As a part of regulation 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, from 23rd January 2023 responsible persons of all multi-occupied residential buildings in England with two or more sets of domestic premises (and which have common parts), will need to provide residents with fire safety instructions. Responsible persons should make sure that these instructions are shared with their residents in a form that residents can reasonably be expected to understand.
Resident safety should be at the forefront of the Responsible Persons’ commitments. Regulation 9 states that Responsible Persons will need to provide residents with instructions on:
The guidance for purpose-built block flats explains that a multi-occupied residential building is likely to have either a stay put or a simultaneous evacuation strategy. The evacuation strategy should be planned by the Responsible Person or a competent third party appointed by the Responsible Person.
The two main ways in which this information should be shared with residents is:
It’s important to keep this information in residents’ minds so that they are aware of what they need to do in the event of a fire. By providing these instructions in a communal area, visitors and other relevant persons will also have access to this information.
The information should be shared with residents:
Information provided to residents should be easy to understand, laid out in a simple way while still going into enough depth to ensure resident safety with regard to fire strategy. The government advises potentially using pictures to help residents to understand information where depiction through images could be utilised.
All in all, the number one priority of the Responsible Person must be resident safety. We can provide expert advice on putting together evacuation plans based on your building to ensure your residents have the best chance of getting out of the building safely in the event of a fire. Get in touch with us below and we will be happy help.
