Already, post Grenfell, there has been millions of words written and spoken about the necessary changes required to make people safer from the risk of fire, particularly where they live.
The Government announced in December that they intend to implement the recommendations of Dame Judith Hackett’s review into Building Regulations, with particular regard to fire safety.
A little known part of the Government’s position on fire safety goes beyond changes for high rise residential buildings. The Government accepts that now the same changes are perhaps desirable in other buildings which are primarily not residential, but have the ability to create multiple deaths/injuries should a fire occur.
Whilst a number of different types of premises spring to mind from schools and hospitals to stadiums and shopping centres, other places of entertainment surely would fit within this scope.
It is therefore a distinct possibility that the changes we are seeing effecting high rise buildings in the residential sector will be equally applicable to other “high risk” buildings.
We may also seem a move away from “self certification” of a premises of it’s fire safety arrangements contained in the fire risk assessment, to the previous state of affairs where a Fire and Rescue service issue a certificate, warranting the safety arrangements of a particular premises.
The potential change away from self-regulation to inspection and certification, certainly is in keeping with the changing style of the fire and rescue authorities post Grenfell. Just from my own personal experience, I have seen much more activity by Fire and Rescue services, in terms of enforcement since the disaster.
A number of clients face significant prosecutions in an area where the emotions generated sometimes make it difficult for clients to have a fair and proportionate hearing.
Woods Whur’s regulatory team will explore this topic in more detail at our forthcoming seminar and hopefully you will be able to join us to continue the debate on what is a proportionate way of maintaining safety in an area where getting it wrong has all too well known consequences.