on the recorded causes of fire


fatalities and serious injuries in its research sample, BRE concluded that implementation of innovative smart electrical devices and related digital products could help save even more lives from fire. The term ‘even more’ reflects that, contrary to many people’s beliefs, the number of fire fatalities in the UK has actually decreased gradually over the last three decades and has more recently appeared to plateau. To make a further reduction in the number


of fire related fatalities and injuries, the research makes specific recommendations that will actually save lives. Every second counts in a fire. The sooner a fire is discovered or detected, the more likely it is that it will not result in a fatality. However, figures show that the most common cause of death in fire related fatalities


FOCUS


www.frmjournal.com MAY 2020


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