Current affairs


audit a wide range of buildings; and, where necessary, carry out enforcement powers in the event of non compliance. Until recently, the government would have


defended cuts with statistics showing that the number of domestic fires has significantly decreased. In fact, this has been advice it has consistently received. Take for example the now highly topical guidance put forward in the Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats guidance notes (paras 19.6 and 19.7), which states: ‘Some enforcing authorities and fire risk assessors have been adopting a precautionary approach whereby, unless it can be proven that the standard of construction is adequate for “stay put”, the assumption should be that it is not. ‘This is considered unduly pessimistic. Indeed,


such an approach is not justified by experience or statistical evidence from fires in blocks of flats… proposals of fire risk assessors, and requirements of enforcing authorities, based on a precautionary approach (eg abandonment of a “stay put” policy simply because of difficulties in verifying compartmentation), should be questioned.’ The guidance acknowledges the concerns


of the enforcing authorities. These authorities are informed by fire safety officers, who are well trained, properly qualified and – significantly – experienced in firefighting; and whose job is to prevent tragedies, such as the one that unfolded in June, from taking place. However, the guidance uses statistics to undermine the views of the professionals and, instead of providing them with the support needed to deal with frequent non compliance, with more personnel and increased powers, an ‘us and them’ stand off between those responsible for maintaining premises and the fire authorities has been encouraged.


Law and enforcement


I have been involved in numerous cases where the legitimate concerns of fire safety officers have been described as ‘over zealous’ and ‘unjustified’ by opposing lawyers and their experts. However, that view has not been echoed by the courts. Judges have frequently expressed their concerns about the scale of non compliance with the regulations and about their limited sentencing powers. However, the financial cuts have


also prevented a number of fire services from bringing prosecutions and/or taking enforcement measures, due to the fear of the potential cost consequences of legal


proceedings and the lack of ‘manpower’ in fire safety departments. Experienced and well qualified fire safety officers have retired and have not been replaced. In this regard there really is a ‘postcode lottery’; some fire services just don’t have the resources to take enforcement proceedings. And the FSO is not as easy to enforce as


was initially anticipated. Fire safety officers have to enforce legislation which is unclear, and in some aspects unhelpful. Neither the legislation nor the guidance documents which accompany it have been reviewed in the ten years since its inception. Identifying those responsible for premises (‘responsible persons’) is still a difficult process, particularly where premises are owned and managed by corporate entities.


The ‘corporate veil’


Large organisations can divide responsibilities between a number of companies, and hiding behind the ‘corporate veil’ is commonplace. As soon as enforcement action is considered or taken by the fire service, companies are placed into liquidation, making it almost impossible for fire safety officers to engage in any meaningful dialogue about the safety of premises or to enforce against non compliance.


www.frmjournal.com FEBRUARY 2018 45


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