The reaction following the 2009 Lakanal House fire was that ‘high rise is high risk’ – but is this really the case? Housing and fire safety practitioners came together at this national forum to reappraise fire safety in multi-storey residential buildings.

This article is published in full in the July/August 2011 edition of Fire Risk Management, the international journal for fire and rescue professionals – see www.frmjournal.com

Last month's housing sector national forum, organised by the Fire Protection Association (FPA), took place almost two years on from the tragic blaze at Lakanal House in south London. Six residents died when a fire, caused by a faulty television set, spread through the 12-storey tower block in July 2009. This high-profile incident prompted much debate about whether high-rise housing is fit for purpose, with concerns raised over the standard of fire risk assessments and the integrity of compartmentation in limiting fire spread – particularly as the Lakanal blaze started in a flat on the 9th floor but the victims all lived on the 11th floor.

So it was a timely opportunity for the audience of housing and fire safety professionals to reappraise fire safety standards in the UK’s housing stock and explore the challenges that persist – from compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order to ongoing concerns over fire safety provisions. There was even a sneak preview of forthcoming guidance on managing fire risks in purpose-built blocks of flats.

Shaping policy
Welcoming more than 100 delegates to the event, FPA managing director Jonathan O’Neill gave an overview of the Fire Futures review in England and the government’s plans to devolve power as part of its localism agenda. He said it was important for a wide range of stakeholders to be involved in shaping future policy – not just the fire service, local government and the fire protection industry, but also other groups such as building control, insurers and the housing sector.

He also commented on the influential work, particularly in terms of training and guidance, being taken forward by the Fire Community Partnership – a group of non-fire service organisations set up during the Fire Futures process.

Looking ahead, Mr O’Neill said there were many legitimate concerns about the future of the fire and rescue service in the face of funding cuts, and how potential mergers and collaborations to save costs could impact on fire service enforcement and emergency response, which is already far from consistent.

[Download Jonathan O'Neill's presentation]

Case studies
The focus then moved to more specific housing issues, with Tony Prosser, head of fire safety at West Midlands Fire Service and a representative of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), giving some fire case studies. He briefly explained the duties imposed on responsible persons – such as local councils, managing agents and private landlords – under the Fire Safety Order, and how they are required to assess and manage fire risks in the common areas of residential buildings, such as stairwells, corridors, storage areas, and shared kitchens and bathrooms.

Mr Prosser went on to outline the housing situation in the West Midlands, where there are more than 900 multi-storey residential blocks. Most of these were built in the 1960s, but the building stock has decayed and dilapidated somewhat over the last 20 years. There is a diverse cultural make-up, with tenants speaking more than 100 different languages, as well as a high turnover of residents, which raises issues in terms of communicating safety messages.

He said the West Midland’s experience of housing block incidents goes back well beyond the time of the Lakanal House fire in 2009. In 1990, for example, one female resident died and firefighters were trapped in a fire at the 16-storey Merryhill Court. Unsafe service ducts and polystyrene insulation, and the lack of an operational dry-riser in the building contributed to the severity of fire spread.

And problems persist today. An analysis of high-rise residential fires in the region over a recent 18-month period showed there were 450 incidents, with two fatalities and 80 injuries. Some 73% of these incidents were accidental, and the fire was confined to the room of origin in 92% of cases.

Three further case studies were provided:

• a fire in a low-rise purpose-built block, with each floor comprising six flats off a central staircase. An electric fire was left on in a ground-floor bedroom, igniting bedding. The resident suffered a fatal heart attack while evacuating. If the fire had not been promptly extinguished by the fire service, the central staircase would have been compromised
• a family living on the third floor was rescued from a fire in a medium-rise block following an early morning arson attack. An old foam sofa being stored in the corridor outside their flat was set alight, trapping the family inside. They were told by the fire service to stay in place and promptly rescued by ladder
• a chip pan fire broke out in a flat on the 31st floor of a 34-storey high-rise. The tenant died, but friends staying in the flat and other residents managed to escape. The smoke alarms in the flat had been disabled

The audience also heard how West Midlands Fire Service gathers information about the layout and structure of multi-storey housing in its area for operational planning purposes. This has revealed fire safety shortcomings, particularly in terms of defects with passive systems. For example, fire-resisting glazing on an escape route in one building had been replaced by perspex while, in another block, letterboxes had been fitted to fire doors, breaching the fire-resisting compartments.

CFOA survey
The findings of a series of seminars by CFOA and the Chartered Institute of Housing were also set out by Mr Prosser. Some 800 housing professionals across England and Wales attended 12 events, which revealed their concerns over the fitness of housing stock, their lack of confidence in the quality of fire risk assessments, and worries over tenants’ low awareness of fire safety.

