UK GOVERNMENT FIRE DOOR REGULATIONS

The Fire Safety Order – provides a framework for regulating fire safety in all non-domestic premises including workplaces and the parts of multi-occupied residential buildings used in common in England and Wales. In May 2018, Dame Judith Hackitt published the “Building a Safer Future: Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety” which concluded that, following the Grenfell Tower tragedy the previous year, there must be a whole-building approach to fire safety which required systemic change from design and build to occupation stages. The application of the Fire Safety Order, particularly in relation to the parts used in common in high rise multi occupied residential buildings, was considered by Dame Judith Hackitt during her Review.

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In June 2019, the Home Office published a Call for Evidence on the Fire Safety Order inviting views on the application of the Order in England [footnote 1]. The intended objectives of the Call for Evidence were to update the evidence base in relation to how the Fire Safety Order is complied with and enforced and help with the identification and assessment of any changes that might be needed and how they might best be achieved. The overall aim was to use the evidence gathered to inform next steps to ensure high and proportionate standards of fire safety in all regulated premises.

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The Call for Evidence, which complemented the “Building a Safer Future” consultation, launched simultaneously by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, was the first step in a process to ensure that the Fire Safety Order continues to be fit for purpose as part of the government’s consideration of the wider building safety landscape. Both the Fire Safety Order Call for Evidence and “Building a Safer Future” consultation ran from 6 June – 31 July 2019 and were open to the public. Today we are publishing a high level summary of the responses received to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005: Call for Evidence.