Fire safety strategy

For a general overview of issues related to fire see: Fire safety design.

The RIBA Plan of Work published by the RIBA in 2020 suggests that:

‘The Fire Safety Strategy forms an integral part of the design and must be integrated from the point at which a building project is identified and will continue though the ongoing Asset Management of the building, providing a golden thread of fire safety information. A high-level Site Appraisal to determine the fire safety suitability against the Client Requirements informs the viability of the project through Feasibility Studies. Layers of fire safety are integrated into the design as the project develops then constructed and managed in use in accordance with the Fire Safety Strategy and maintenance requirements.’

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 report overview, report of the public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, published in September 2024, states:

'A fire safety strategy for a building should describe its structure and the various fire protection systems it contains and set out how they work together to ensure the safety of the occupants in the event of a fire. Those involved in the design and execution of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment failed to understand properly the need for a fire safety strategy and therefore failed to ensure that a final version of the Outline Fire Safety Strategy begun by Exova was completed. That allowed the building to be in a dangerous condition on completion. In order to avoid a repeat of that error, we consider that there is a compelling case for requiring a fire safety strategy to be produced as a condition of obtaining building control approval for the construction or refurbishment of any higher-risk building and for it to be reviewed and approved on completion. We therefore recommend that it be made a statutory requirement that a fire safety strategy produced by a registered fire engineer (see report for definition) to be submitted with building control applications (at Gateway 2) for the construction or refurbishment of any higher-risk building and for it to be reviewed and re-submitted at the stage of completion (Gateway 3). Such a strategy must take into account the needs of vulnerable people, including the additional time they may require to leave the building or reach a place of safety within it and any additional facilities necessary to ensure their safety."

[edit] Related article on Designing Buildings

• Accountable Person
• BSI Built Environment Competence Standards
• Building a Safer Future - Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety (Hackitt Review)
• Building Regulations – Part B
• Building Safety Act 2022
• Building Safety Regulator
• Building Safety Wiki
• Fire safety
• Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
• Fire safety design
• Golden thread
• Grenfell Tower
• Grenfell Tower Inquiry
• Higher Risk Buildings
• Regulator of Construction Products
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• The Fire Safety Act 2021