Specialist specification packs have been introduced by FSi Promat to help architects, fire engineers and specifiers select the correct fire stopping solutions for building projects at the earliest stage in the design, which is vital to help ensure they are delivered on time and on budget. The packs offer fast access to the in-depth information that is needed to accurately specify fire stopping products and systems during the design stage of the building. The FSi Promat specification packs bring together all the information that would be required when specifying fire stopping systems, including technical guidance, support documents, typical details for a project of the same scope, diagrams explaining installations and the configuration for tested solutions. The technical documents will contain spacing guidance, to ensure the correct distance is maintained between services and apertures in walls and ceilings, covering the demands of single service and multi-service penetrations. The specification packs will also include documents about movement accommodation at the deflection head, if required, which is vital to maintain compartment integrity. By introducing the specification packs, FSi Promat aims to increase the level of support for projects at the earliest stage, providing a full breakdown of the application of passive fire protection needed and the testing that supports that use. John Gardner, National Specification Manager at FSi Promat, works with developers, architects, and contractors to support them in meeting the passive fire protection requirements of projects, and has worked alongside the technical team to develop the specification packs. Under the new scheme, John will collate the details, guidance and information that apply to a specific project and work alongside the specifier or fire engineer to ensure that tested solutions are considered, and included, from the earliest stage, avoiding delays caused by the need for evaluations to be done at the installation point. This level of early engagement means that developers can save a significant amount of time by installing tested solutions and avoid issues such as incorrect service spacing, which would mean that an evaluation needs to be carried out to ensure compliance with regulations. The specification packs will also help to identify where bespoke evaluations and judgements could be needed and anything that falls outside of the guidance. This can then be referred to the technical team at FSi Promat for extra support.  John said: “Access to detailed information is more important than ever before with the introduction of the Building Safety Act and the golden thread. By introducing specification packs, FSi Promat has two objectives: To support the early specification of passive fire protection, but also to provide the information needed for the golden thread at an early stage, ensuring our customers have everything they need at their fingertips. “Specifying passive fire protection can be complex, especially where there is an additional challenge, such as an unusual application, and giving as much information and guidance as possible is the best way to support accurate specification to ensure projects run on time and are compliant. “FSi Promat is known for its technical support and that will continue – but the specification packs will enable us to provide an additional level of depth to the support we offer, covering all bases and helping customers to apply our specialist knowledge to their project easily.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

In the years that have followed on from Grenfell, a tragic event that still lives on in our memory, there have been major discussions around the cladding and insulation materials used in the construction of high-rise buildings.  As a result, a series of changes have been made to fire safety regulations in England and Wales – culminating in the Building Safety Act 2022. The landmark piece of legislation, heralded by former housing minister Robert Jendrick as the “biggest change in building safety for a generation”, has sought to rapidly raise the standards for building fire safety.  Now, almost one year after the Building Safety Act 2022 came into effect and six months after secondary legislation was implemented, what impact has this had on the construction industry? How fast is progress really being made?  Oliver Lawton, co-founder of the Copper Sustainability Partnership (CuSP) and Managing Director at Lawton Tubes, explores what more needs to be done to make the built environment as safe as possible.  What are the latest changes to fire safety legislation?  One of the key pieces of legislation to come out of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry was the banning of the flammable cladding and insulation materials that were deemed responsible for spreading the blaze. The inquiry concluded that aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding “acted as source of fuel”, causing the fire to spread quickly around the building.  The material was soon banned from external wall systems of certain high-rise buildings over 18m in height. This was then extended to buildings over 11 metres in 2020, after another fire stoked by combustible cladding in Bolton in a building that was only 17.84m tall.  In 2022, further revisions were made to bring hotels, hostels and boarding houses within the scope of the ban and to prohibit the use of metal composite materials with a PE core from the external wall systems of all new buildings – regardless of size or use.  Beyond the flashpoint of combustible materials, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and Building Safety Act 2022 have sought to implement more robust processes for evaluating building fire safety – something we wholly welcome. The changes aim to “go faster and further to promote fire safety” and include introducing a new Building Safety Regulator with powers to impose harsher penalties for malpractice.   So, what are the benefits?  Following the implementation of the Building Safety Act 2022, work is now underway to remove flammable cladding and update fire safety processes in line with new standards.  We know that one of the Government’s main priorities has been to identify and start works on the buildings that share the same flammable ACM cladding that was responsible for spreading the fire at Grenfell. As of December 2023, 96% of the 496 high-rise buildings with ACM cladding have either started or completed remediation work. However, this data does not account for the buildings over 11m that have recently come into the scope of the ban.  The gravity of the Grenfell tragedy and subsequent scrutiny of the UK’s cladding crisis has raised awareness of the dangers of plastics in construction, spotlighting an issue that urgently needed to be addressed. Not only have plastics like PE been shown to pose a major risk to fire safety, but as the case of the Grenfell firefighters diagnosed with terminal cancer sadly shows, they also contain dangerous chemicals that seriously threaten human health.  Recent legislative changes call for a more proactive approach to fire safety across the design, construction, and operational phases of a building – setting out the responsibilities of different parties more clearly and holding those that fail to meet these obligations to account.  