fire safety for high rise buildings

From January 23, 2023 all firefighter and evacuation lifts in high rise residential buildings are now subject to an additional new monthly check. Lee Dean director of LECS UK looks at the implications and new responsibilities for owners/ managers of high-rise buildings
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry noted in the Phase 1 report that “When the firefighters attended the fire at Grenfell Tower, they were unable to operate the mechanism that should have allowed them to take control of the lifts.”
The Inquiry recommended that the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to carry out regular inspections of any lifts that are designed to be used by firefighters and to report these results to the fire and rescue service at monthly intervals.  They are also required to undertake tests of the mechanism that allows firefighters to take control of the lifts and to inform the fire rescue service monthly that they have undertaken.

Resolving Fire safety concerns in residential multi-occupancy buildings poses a major challenge for property managers and specifiers. We spoke to Richard Izzard, managing director of aluminium decking manufacturer AliDeck, to find out more about successful fire safety remediation of balconies.

Following Grenfell, the parameters for compliant specification of materials for multi-occupancy buildings has changed immeasurably. As these changes to regulations have been announced relatively piecemeal since 2017, keeping track of current requirements has proved challenging for even the most conscientious specifier or property manager.

As residential fire safety, particularly in multi-storey buildings and tower blocks have been the centre of attention since last June, the groundswell of opinion is clearly behind the installation of fire sprinkler systems as part of a multi-million pound programme of fire protection upgrades.

While discussions continue regarding how the work is being funded, it appears that local authorities and housing associations are likely to make a significant contribution to the cost, so it’s inevitable that ‘value’ and ‘cost effectiveness’ will form part of the tendering procedures that are already taking place.

The tragic events of the Grenfell disaster last year cast a long shadow and one that will remain with the industry for decades to come. 

Of course lessons will be learnt and perhaps at long last due attention will be paid to safety above other considerations when deciding upon risk critical building products such as fire doors and fire door assemblies. 

More immediately however we all await the inevitable changes to legislation and good practice, following Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review and how it will shape future product specification, installation and ongoing use throughout the life cycle of the building.

Dame Judith Hackitt’s final report (Building a Safer Future, May 2018) is an opportunity missed to demonstrate clear leadership in the area of fire safety for high rise buildings, according to Ben Jayes, managing director of Vivalda Group.

Giving his reaction to the 159 page report, Jayes said “We were expecting a far clearer statement from Dame Judith, which would include banning any combustible material on tall buildings. We had also hoped to see sharper teeth when it came to independent building inspection, however this appeared to have been overlooked in favour of tighter regulations outlined in the report.