The Fire Safety Act 2021 amends article 6 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) to clarify the parts of premises to which the Fire Safety Order applies in buildings containing two or more domestic premises.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 amends article 6 of the FSO to clarify that the following areas are to form part of a fire risk assessment of the building:
- Building’s structure
- External walls (including doors and windows)
- Balconies
- Common parts
- Doors between domestic premises and common parts
For the avoidance of doubt, the government’s intention is that consideration of the building’s structure should comprise a visual inspection of the construction and layout of the building (e.g. compartmentation) to ascertain, based on information available, that the building was correctly designed and built to resist early structural collapse in the event of a fire.
It is of vital importance to check the common parts of the building to ensure that floors and walls are in good condition; and that there are no openings, or breaches, that would permit uncontrolled spread of fire and smoke.
The FSO applies to doors and windows in external walls, together with other openings (e.g. vents) and any attachment to the exterior of walls such as cladding, insulation, fixings, or balconies.
Flat entrance doors (and any other doors that form part of the common areas) are within the scope of the FSO. Therefore, such doors should be visually inspected for compliance and maintenance as fire doors (with the cooperation of residents as appropriate).
BLACK FIRE SAFETY 