Surveys carried out during the seminars revealed that over 50% of delegates thought their building was not fit for purpose; 75% felt their risk assessments fell short of being suitable and sufficient, as required by the Fire Safety Order (there was often a tendency for assessors not to undertake invasive inspections, such as looking above ceiling panels); and 93% thought tenants not aware enough of the need for fire safety to protect themselves and their neighbours.

However, Mr Prosser was keen to put the risks into perspective and emphasised that residential blocks are generally safe. Fire deaths are at their lowest since the 1960s, he said, while furniture safety, building and fire legislation, together with the availability and take-up of cheap and reliable smoke alarms, mean that multiple high-rise deaths are very infrequent.

[Download Tony Prosser's presentation]

Lax protection
Attention then switched to the fire protection systems installed in housing. Passive measures were explored first by Wilf Butcher, chief executive of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP). He said the issue was not one of more regulation, but of properly enforcing rules and standards already in place.

A decade ago, an ASFP and government project uncovered serious problems with fire compartmentation. Some 85% of buildings surveyed had defects, mainly stemming from incompetent installation or maintenance. The situation is still arguably the same today, he said.

Mr Butcher underlined the need for housing professionals, risk assessors and inspectors to be able to identify lax passive measures, many of which are not easy to spot and may look correct when not so. He also raised concerns that Regulation 38 (formerly Regulation 16B) of the Building Regulations in England and Wales – which requires fire safety information to be passed on to the responsible person for the occupied building – is being routinely flouted, even though it is key to an effective fire risk assessment.

[Download Wilf Butcher's presentation]

Supporting Mr Butcher’s comments, Peter Wilkinson, associate director of fire and risk services at the FPA, presented a ‘rogues gallery’ of photographs showing substandard compartmentation. Taken by competent risk assessors from the FPA during checks in housing and care premises, the photos showed how compartments are often unsafely breached – for example, pipes, ducts or cables passing through walls without being correctly fire-stopped.

Active measures
The need for appropriate active fire protection, particularly alarm and detection systems, was also explained. FPA associate trainer Angus Stone discussed the importance of early warning of fire, especially given the range of risks and combustible goods in a typical home.

He gave a run-down of common causes of domestic fires – including faulty electrical appliances, overloaded electrical installations, cooking risks and unsafe gas installations – as well as explaining how sofa fires can develop within three minutes of igniting. The effects of smoke – both as a choking and inhalation hazard for people and in reducing visibility for evacuation and firefighter access – were also emphasised.

The benefits of various active measures, such as self-contained smoke and heat alarms, detection systems, portable extinguishers, and residential sprinkler and water-mist systems, were outlined. Mr Stone also gave some general tips on fire safety management, including good housekeeping measures such as keeping fuels away from heat sources and regular maintenance checks of appliances. Landlords could provide new tenants with fire safety talks soon after they move in, he advised.

Next up was Graham Ellicott, chief executive officer of the Fire Industry Association, who looked at upcoming developments that could impact on active protection. These include the Protection of Tenants (Fire Safety) Bill – a private members’ bill due to receive its second reading in parliament in October. The bill is intended to prompt a debate about smoke alarm provision among MPs, and includes an ambitious proposal that hard-wired smoke alarms be made mandatory in all rented accommodation in the UK.

Mr Ellicott also explained how the controversial Localism Bill, currently going through the House of Lords committee stages, will likely lead to fire services charging for attending false alarms at commercial premises. Many in the fire industry have serious concerns over this potential development.

[Download Angus Stone's Graham Ellicott's presentation]

Means of escape
Building evacuation was explored from two perspectives: Nicole Hoffmann, technical director of Kingfell, looked at it as part of the fire engineering design of a building, while Su Peace of Qequality outlined the needs of building users, particularly those with disabilities.

Dr Hoffmann discussed how evacuation pre-movement and travel times are factored into the engineered fire strategy for a building, along with considerations such as the types of passage, density of people, physical ability of residents and their familiarity with the building layout.

She also gave examples showing the fire safety design of common corridors in apartment blocks, and how computer modelling can be used to develop tailored solutions, which might involve automatic smoke ventilation systems to assist both safe evacuation and firefighter access.

[Download Nicole Hoffman's presentation]

Ms Peace examined the need to cater for disabled building users and the risk management issues to consider – for example, ensuring there are suitable alarms for people with hearing impairments, that residents with visual impairments can locate escape routes, and that wheelchair users can exit the building quickly.

[Download Su Peace's presentation]

Purpose-built guidance
There was also a preview of Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats, a new national guidance document for England that is due to be published by Local Government Improvement and Development (www.idea.gov.uk) at the end of July.

Colin Todd of fire consultancy C S Todd & Associates, which was awarded the contract to prepare the guidance, explained that it is needed because there is ongoing confusion among many housing providers about their legal responsibilities under the Fire Safety Order, as well as inconsistent enforcement by fire authorities.