Regulatory framework has also seen huge improvements in recent years – most recently with the new Building Safety Regulator being granted increased powers to impose unlimited fines and prison terms of up to two years on property owners and developers that fail to comply with regulations.  What are the shortcomings of the new fire safety regulations?  There is no doubt that new fire safety legislation is already having a positive impact, with the removal of dangerous cladding helping to protect thousands of residents. What is concerning, however, is the number of buildings that are still at risk.  To date, remedial works have been largely confined to buildings with Grenfell-style ACM cladding. Efforts to remove other types of dangerous cladding such as high-pressure laminate and other plastics like PVC, have made considerably slower progress. As of December 2023, only 24% of the 950 high-rise buildings identified as having dangerous non-ACM cladding have completed remediation, leaving 719 buildings susceptible to cladding-related fire risks. Progress has been even slower on buildings between 11m and 18m, with only 21% of mid-rise blocks with flammable cladding of any kind completing remediation.  Another aspect of the legislation that has raised concern is that many buildings still aren’t considered. While the scope of the ban has been extended and now includes high-rise residential buildings, hospitals, care homes, student accommodation, hotels, hostels and boarding houses, combustible materials can still be used in the external walls of other types of buildings – such as places of worship, sports stadiums and low-rise blocks of flats that don’t meet the height threshold of 11m.  The ban on combustible materials has so far also only been limited to the external walls of buildings. While this is understandable, it also overshadows the many fire risks that exist in other parts of a building. Flammable plastic materials like PE, PVC and HDPE are still routinely used in a variety of products, including pipework, window frames, coverings, guttering and roofing, posing serious risks to fire safety.   What more needs to be done to protect residents?  In recent years, more evidence has come to light regarding the safety of plastics, laying bare the risks that these materials pose and substantiating the arguments that more extensive bans need to be put in place.  As a material with a naturally low melting point, plastic has no part to play in the

New research has revealed that half of construction workers (51%) would not know what to do in the event of a fire at work. The study1, commissioned by Phoenix Health & Safety, surveyed 1,500 participants UK-wide to uncover how well Brits understand fire hazards in the workplace. Each year there are around 22,000 workplace fires around the UK2, highlighting the importance of having adequate fire safety knowledge. Phoenix Health & Safety has gathered insightful data to understand if Brits would know what actions to take in the event of a fire, and how businesses should take action to reduce the risk of fire-related workplace incidents.   Overall, the study found that around half of construction workers (51%) would not know what to do in the event of a fire at work. Commenting on this finding, Nick Higginson, CEO of Phoenix Health & Safety, shares; “For fire safety to be most effective in a workplace, it’s key that individuals at every level of the organisation understand the procedures in full.  “Without a well-rehearsed fire safety procedure, there can be delays to taking appropriate and immediate action, so it’s essential that businesses ensure their staff are fully aware of every aspect of the process.” The study also found that two-thirds (66%) of construction workers would not be able to locate their fire safety assembly point, and only around 6% have had a fire safety drill in their workplace in the past year. As well as this, barely over a quarter would be able to state who the fire officers in their workplace are.  Technical Director of the IFE, Paul Trew, commented: “Fire extinguisher use is a small yet vital component of overall fire safety training, especially within the remote nature of construction environments. CPD programmes designed for the transitional work settings can provide useful insights and hands-on training on fire extinguisher usage, alongside fire prevention, evacuation, fire alarm use. Nick says:  “According to government fire safety regulations, all workplaces should have a fire drill at least once a year and not doing so can result in a fine for the business3. Fire drills are important as they allow persons with fire safety responsibility to evaluate the effectiveness of the evacuation plan that is in place and make any necessary changes. To see that such a small percentage can recall a fire drill occurring in their workplace in the last year is a cause for concern. “Not knowing the location of the fire assembly point is just one example of why having a clear and well-rehearsed procedure is so important. All new staff should be made aware of the location of the assembly point and any fire exits, and should be reminded periodically through training to refresh their memory of fire safety protocol.” Only around a fifth of construction workers (20%) stated that they would know which fire extinguisher they could use to put out fires on different types of materials. To test fire extinguisher knowledge, respondents were given two scenarios to test their understanding of fire extinguisher types and their differences.  In the first scenario, respondents were asked to identify which fire extinguisher was not safe to use to put out a fire caused by combustible materials such as paper and wood. A large majority of respondents answered incorrectly, with over four in five (82%) unable to identify that the black CO2 extinguisher is not safe to use. For the second scenario, respondents were tested on which fire extinguisher would be safe to use to put out a fire caused by an electrical fault. Once again, most respondents answered this incorrectly, with over three-quarters (78%) of respondents failing to identify that ‘black, blue or green’ extinguishers should be used. Nick says: “Understanding which fire extinguisher to use in the event of a fire could be the difference between the fire being dealt with quickly and safely, or a full-scale emergency. “In most workplaces, the fire extinguishers available should have signage that shows the extinguisher type and what sort of fire it can be used on. Whilst you may want to react quickly, taking a few seconds longer to identify the correct fire extinguisher could potentially be life-saving.” Nick continues: “It is the responsibility of organisations and their appointed persons with fire safety responsibility to ensure that all fire safety regulations are adhered to and a culture of following the rules is ingrained in the workplace, but it is also the responsibility of employees themselves to ensure the regulations are followed. Managers and supervisors who want to attain the necessary knowledge and skills to manage fire hazards can take a relevant fire safety course to get accredited, such as the NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals