Following the Grenfell disaster in 2017, there have been many calls and efforts to enforce change in the fire safety industry, with campaigners eager to protect civilians, property owners and take preventive rather than reactive measures. A great focus has been placed on building regulations and standards, with authorities looking to place fire safety as a focal aspect when building new properties.

While there have been many delays in bringing such changes into law, the new Fire Safety Bill has now been rolled out and has come into force in Wales.

In this blog post, we examine the key components of the new Act and how these changes have impacted building safety.

Prior to the Grenfell Tower distracted, which saw 72 lose their life as flames engulfed a tower block with sub-standard cladding, there were few laws in place for ensuring cladding was sufficient from a fire safety point of view.

What has changed?

The new act, which makes alterations to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order), will see property owners and managers of multi-occupancy residential buildings put pillars in place to reduce fire risks associated with unsafe cladding and entrance doors.

The new act closes an industry loophole that makes it unclear whether or not fire safety legislation applies to certain parts of multi-occupied residential buildings. Now, the law states very clearly that fire safety considerations need to be taken in relation to structure and external walls, including cladding, balconies and windows. This is as well entrance doors to flats that open into common areas.

With the new laws in place, fire and rescue services in England and Wales will have the authority to take enforcement action and hold the ‘responsible person’ to account if they are not compliant with the new fire safety requirements.

How Twenty4 is supporting Welsh businesses

Here at Twenty4 Fire and Security, we are supporting businesses with a wealth of fire safety practices, ensuring they are in reach of the fire safety equipment and services to not only remain complaint but operate their buildings in an ethical manner.

This includes providing the following fire safety services in South Wales:

To discuss any of our services or solutions, get in touch!