Three leading fire safety organisations have joined forces to call on the UK Government to make independent third-party certification mandatory for verifying the competence of fire safety providers and to establish a single, authoritative register of appropriately certificated organisations.
The recommendations, made by BAFE, the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and the National Security Inspectorate (NSI), are set out in a new report, The Fire Safety Competence Gap.
Almost a decade after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, awareness of fire safety responsibilities has increased significantly, with 93% of decision-makers surveyed believing that greater attention is being paid to fire safety and more action is being taken, while 83% believe third-party certification should be the standard route to demonstrating fire risk assessor competence.
Despite this, the findings reveal a significant gap between awareness of fire safety responsibilities and the ability to fulfil them in practice. Although 85% of Responsible Persons claim to be fully aware of their legal responsibilities, only 55% correctly identified checking the competence of their fire risk assessor as one of those obligations. Furthermore, 73% of decision-makers do not know who their fire safety supplier is certificated by, whether they hold certification at all, or use an uncertificated supplier.
Dr Justin Maltby-Smith, Group CEO of BAFE Holdings, said: “Fire safety is becoming an operational priority for many organisations but the ability to identify and verify competent providers is compromised by the lack of a single, authoritative register. Those responsible for fire safety have heeded the lessons of Grenfell and now we are calling on the Government to help them complete the journey.”
The report highlights that while the Gas Safe Register allows homeowners to check an engineer’s registration, those responsible for fire safety in public buildings have no equivalent means of identifying competent providers.
Richard Fogelman, CEO of the NSI, said: “Knowing you need a competent provider and knowing how to check they are competent are two different things. Independent third-party certification gives buyers assurance, and a single register would make it easier to find a competent provider and demonstrate that appropriate checks have been made.”
Certification by a UKAS-accredited third-party certification body provides independent assessment against recognised standards, supported by ongoing monitoring. A single, authoritative register would make that assurance easier to access, reducing the time and effort involved in checking suppliers and providing a clearer basis for demonstrating that appropriate steps have been taken when appointing them.
Martin Watson, Chairman of the FIA, added: “Those responsible for protecting people and buildings need a clear and trusted way of knowing that the professionals they appoint have the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to undertake safety-critical work.
“Independent verification would strengthen accountability across the industry and, most importantly, help ensure that competent professionals are carrying out work on which people’s safety depends.”
The Fire Safety Competence Gap is based on independent research commissioned jointly by BAFE and NSI and conducted by Sapio Research among UK decision-makers with responsibility for, or influence over, fire safety procurement.
