Statutory Requirements

Statutory fire safety legislation is primarily concerned with the protection of people from death or injury in fire.

In the United Kingdom fire safety in buildings is controlled under various statutory instruments.

The main requirements arise from:

• Building Regulations:
  • England and Wales – The Building Regulations 2000 (as amended)
  • Scotland – The Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (as amended)
  • Northern Ireland – The Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994
• Fire precautions Act 1971 (as amended)
• Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (as amended 1999)
• Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994

Building Regulations

The Building Regulations apply to the design and construction of new buildings and also to existing buildings if a material alteration or material change of use is being made. It is the building regulations that are likely to have the main impact on the required fire performance of external cladding systems.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own building regulations and each country has its own set of guidance documents for fire safety. It is important to recognise that the guidance applicable in Scotland can be significantly different to that applicable in England and Wales or Northern Ireland.

Building Regulations for England, Wales and Northern Ireland

The fire safety aspects of building design and construction in England and Wales are controlled by the requirements of the Building Regulations, 2000 (requirements B1 to B5).The regulations are set out in functional form and set performance objectives rather than prescribing specific fire safety measures.These functional requirements can be met by;

a) following the recommendations set out in Approved Document B or

b) adopting an alternative approach (e.g. using fire engineering). Whilst there is no overriding requirement to adopt the recommendations given in the Approved Document this represents the most common approach, particularly for relatively small and straightforward buildings. However, fire engineering techniques are increasingly being applied in large or complex developments.

Fire Precautions Legislation

The Fire Precautions Act and Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations are primarily intended to ensure that an acceptable level of safety is achieved during occupation of the building.

Generally this legislation will not have a direct effect upon the design of the structure or the specification of external cladding systems.

The Fire Precautions Act contains a statutory bar that prevents additional structural measures being required if the building has been previously approved under building regulations.Therefore this act is likely to have little impact on the specification of the external cladding.

The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations (FPW) require that a risk assessment be carried out to identify any potential fire hazards in a workplace and to evaluate the risks to employees. Employers are required to take steps to reduce any unacceptable risks.

Construction materials complying with current building regulations would normally be acceptable but there may be circumstances where additional fire precautions are appropriate (e.g. during maintenance procedures).

Construction (Design and Management) Regulations

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 (CDM) relate to all aspects of construction and affect all those concerned in the construction process.The CDM regulations impose specific obligations on designers to consider matters relating to safety during construction and subsequent maintenance of the completed building.

The FPW and CDM regulations require that any foreseeable risks associated with the construction and the continuing operation of a building are identified and effectively managed and controlled.

Guidance on appropriate management procedures should be incorporated into the project’s operational and maintenance manual.