In fire safety, travel distance is one of the key measurements recorded on a fire risk assessment — and it’s often misunderstood or misapplied. This guide explains what travel distance is, typical UK guidance figures, how to measure it correctly, and how it fits into wider fire safety thinking. Whether you’re a fire safety professional, Read more »
Smoke control systems are a critical life-safety provision in UK buildings. They help maintain tenable escape routes, reduce smoke spread during a fire and support safe evacuation and fire-fighting operations. In many buildings, including blocks of flats and high-rise commercial premises, smoke control is a legal requirement under the Building Regulations and related standards. This Read more »
Fire sprinkler systems are one of the most effective forms of active fire protection used in buildings across the UK. They are designed to control or extinguish fires automatically at an early stage, helping to protect life, limit structural damage and reduce business interruption. In the UK, the requirement for fire sprinkler systems is determined Read more »
Completing a fire risk assessment action is only part of compliance. Properly closing out that action — with appropriate evidence and documentation — is what demonstrates that the risk has genuinely been addressed. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person must implement appropriate fire safety measures and maintain adequate arrangements. In Read more »
A fire risk assessment is only as effective as the action plan that follows it. While the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires a “suitable and sufficient” fire risk assessment, enforcement action most commonly arises not because an assessment is missing — but because its findings have not been properly implemented. This guide explains Read more »
A Fire Strategy Report is a formal fire safety design document prepared during the planning or construction stage of a building. It explains how the building complies with UK fire safety legislation and Building Regulations, including means of escape, compartmentation, fire detection systems and firefighting provisions. Unlike a Fire Risk Assessment, which focuses on day-to-day Read more »
Facilities managers in the UK often sit at the operational centre of fire safety compliance within commercial, industrial and mixed-use buildings. While the legal duty under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 rests with the “Responsible Person”, facilities managers are frequently the individuals delivering fire safety management in practice. Where you control day-to-day building Read more »
Block managers sit at the operational centre of fire safety compliance in residential buildings. Even where a freeholder, RMC or RTM company is the legal owner, a block manager may be treated as the Responsible Person (or share duties with them) if they control the building’s common parts in practice. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Read more »
Letting agents in the UK are not automatically the Responsible Person under fire safety legislation. However, depending on the services you provide and the level of control you exercise, legal duties may arise under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and related housing legislation. Many letting agents assume fire safety responsibility sits entirely with Read more »
Freeholders in the UK often carry primary legal responsibility for fire safety in residential buildings containing flats. Where you own the freehold of a multi-occupied building and control the common parts, you will usually be treated as the Responsible Person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In standard leasehold structures, responsibility for the Read more »
