Legislation and New Technology:

The Future of Fire Safety

Key lessons from FIREX International

Contents

The Future of Fire Safety:

An introduction
01

Grenfell Inquiry must yield

“bedrock change” – and soon:
FSF chairman at FIREX 2019
02 - 03

After Grenfell:
Jonathan O’Neill OBE on how austerity and
policy “on the hoof” are hampering progress

04 - 06

Hackitt’s Golden Thread:

Fire, facilities and building safety
07 - 08

Fire safety community has to “get on

board” with technological changes
09 - 10

00
The Future of Fire Safety:

An introduction
The life safety and fire protection profession continues to
adjust to a post-Grenfell reality, although in some cases,
government and industry hasn’t adapted fast enough.

Many of the discussions that took place at FIREX

International 2019 revolved around this theme, covering
the legislative developments that have taken place and
new strategies that have emerged in the aftermath of the
Hackitt Report – and the changes that still need to be
adopted.

This eBook highlights some of those seminars, panels

and keynote speeches, reflecting on the legislative and
technological updates helping to transform fire safety for
the 21st century.

• Why the construction industry desperately needs to

embrace change
• Jonathan O’Neill on how policy “on the hoof” is
hampering progress
• Dame Judith Hackitt’s “golden thread”
• Why the next generation of tall buildings requires new
strategies

The news wasn’t all negative: FIREX was once again a

hub for fire protection innovation, and the networking
that took place and the solutions on display highlighted
why FIREX International remains central to the global
life safety profession. Read on to discover the latest
legislative and technological updates to incorporate into
your strategy as we approach 2020.

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01
Grenfell Inquiry must yield “bedrock change” –
and soon:

FSF chairman at FIREX 2019

The construction industry had “become complacent if not, in some cases,

positively indifferent about fire safety” before Grenfell – it needs to change to
prevent further tragedies.

Introducing a panel debate, Michael Harper expressed
hope that the Grenfell Inquiry would chase “down the whole
culture and competency” that had developed during a
period in which fire-related deaths had actually been falling.
Harper, who became the Federation’s chairman last year,
cautiously welcomed the progress made but with several
caveats.
He told a packed audience numbering more than 100 that
the FSF and other industry bodies, along with government,
had found the process of remedying myriad fire safety
failings hard-going. “This has not been an easy or indeed
fast task,” he said, “and in fact it has at times been
frustrating and painfully slow” – but necessary to some
degree, because “it does of course have to be thorough and
meticulous”.

02
Nevertheless, Harper emphasised the industry’s wish
to see the public inquiry progress briskly into its
investigative second phase. He also hoped that the
government’s current building safety consultation
would soon yield the “bedrock change” required.
“Too few people truly understand
fire from a risk perspective, or
how to recognise when service
providers are competent and
third-party approved.”
No cherry-picking
Harper reaffirmed the Federation continues to back
a comprehensive implementation of all Dame Judith
Hackitt’s recommendations, to which the government
has committed. There should be no cherry-picking in
order to avoid the “too difficult” issues, he said.
The FSF has also backed Inside Housing’s campaign to
persuade government to fund the replacement of unsafe
cladding from residential buildings. At present some
homeowners are facing eye-watering bills to replace
cladding on their high rise apartment blocks.
Calls from FSF members for a revamp of building
regulations long predated the Grenfell fire, said Harper.
The organisation had also lobbied hard for defining
competency more effectively; argued for third-party
accreditation of installers; championed sprinklers and
alarms designed to protect the vulnerable; and argued
for better building protections.
These positions were reached not because of vested
commercial interest but from a common commitment to
improving fire safety in the UK. This shared commitment
to keeping people safe helps the FSF regularly reach “a
common denominator” position on the most pressing
fire safety issues, despite the sometimes diverse views
of members.
In the ensuing panel debate fire strategy, competency,
active and passive fire protection were among the
topics discussed. Some concern was voiced that two
years after Grenfell there had been insufficient changes
to regulation, products and practices.
It was also said that too few people truly understood
fire from a risk perspective, or how to recognise when
service providers were competent and third-party
approved. Worse still, many in the construction industry
were unprepared to support efforts to improve building
safety by a socially responsible industry simply because
of cost.
03
After Grenfell:

Jonathan O’Neill OBE on how austerity and policy “on the

hoof” are hampering progress

The fire safety profession is still focused on the legacy of Grenfell, but the
government’s response came under fierce attack at FIREX International.

