The government has announced new reforms for fire safety led by the Home Office, with recommendations from the Grenfell Inquiry being put into law, as well as launching a consultation to introduce “system-wide reform” to strengthen the fire and rescue services in England.
In a new whitepaper for the consultation, the government has set out its vision for new regulations being put in place, designed to improve the fire and rescue services along with changes following the Grenfell fire and new measures to ensure people are safe in their homes and work.
The Home Secretary and the Minister of State for Building Safety and Fire visited Old Kent Road fire station in London on 18 May to announce the upcoming changes. At the event, the Home Secretary said: “The government’s priority is keeping the public safe and the reforms we’ve set out today will strengthen and support our hard-working fire and rescue services.”
One of the changes include the commencement of the Fire Safety Act 2021, which will look to improve assessment of fire safety risks for all blocks of flats, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which will help people feel safe at home, according to the Home Office.
The whitepaper plans to:
• Increase public safety
• Improve accountability
• Enable better engagement with the public
Reform aims to build on three key areas – People, Professionalism and Governance. Proposals will seek to allow fire professionals to further develop skills and provide better clarification of the role of fire and rescue services. In relation to professionalism, the proposals will “seek to modernise the fire and rescue service”, by moving from a Fire Standards Board to the creation of a College of Fire and Rescue.
Meanwhile proposals related to governance will seek to transfer fire functions to a single, elected individual who would hope their operationally independent Chief Fire Officer to account, compared to a committee structure that is in place in 38 out of the 44 fire and rescue authorities at present.
Additionally, the government has launched a new consultation on its alternative proposal to Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans, which are designed to support the fire safety of residents whose ability to self-evacuate may be compromised. This new proposal by the government, instead known as “Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing”, would require Responsible Persons (those in charge of fire safety in their building,) to assess the needs of vulnerable residents and consider what can be done to mitigate any risks to fire safety.
Fire and Rescue Services will also be provided with up-to-date information on where these residents live within the building – to further assist and effect the evacuation of these residents.
