Lakanal House inquest: Statement from the Fire Sector Federation

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1 Lakanal House inquest: Statement from the Fire Sector Federation The Fire Sector Federation (FSF) wishes to express profound sadness for the tragic loss of life that occurred at Lakanal House on the 3 rd July The incident and subsequent investigations have highlighted a number of areas for improvement to ensure safety from fire in the future and the FSF is committed to working with partners from across the sector to secure those improvements and find future solutions. The FSF is concerned that such a fire can happen in the UK today and we await with interest the Coroner s pronouncements. The Federation intends to announce its findings and recommendations after a period of careful consideration of the evidence presented to the coroner. The FSF has long expressed major concerns about the apparent disjoint in the processes which aim to ensure fire safety within the built environment and the evidence from Lakanal House tends to reflect these issues. These include general confusion and poor levels of compliance with fire safety legislation; concerns about the competence of those tasked with achieving this; and a lack of interconnection between the rules and processes applying to the provision of fire safety measures and firefighting techniques. Brian Robinson CBE, QFSM, Chair of the Fire Sector Federation says: The fire industry is well aware that fire protection in the built and natural environment is not the province of one group of people; it is a continuous process which encompasses many; from the architect that designs through to the contractor who builds, the fire equipment installers, to the owners and occupiers and the Fire and Rescue Service. We believe that there is fragmentation in that process and are responding in several ways to the challenge that this creates. Key areas of concern that appear to emerge relate to: Standards of fire risk assessment; Appropriate installation of fire protection systems; The impact of modern methods of construction and complex building design; Consistency of the legislation, codes and standards, and their enforcement; Consistency in firefighting and search and rescue techniques. While the FSF recognises that much needs to be done to further improve levels of fire safety, work has already begun to address some of these concerns. The industry s growing concern regarding the competence of those who provide fire risk assessment services led to a broad group of relevant stakeholders coming together as the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council to establish criteria against which the competence of a fire risk assessor can now be judged. A Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor was published on 1 st February 2013 and will enable businesses to ensure they appoint people or companies whose competency has been independently accredited.

2 Fire protection systems range from inbuilt (passive) fire protection to sprinklers and fire alarms. The FSF firmly believes that all have an important role to play in developing an holistic approach to fire safety within buildings. Concerns about inappropriate installation and maintenance of fire protection systems has led the industry to develop a range of third party certification schemes which aim to address these issues and is encouraging specifiers and main contractors to adopt such standards. The Lakanal House incident particularly highlights the vital role played by compartmentation in protecting escape routes and slowing the spread of fire and smoke and the essential need to ensure this is adequately installed and maintained. The apparent lack of general understanding of the basic principles of compartmentation has led one of the Federation s members, the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, to develop an industry benchmarking training programme that targets the three main occupational groups across the sector, including: new entrants to the specialist contractor workforce; contractors within allied specialist trades; and other groups that need a greater understanding of PFP, such as site supervisors, inspectors of fire systems, and building control officers. The scheme is currently under development led by an Industry Steering Group and is due to pilot in late Fire safety legislation, codes and standards are also being considered, particularly bearing in mind the impact of modern methods of construction and design. The process is too open to individual judgment and interpretation but better consistency in the application of the various rules is being actively encouraged by bringing together FSF members from across the sector. For example, the Technical Guidance Workstream of the Fire Sector Federation is developing a document to clarify the expectations for fire detection and alarm systems in sheltered housing. The Chief Fire Officers Association, the Fire Brigades Union, the Fire Officers Association, and the Retained Firefighters' Union are active members of the FSF and as key stakeholders in the fire and rescue service they are working in partnership with the wider fire sector to ensure that firefighting techniques are developed which reflect the modern built environment. Bringing together a broad spectrum of opinion from the UK fire sector, the Fire Sector Federation will continue to work to address the apparent disjoint in processes and to cut silo mentality in working practices by addressing both the built and natural environment, as well as fire and rescue service issues. ENDS

3 About the Fire Sector Federation The Fire Sector Federation was formed following a decision by the coalition Government to step back and its expectation that industry would take the lead in delivering functions that it believes the wider fire sector is better able to deliver. The Fire Sector Federation is a not-for-profit non-government organisation established to influence and shape future policy and strategy related to the UK Fire Sector. Bringing together representatives from a range of stakeholders which make up the UK Fire Sector and wider built environment, the FSF acts as a forum for the discussion of fire-related issues and aims to develop policy and produce industry guidance for wider dissemination. The Fire Sector Federation can provide experts to comment in several key areas of concern including: Fire protection measures Modern methods of construction Fire & Rescue Service policy and operations Fire risk assessment Building Regulations For further information Reader enquiries: Fire Sector Federation, London Road, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0RH; Tel: +44 (0) ; admin@firesectorfederation.co.uk Press enquiries: For further information or to arrange an interview contact: Anna Hayes, Initial Contacts, 14 Helen Road, Oxford OX2 0DE Tel: ; Mob: ; initialcontacts@btinternet.com Please arrange for a copy of any published item to be sent to: Initial Contacts, 14 Helen Road, Oxford OX2 0DE