Opening the FPA Infozone on day one of FIREX 2019,
Jonathan O’Neill OBE, MD of the Fire Protection
Association (FPA), told a packed theatre that policy
had been “made on hoof”.
O’Neill – a fixture on IFSEC Global’s influencers list
and a judge for the 2019 rankings – discussed the
‘implications for fire safety and future regulations’
post-Grenfell and said the Conservative government
had been found wanting.
Two years on from the worst residential fire in living
memory O’Neill was particularly scathing about the
role played by James Brokenshire. The then-Secretary of

04
State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
had, he explained, “ducked the issue of regulatory
change”.
Had the tragedy happened elsewhere in the world,
he suggested, there would probably have been an
immediate review of building regulations.
Some might be incredulous at that assertion, believing
that a review had actually been promptly announced.
However, Dame Judith Hackitt, who chaired the
Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire
Safety, was tasked to examine the system as a whole
rather than the composition of the regulations –
called Approved Document B – themselves. Therefore
criticism levelled at the former head of the HSE was
unfair since her remit had imposed constraints,
suggested O’Neill.
It’s widely felt that Brexit is consuming Whitehall and
drowning out other policy areas – even a first-order
priority like Grenfell.
But Brexit cannot be blamed for the fact there hasn’t
been a review of building regulations for over 12 years
– during which time building design, methods and
materials of construction have changed considerably.
So concerned was the FPA about the lack of an update
to building regulations that it wrote its own guidance
in 2015.
Why the inaction over regulations and various
deficiencies in fire safety culture? Complacency,
exacerbated by a decade of austerity, suggested
O’Neill.
Fire deaths had fallen sharply in the five years leading
up to Grenfell. This trend, which O’Neill hailed as
“nothing less than spectacular,” was, among other
things, driven by changes in furniture regulations,
community safety campaigns led by fire services,
wider adoption of smoke detectors and investment in
advertising campaigns.
However, deep public sector cuts had reduced
resources available to educate the public and respon-
sible persons and led to cuts in numbers of firefighters
and fire station closures.
Grenfell Inquiry
But some progress has been made – albeit not by
politicians. If some government ministers had fallen
short, they had at least appointed some impressive
people to the task of revamping fire safety.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, who is chairing the Grenfell
Inquiry, is an impressive character, according to O’Neill,
and determined to identify the myriad shortcomings
that caused and exacerbated the tragedy at Grenfell.
Expect hard-hitting conclusions to the inquiry, he said.
“It’s widely felt that Brexit is
consuming Whitehall and drowning
out other policy areas – even a
first-order priority like Grenfell.”
O’Neill recommended a “fresh eye” review into the
appropriateness of building regulations as they stand.
He said any updated document and related guidance
should consider both the building’s external envelope
and its resilience to fire ingress. The regulations
should also consider property protection and resilience
as well as life safety.
Fire protection and safety remains a less mature
discipline than engineering, he said. As it stands
regulations are not fit for purpose and too complex.
“Few would disagree that enforcement and building
control are broken,” said O’Neill. The dual system of
building control had driven talented people out of the
profession.
And test standards too often do not reflect real life
variables, he added, and needed revisiting.
Arson should be afforded more attention and methods
of construction need examination, given that the range
05
of combustible materials being used in construction
has widened considerably.
O’Neill said the ban on combustible cladding should be
extended to all high-risk buildings, not just on buildings
over 18 metres high.
He also wanted to see a ban on single staircase
evacuation, since in the event of a fire you need a
staircase for evacuation and a second staircase up
which fire and rescue services can ascend the building.
It’s “crystal clear” you can never predict how fire will
behave, said O’Neill. In light of this, HMOs and tower
blocks urgently needed the latest fire systems designed
for multi-tenant residential buildings – and responsible
persons cannot afford to wait for regulations to catch
up. There were many such technologies at FIREX,
noted O’Neill (including from C-TEC).
But better regulations are not enough if those tasked
with adhering to them are not appropriately qualified
and conscientious.
Thankfully there is a “ready-made” solution to the
competence problem, said O’Neill: third party
certification. It’s by far the simplest way to assure
competence, he said – “a no-brainer.”
He cited fire alarm detector systems as an example
of how this approach could remedy a longstanding
problem. The number of false alarms had held steady at
an unsustainable 150,000 a year over five years. If BRAC
saw solid evidence that third-party certification can
bring that number down, it will act. Third party
certification is “pushing against an open door”, he said.
BRAC – the Building Regulations Advisory Committee
– advises the secretary of state in England on making
building regulations and setting standards for the
design and construction of buildings.
O’Neill said the case for installing sprinklers in all tall
buildings was now unanswerable. The argument was
even more compelling following smoke toxicity research
undertaken by Lancashire University.
O’Neill expressed incredulity that tower blocks
resembling Grenfell Tower in every way save for
cladding were still being erected within sight of the
Grenfell building, which stands as a rebuke to the
hubris of a government that considered fire safety a
problem solved.
The question, said O’Neill, is “When will the government
wake up and implement the sorely needed changes?”
06
Hackitt’s Golden Thread:

