The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has called for compulsory fire sprinkler systems in new and refurbished buildings within the UK.
RIBA is the latest to provide support and guidance to the government since the London tragedy in June 2017, after submitting its recommendations in a response to the UK government’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.
The government’s review will assess the current landscape of building and fire safety regulations and how effective they currently stand, in order to build a ‘robust regulatory system for the future.’
So far, the terms of reference for the review have been announced. In response, RIBA stated, “We believe [the review] must be more comprehensive, addressing the details of Building Regulations guidance as well as the broader regulatory system. RIBA has also proposed a number of significant recommendations to the Review, to enhance the future fire safety of buildings for all residents and users.”
Read on to learn the standout recommendations from RIBA’s response:
Include the fire brigade in the building process
RIBA has called for an enhanced and integral role for fire brigades to assist building control authorities and to enhance the fire risk assessment process for high-risk buildings.
The London Fire Brigade has been vocal and straightforward in their support of fire sprinklers retrofits for residences. For example, during the opening of the Grenfell Tower inquiry, London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said: “We are calling for residential tower blocks to be retrofitted with sprinklers and they should be mandatory in all new school builds and major refurbishments.”
“My priority is to save lives but I can also make an economic case for sprinklers. It costs around £1,500 - £2,500 to retrofit a flat, while the cost of refurbishing a one-bedroom flat after a fire is about £77,000.”
This cost has also been evidenced through a fire sprinkler retrofit project of Callow Mount in Sheffield, in which Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor, Sir Ken Knight, told delegates, "It is really encouraging to see the sector rising to the challenge to show retrofitting sprinklers isn't as costly as previously thought."
Provide quality assurance and material testing
The RIBA review also questions whether the way building components are safety checked, certified and marketed in relation to building regulations requirements has been sufficient. Not only that, but they stress the need to repeal current fire risk assessments, namely The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, in which building owners undertake their own forms of fire risk assessment. Instead, they are looking to re-introduce mandatory Fire Certificates for designated premises, awarded on the quality inspection and guidance of the fire brigade.
RIBA’s recommendations include a ‘weeding out’ process, in which claims made by material manufacturers and suppliers are fully assessed with respect to fire safety. These will be carried out by independent bodies that have sufficient qualifications and experience to identify false or misleading statements. It is also suggested that full-scale fire tests should be run by building product and system manufacturers to examine their usage and durability.
Make sprinkler installations ‘mandatory’
The RIBA review also recommends that, for all new refurbishment projects involving material alterations, “the retrofitting of central fire alarm systems and sprinklers/automatic fire suppression systems should be mandatory.”
In November 2015, the National Assembly for Wales passed regulations that require fire sprinkler systems to be installed in all new and converted houses and flats.
Labour Assembly Member, Ann Jones, who put the law in place, suggests that the law be applied domestically across the UK. Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Jones said:
"What I would like to see is the UK government now taking a leaf from Wales - Wales has become the first country to make the fitting of sprinkler systems mandatory, and I would like to see the UK government and the ministers put a commitment that they will put fire safety higher up the agenda - that they will stop talking about the costs because, for me, it's a small amount of money to have."
A call for solutions
It is clear that it isn’t just RIBA that believe installations of fire sprinkler systems should now be mandatory, with the Welsh government and the London Fire Brigade also showing support. Legislators across the UK are still in need of proof and guidance to show that fire sprinkler installations aren’t as costly as feared.
Cost is something of a stumbling block within the fire protection industry. To try and shed light on fire sprinkler system costs, the BlazeMaster® team has created a cost-saving report, which includes insights into projects that have saved costs in both the UK and abroad by choosing CPVC fire sprinkler systems.