4 NOTES TO EDITORS Standards of Fire Risk Assessment: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a duty of care on the building owner/occupier to take general fire precautions to ensure that the premises are safe. A key responsibility is to appoint a Responsible Person and undertake a fire risk assessment. The industry s growing concern regarding the competence of those who provide fire risk assessment services led to a broad group of relevant stakeholders coming together as the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council. This Group has established criteria against which the competence of a fire risk assessor can now be judged and published A Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor 1 st February This will enable businesses to ensure they appoint people or companies whose competency has been independently accredited. This document is hosted by the FSF and available for free downloaded from Appropriate Installation and maintenance of fire protection systems: Another key issue is inappropriately installed and maintained fire protection systems. Fire protection systems range from inbuilt (passive) fire protection to sprinklers and fire alarms. All have a role to play in developing a holistic approach to fire safety within buildings. Inappropriate specification and installation can affect all of these systems. The industry has developed a range of third party certification schemes which aim to address these issues and is encouraging specifiers and main contractors to adopt such standards. Passive fire protection is used to provide compartmentation. This uses basic principles to protect escape ways from the effects of fire and to use the surrounding elements of construction to effectively box fire in at source, limiting its ability to grow and spread rapidly. The use of the structure in that way is an effective fire safety strategy, especially when combined with sprinklers in a safety system that combines the best of containment and reactive suppression. With passive fire protection, a major issue is that it is often installed by an allied trade that may not be a specialist in the application of passive fire protection and this lack of appropriate knowledge can lead to inappropriate installation which if not detected will result in a building that is not fit for purpose in terms of smoke and fire performance. Allied to this issue is the on-going maintenance of installed fire protection measures and the damage caused to essential compartmentation by followon trades that do not appreciate that any holes left unprotected will obviate the essential performance of the compartment concerned. There is clearly a need to up-skill the supply chain involved in the installation of passive fire protection as well as improving the knowledge base of those involved in the design, supply, inspection and maintenance of passive fire protection. This has led one of the Federation s members, the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, to develop an industry benchmarking training programme that targets the three main occupational

5 groups across the sector, including: new entrants to the specialist contractor workforce; contractors within allied specialist trades, such as joiners, dry liners and electricians within the distribution supply chain; and other groups that need a greater understanding of PFP, such as site supervisors, inspectors of fire systems, and building control officers. The scheme is currently under development led by an Industry Steering Group and is due to pilot in late Modern methods of construction The complexity of modern buildings is also a serious concern. Buildings have changed significantly over recent decades, with variations in building design and style, new materials, novel construction methods and innovative design processes becoming commonplace. It is no longer possible to think in terms of standard constructions and designs. Building Regulations have evolved over the decades to respond to the changing face of building design, and in the process have embraced the need for a more engineered approach to building design. The Building Regulations, as they currently stand, should address many of the issues that are generated by a significant increase in the combustibility of the products used to construct and insulate such buildings. However, a large number of different professionals are involved in the whole process of design, construction and building management from start to finish whose prime specialism is not fire safety. Each is involved at different times and different stages, having to satisfy a mix of different demands. Lakanal House demonstrates the importance of all those responsible for the, design, build, inspection, maintenance and ownership of a building to play their part in complying with the required fire regime and ensuring fire protection measures are designed, built and maintained throughout the life of the building Legislation, codes, standards and guides The rules applying to the provision of fire safety measures are not fully interlocked, applying at different levels in the process and too open to individual judgment and interpretation. The foundation for fire safety provided by Approved Document B is recommended guidance, intended to apply to the most common building situations and to provide acceptable standards within overall functional objectives. A number of British standard codes of practice can be called up for additional information, but there is no overall structure to ensure the various sources are brought together and suitably applied in practice, to provide appropriate and sufficient levels of fire safety that fits the risk profile of the building. Consistency in firefighting and search and rescue techniques Firefighting techniques must develop to reflect the modern built environment, taking into account the complexity of building layout and the significant increase in the combustibility of the products used to construct and insulate such buildings. This tragedy, and the loss of firefighters in Atherton on Stour and Southampton, serve to highlight the risks to both the public and firefighters.