Fire Safety Policy

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the FSO)

As the Responsible Person under the FSO Gateshead Council will:

• Carry out a fire risk assessment (FRA) in all workplaces, commercial buildings, and non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings.
• The FRA should identify general fire precautions and other measures needed to comply with the FSO. Although under the FSO this requirement only applies to common parts of premises, in practice the responsible person will need to consider the entire premises, including units of residential accommodation.
• Consider who may be especially at risk to fire for example, more vulnerable tenants from information supplied by Housing Management.
• Implement all necessary general fire precautions and any other necessary measures identified by an FRA to remove or reduce any risks.
• Implement a suitable system of maintenance and appoint competent persons to carry out any procedures that have been adopted.
• Periodically review FRAs in a timescale appropriate to the premises and/or occupation fire risk level. High-rise blocks, Aged Persons Units (APUs) and high-risk public buildings will be visited annually. Other buildings will be assessed and determined by the risks highlighted by the fire risk assessor carrying out the FRA.

Fire Safety Act 2021

The Fire Safety Act 2021 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (opens new window) amends the FSO by clarifying that in buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, the FSO applies to:

• The structure and external walls of the building, including cladding, balconies, and windows; and
• All doors between the domestic premises and the common parts, for example, entrance doors to individual flats which open on to common parts.

Gateshead Council will ensure that FRAs comply with the criteria outlined above by appointing a competent person to review them. See Section 11 for competency requirements.

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

Gateshead Council is required to carry out the following for buildings with two or more domestic premises:

• All buildings - provide tenants with fire safety instructions and information on fire doors. This includes how to raise the alarm if they discover a fire, what to do in the event of a fire and the importance of fire doors.
• Buildings over 11 metres in height - undertake quarterly checks of communal fire doors and annual checks of flat entrance doors. It also includes advice to tenants as above.
• Buildings over 18 metres in height (or over seven storeys) - provide premises information boxes, wayfinding signage, ensure firefighting/evacuation lifts are maintained and Loler certified, additional firefighting equipment is maintained, hard and electronic copies of floor layouts and building plans and the details of the external wall system (EWS) to be provided to Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS). It also includes advice to tenants as above.

Building Safety Act 2022

Building Safety Act 2022 (opens new window) amends the Fire Safety Order (FSO) and is applicable to all buildings where the FSO applies and will require Gateshead Council to:

• Record FRAs in full and record fire safety arrangements.
• Appoint a competent person to undertake/review FRAs and record their identity.
• Ascertain whether other RPs have duties in respect of the premises and share relevant information with them.
• Provide relevant fire safety information to tenants (for buildings with two or more domestic premises).
• For higher-risk buildings (as defined within the Act), ascertain if the premises has an Accountable Person and co-operate with them to enable them to carry out their duties under the Act.