Fire Safety – Why we need a national register of responsible persons

Back in Autumn 2017, the British Woodworking Federation called for a national register of Responsible Persons in order to improve fire safety in rented accommodation.   Following several incidences of unnecessary tragedies caused by fires in buildings, the organisation felt it was time to take a stand.

This register of Responsible Persons would require a named individual who has legal responsibility for fire safety in a building to appear on a national database.    The BWF also called for the Responsible Person to sign a formal acknowledgement of their duty of care and meet a mandatory minimum level of competence.  Their research revealed that the identity of a Responsible Person was often kept a mystery, leading to difficulties for occupants and tenants, to contact the right person dealing with fire safety in their building. The BWF in its survey also found that out of those responsible for fire safety, half of them did not know or were unclear about what their role entailed, which is concerning!

The recently released ‘Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Interim Report by Dame Judith Hackitt’ also highlights the role of the Responsible Person.  It mentions how one of their responsibilities is to ensure that a fire risk assessment is carried out regularly, but there is no requirement for this to be reported to a regulator or for the information to be shared with residents.  There is also no route set out for residents’ concerns to be raised and addressed.

The Interim report also mentions the fact that fire compartmentation can be breached during building use, either by residents or through the building owners’ maintenance works.  The report states that it should be for building owners and landlords, backed by the right expert advice and the involvement of residents, to demonstrate that appropriate risk mitigation measures are in place.  This comes back to the Responsible Person – and why it needs to be someone who has the expertise and understanding to carry out thorough and in-depth fire risk assessments.  As well as being undertaken regularly, a risk assessment should be carried out when any significant alterations are made to the building.   The interim report recommends that these risk assessments should be shared and made accessible to residents living within a building and notified to the fire and rescue service. 

The interim report is extensive and clearly sets out some guidance for what needs to change to ensure better fire safety, particularly in high rise buildings.  Whilst the final report on the Grenfell Tower tragedy is still a long way from being published, what many responsible landlords and building owners are doing is starting to look at this now.  They are prioritising the role of the Responsible Person and giving this individual greater training and opening up a clear path of communication for them with residents and other stakeholders.

There is clearly a need for building regulations to be reviewed and for many parties within the chain to take responsibility for fire safety.  Tenants need to be aware of the Responsible Person so they can report any concerns in their building, for example, if rubbish is being left in communal areas that could cause a fire hazard or fire doors are being propped open, which makes them ineffective.

We strongly support the BWF in its campaign to have a national register of Responsible Persons.  We believe this would empower tenants, employees or visitors to a building to report any concerns they have about fire safety. This would also ensure that those responsible for keeping tenants safe from fire know exactly what their duties are and are made aware of issues directly.  This could only be a good thing for the protection of occupants and for improving fire safety in a building.

For more information about our services, including fire door inspections, fire stopping and fire compartmentation services, call 01709 917 555.