Building on the existing government guidance, Fire safety risk assessment – Sleeping accommodation, the forthcoming guide covers flats and their common parts. Owner-occupied, social and private rented buildings fall within its scope – including sheltered and cluster flats and flats above shops (but not houses in multiple occupation). It applies to any height of existing purpose-built flats, but not conversions. Aimed at responsible persons, regulators and fire risk assessors, the document will focus on life safety not property protection, and will provide non-prescriptive guidance with alternative solutions.

As Mr Todd explained, the guide will set out legal responsibilities for fire safety – including the often thorny issue of how responsibilities are split between freeholders and leaseholders. It will also explore fire risks, how purpose-built blocks differ from other residential buildings, assessing and managing risk, and ongoing control.

The scope of fire risk assessments will be clarified in the guide, which will also give advice on selecting a competent risk assessor, implementing appropriate fire precautions, making alterations, and deciding whether a stay-put or full evacuation policy is needed.

Taking precautions
In his subsequent comments on fire precautions in purpose-built blocks, Mr Todd echoed the earlier comments from Tony Prosser, saying that ‘high rise is not high risk’. There tends to be low probability of fire spread beyond the flat of fire origin because individual flats are ‘compartmented boxes’ and there is a low risk of fire in common corridors, he explained. As a result, a stay-put policy, whereby residents on non-fire affected floors remain in their flats pending advice from the attending fire service, is usually appropriate.

In addition, while fire protection of common escape routes, including main entry doors, is essential, there is no requirement for common fire detection and alarm systems in purpose-built blocks. The best measure to have is working smoke alarms within individual flats, said Mr Todd. There is also no requirement for fire extinguishers in common parts because this may arguably put residents at more risk – they may be tempted to re-enter their fire-affected flat with an extinguisher and attempt to put out the fire.

[Download Colin Todd's presentation]

Adding a legal context, Catherine Wolfenden, a partner with law firm Osborne Clarke, discussed the alterations, enforcement and prohibition notices that fire services can serve, and the steps that might lead to a prosecution for breaches of the Fire Safety Order.

Common offences, she said, relate to failings over fire safety training for staff; problems in keeping fire exits clear, operational and well signed; substandard fire risk assessments; and poor maintenance regimes; adding that judges take the view that fines must be ‘proportionate and persuasive’, with the size of fine often based on a company’s turnover.

[Download Catherine Wolfenden's presentation]

A subsequent panel discussion saw the speakers and chief fire and rescue adviser for England, Sir Ken Knight – who headed up a government review of the Lakanal House blaze – field questions from the audience. These ranged from industry certification schemes and registers to ensure competent fire risk assessors, to specific questions about fire precautions in common areas.

Government support
Finally, in a recorded speech to delegates, fire minister Bob Neill MP said the FPA housing forum was an important seminar, with good representation from both the housing and fire safety sectors.

Emphasising that fire prevention and community safety remains "at the core of the government’s policy objectives", the minister outlined a range of related initiatives in which the government is involved. These included Wise Up – part of the Fire Kills campaign – which uses tenant newsletters to provide residents in social housing with fire safety messages; and moves to ensure that all cigarettes sold in Europe comply with a new safety standard and test method for reduced ignition from November 2011.

Mr Neill spoke too about the government’s drive to reduce unnecessary regulation to help reduce business red tape and boost economic growth, and its localism agenda, which will deliver "public services that are decentralised and determined by users". He also welcomed the upcoming guidance on purpose-built flats and backed the Fire Futures review, which will include sector-led work to enhance fire safety in the built environment, of which housing comprises such a big part.

Strategic level
A strategic discussion group held a special workshop during the FPA Housing Sector National Forum. The group comprised a number of larger housing associations – both arms-length management organisations and privately owned organisations managing general needs – as well as supported and sheltered housing bodies.

It explored the key issues in fire safety management in the housing sector, how good practice case studies can be shared across the sector, and how the sector can contribute to discussions on future policy and guidance.

The group was joined on the day by chief fire and rescue adviser Sir Ken Knight and his colleague Peter Wise, together with Tony Prosser from West Midlands Fire Service and FPA’s associate director of training, Sue Tyley.

Following a lively discussion and debate, the group successfully approached Brian Robinson, chair of the Fire Community Partnership that has emerged from the Fire Futures review, with a view to forming a housing sector sub-group to feed experience, views and information into the partnership. The group has also undertaken to send a representative to the next meeting of the Fire Community Partnership’s executive group.

The group is keen to ensure that it has good representation from established large housing associations in the north of England and the Midlands, to add to the representation it currently has from the south. Relevant associations interested in getting involved should email Sue Tyley.