The legal requirements mean that those responsible for high-rise buildings need to provide information on their building to the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS).
This can be done via the WYFRS website and should include details of the external walls, buildings and floor plans and information on known faults with key firefighting equipment.
Fire Safety Regulations 2022
Coming into force on January 23rd, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, will implement the majority of recommendations made by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in its Phase 1 report, which required a change in the law.
The regulations aim to improve the fire safety of blocks of flats. Chris Kemp is Senior Fire Protection Manager at WYFRS and has played an instrumental part in bringing these new regulations to fruition. He is a pioneering authority for the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and as a result, was recently given one of the highest accolades in the country – the King’s Fire Service Medal.
New legal requirements
“We welcome the start of these new regulations, which are an important step forward in improving fire safety in West Yorkshire and across the country,” said Chris Kemp, adding “These regulations will impose significant new legal requirements for responsible persons of residential buildings and will ultimately help save lives. Our firefighters will now have plans and details that will assist them in planning for and responding to a fire in each building.”
Fire safety in tower blocks came under scrutiny after the Grenfell tower block fire in 2017, which claimed the lives of 72 people. The West London building had unsafe cladding, prompting an urgent independent inquiry.