The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has warned there will be an increase in serious building fires unless the construction industry “starts to take fire safety more seriously”.
The LFB said that “responsibility for ensuring buildings are constructed with proper fire safety measures sits with the construction industry and yet a general lack of competence means that dangerous decisions are being made about buildings’ design or construction”.
Changes to fire safety regulations called for by London Fire Brigade:
- A loophole to be closed which means technical fire safety elements can be designed without the involvement of a competent fire safety professional – for example escape routes.
- Formal qualifications or accreditation for those who install life-saving systems such as smoke ventilation and fire detection and alarms.
- Clearer definition of who is responsible for what under fire safety legislation.
- A clampdown on companies which act as a building control body as well as offering fire engineering design advice without clear separation between the two roles.
- A robust independent onsite inspection programme that ensures the fire safety elements of a building’s design are translated into the finished construction.
The organisation said that its fire safety experts often “face serious flaws” when they inspect buildings, including:
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