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  • PAS 9980: Do you need a Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW)?

    In accordance with the Fire Safety Act 2021, any multi-occupancy residential building’s fire risk assessment must comment on the external walls and advise whether a fire risk appraisal of the external walls (FRAEW) is recommended. In a time of austerity and new regulations that have not been budgeted for, this extra outlay is not desirable. But is there any way to avoid it, legally and safely, or is the sometimes-costly external wall appraisal always required? According to façade and internal fire-safety experts FR Consultants Ltd, while the majority of in-scope buildings will always require a PAS 9980 FRAEW, there are a few select situations where they can be omitted.

    It is important to understand that a full FRAEW does form a key part of the requirements for the following regulations and processes:

    • structure, external walls and flat entrance doors fall within the scope of the Fire Safety Order, and the Fire Safety Act 2021 requires that these elements be included in all fire risk assessments
    • the golden thread of information, the model of gathering, storing and maintaining the key information of a building’s life cycle under the Building Safety Act 2022
    • as part of the information on the design and materials of the external wall system and level of risk that must be provided to the local fire and rescue service under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
    • an EWS1 assessment certificate, also known as the External Wall System Fire Review certificate, is a requirement for any leaseholder buying, selling or remortgaging an apartment in a multistorey, multi-occupied residential building
    • applications for the Building Safety Fund and Cladding Safety Scheme, the multi-billion-pound funds for addressing life-safety fire risks associated with cladding on mid-rise and high-rise residential buildings
    • for insurance purposes, having a FRAEW has proven beneficial in reducing renewal premiums owing to the risk reduction.

    In all these situations, there is no question that a FRAEW is required.

    The requirement for a FRAEW is determined within the fire risk assessment, which must consider the external walls and any attachments. This includes cladding, balconies and any additional external structures, the purpose being to assess the risk to occupants from a fire spreading over or within the external walls of the building and to decide whether remediation to address the risk is considered necessary on a particular building. In some cases, owing to an isolated location or limited extent of the system, the external walls may not be considered at risk, and therefore a PAS 9980 FRAEW will not be required.

    • Fire Safety

  • Guidance: Building Safety Fund guidance for new applications from July 2022

    The government announced the Building Safety Fund (Fund) in March 2020 to fund the remediation of cladding on high-rise residential buildings (buildings over 18 metres).

    The Fund opened for new applications in July 2022 for eligible buildings without a funding solution in place.

    From 9 May 2023, applications for buildings outside London should be made to the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) pilot, delivered by Homes England. New applicants should email support@claddingsafetyscheme.co.uk with their full building address and preferred contact details to start their application.

    Applications from high-rise residential buildings in a London borough should continue to be made 

    • Building Remediation
    • Building Safety Fund (18m+)

  • Minimum Size of the Secure Information Box

    In response to a question from a member, The Property Institute has sought advice from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service, its Primary Authority Partner, on what is the minimum size for the Secure Information Box that the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 requires to be installed and maintained on all high-rise residential buildings.

    According to Dean Dixon, Hampshire’s Primary Authority Manager, “there is nothing so prescriptive as to the size of the box, only that it must hold all the information required”. The information required must of course include the A3 Orientation Plan required by the regulations to enable firefighters to orientate themselves with the building and its location in relation to the surrounding streets, neighbouring or adjoining buildings and other features that might cause them operational problems such as adjacent rivers or railway lines.

    According to Dean there is nothing to prevent the A3 being folded before putting it in the box. The only risk as he sees it would be that “repeated folding and unfolding may cause the plan to degrade but hopefully there won't be too many occasions when this would happen.”

    Dean notes that they have a primary authority partner “that has their A3 plan in a frame on the wall inside the development” with the additional paperwork in a Secure Information Box in the entrance porch. The frame can be released to allow access for fire services. Dean has said that if an ARMA member was to adopt this solution, they would be happy to defend the frame as a suitable receptacle if a member was challenged by other fire and rescue services as to its suitability.

    • Fire Safety

  • Roles & Responsibilities under the BSA 2022- HSE Guidance

    Find out about the vital role accountable persons and principal accountable persons play in making high-rise residential buildings safer in this guidance and explainer video. 

     

    • Building Safety Act
    • Dutyholders

  • Fire Safety Act 2021

    The Fire Safety Act
    The Fire Safety Act clarifies the scope of the Fire Safety Order to make clear it applies to the structure, external walls (including cladding and balconies) and individual flat entrance doors between domestic premises and the common parts of a multi-occupied residential building.

    If you are a Responsible Person, you must consider these parts when conducting fire risk assessments, if you have not done so already.

    More detail is contained in the factsheets and guidance on this page.

    Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool
    To support the commencement of the Fire Safety Act the government is launching the Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool. This is an online tool for Responsible Persons to prioritise how soon your fire risk assessments should be updated.

    To help you use of the tool, read the ‘Fire Safety Act Commencement prioritisation guidance’ available to view here.

    • Fire Safety
    • Fire Safety Order 2005 & 2023
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