The
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) have
signed a joint statement calling on the Government to require the installation
of sprinklers in all new and converted residential buildings, hotels,
hospitals, student accommodation, schools and care home buildings of 11m in
height or above.
They
have also called for the retrofitting of sprinklers in buildings when relevant
refurbishment takes place.
The
joint statement comes ahead of a Westminster Hall Debate on fire safety and
sprinkler systems on today (March 12).
It
reads: “As leading chartered professional bodies in the built environment, we
believe further action is required to improve the fire safety of buildings in
the UK.
Lives,
stock and property are saved by the use of Automatic Fire Suppression Systems
(AFSS), which includes sprinklers. At present, England, Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland differ in their requirements on sprinklers yet the science of
fire knows no political or geographical boundaries.
Harmonising
building regulations across the nation states of the UK regarding the
installation of sprinklers would provide clarity to the industry and help
protect the public.
We
support the installation of sprinklers in all new & converted residential
buildings, hotels, hospitals, student accommodation, schools and care home
buildings 11m or above in height, and retrofitting to existing buildings when
refurbishment occurs as ‘consequential improvements’ where a building is
subject to 'material alterations’. We also support the installation of AFSS
including sprinklers below this height on a case by case basis of risk.
Each
of the professional bodies will bring forward guidance for our own
professionals in line with this statement in the absence of government
legislation.”
Meanwhile, at its annual fire conference today, the
Local Government Association said tougher
sprinkler rules must be introduced to ensure fire safety in high-rise buildings
and care homes.
The LGA is also
calling for the height threshold at which automatic fire suppression systems,
such as sprinklers, are required in new residential buildings in England to be
lowered to 18 metres - down from the current 30-metre/10-storey limit.
It is also urging
the Government to require automatic fire suppression systems, such as
sprinklers, to be installed in all new premises where vulnerable people sleep,
including care homes and residential schools.
Under the proposals
put forward by Dame Judith Hackitt last year, owners of existing tower blocks
more than 30 metres high will have to satisfy regulators that residents are
safe. But the LGA believes the 30-metre threshold is too high given the
practicalities of firefighting and the “safety satisfaction test” should also
be extended to cover buildings in which vulnerable people sleep.
It says that if the
Hackitt review definition of high-risk buildings isn’t widened, automatic fire
suppression systems, such as sprinklers, should be retrofitted in existing
blocks more than 18 metres high, care homes and other high-risk premises where
a risk assessment justifies it.
The LGA says studies
show sprinklers operate on 94 per cent of occasions and when they do operate
they extinguish or contain the fire on 99 per cent of incidents. They also
reduce fire injuries and fire damage by 80 per cent.
More than half of
the fire and rescue services in England and Wales have experienced a huge
increase in prevention and protection work, due to the safety checks carried
out on high-rise buildings following the Grenfell Tower fire. These checks have
had to be carried out by a fire service workforce which has fallen in recent
years alongside reductions in government funding for all standalone fire and
rescue authorities.
The LGA says this is
unsustainable and could expose communities to risk unless the new provisions or
expectations on fire and rescues services arising from the Hackitt review or
subsequent changes in policy are treated as a new burden and funded separately.
Cllr Ian Stephens,
Chair of the LGA’s Fire Services Management Committee, said: “Residents have a
right to be safe and to feel safe in their homes and automatic fire suppression
systems, which can include sprinklers, offer a strong reassurance that is urgently
needed following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
“The cost benefit
case for them in new high-rise tower blocks and care homes has been made and
retrofitting needs to be considered in existing buildings as part of a holistic
approach to fire safety.
“Sprinklers alone
are not a universal panacea and installation should be proportionate and risk
based. Nevertheless, the investment required may impact heavily in some areas
with large numbers of tower blocks, which is why we are calling on government
to provide funding for this work as it has for the remediation of flammable
cladding.”