Fire, facilities and building safety

Dame Judith Hackitt’s ‘Building a Safer Future:
Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire
Safety’, produced in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy,
made a number of recommendations on how to prevent
a similar incident from taking place in the future.
At FIREX International 2019, Dr Gavin Dunn (CEO,
Chartered Association of Building Engineers), Miller
Hannah (Partner, Hoare Lea), Sofie Hooper (Senior
Policy Advisor, IWFM) and Tom Roche (Assistant Vice
President & Senior Consultant within the International
Codes and Standards Group, FM Global) sat down to
discuss her suggestions, and in particular the ‘golden
thread’.
But there are two clear challenges: a lack of residency
engagement and an absence of up-to-date building data.
Meeting these challenges requires a common language
that residents, architects and fire safety professionals
alike can understand, as well as more readily-available
digital information that can easily be kept up to date.
More than anything, it requires a defined fire safety
strategy. Even though there is already some accessible
information about buildings, it is often disjointed and

What is the golden thread?

Fire safety belongs to everyone, not just fire safety
professionals. The ‘golden thread’ seeks to extend
fire safety best practice beyond fire professionals to
wider society, relaying key information about a building
through a chain of stakeholders, from architects to fire
engineers to through to building safety managers to
end-users. The ultimate aim is to ‘arm end-users with
information’.

The golden thread ties into other recommendations,

including Hackitt’s suggestion buildings should have a
designated Building Safety Manager. This is not strictly
a new role, but one that she suggests should be made
mandatory and carry more responsibility instead of
often being tied up in the broader Facilities Manager
role. In this way, buildings can begin to develop a
framework for reporting and sharing information.

07
found across various locations, so it requires a more
integrated, accessible approach.
What needs to be done?
The golden thread may be an aspiration for the
industry, but some definitive action is already being
taken, particularly in newer buildings.
Companies, however, are wary about committing
large funds towards enforcing this approach, so there
are calls for the government to be more proactive in
enforcing it. Establishing the golden thread begins
with planning and regulation. Engineers should be
better prepared to hand over plans and documents to
facilities managers – it’s an approach that starts from
the very beginning.
“How does the industry identify the
right technology to enable
information sharing? And what
people, inadequate information could be catastrophic.
It emphasises the importance of applying the cultural
change across all industries and all buildings.
There are also currently questions about the security
of digital technology, which will need to play a large
role in the creation of the ‘common platform and
language’ the golden thread will need to be truly
successful. How does the industry identifying the
right technology to enable information sharing?
And what about budget? Even when it comes to
social housing – like Grenfell itself – there needs
to be guaranteed budget for skills and training. If a
Building Safety Manager is necessary, how will they
be properly funded?
Answering these questions is a challenge. Root-and-
branch cultural change requires significant time and
money. Such is the scale of task, that there is a real
risk governments and companies will hide behind the
golden thread as an ‘aspiration’, rather than taking
real steps to change it. But doing so may just prevent
another Grenfell-scale tragedy.

about budget?”

Of course, this means that complying with the golden

thread approach is easier for new buildings, which
can start from the ground up. It becomes a more
significant challenge for existing buildings. Effectively
managing cultural change and identifying who takes
responsibility for creating the information chain
is key.

The current state of affairs

The current discussion around the golden thread
is centred on high-rise buildings – perhaps an
inevitable, with Grenfell in mind. The panel brought
up the need to apply it more widely. Consider large
public buildings, arenas and conference centres, for
example. When a building hosts a huge number of

08
Fire safety community has to “get on
board” with technological changes

The next generation of tall buildings being constructed around the world will
require new ways of fire-fighting, an expert has warned.

Speaking at FIREX International 2019, the Chief Executive
of Tall Building Fire Safety, Russ Timpson, said the fire
safety community has to “get on board” with all the
technological changes that are happening around the
construction of tall buildings.
Timpson said that around 541 new tall buildings, over 20
floors high are going up in London over the next five years
alone.
But he added that new materials, like timber will be
used in the construction of tall buildings in the
future, particularly as nations look to reduce their
carbon footprints.
Timber buildings
“We are going to build tall buildings out of timber,” he
insisted. “It’s going to happen. It’s a natural material,
but the challenge is we have to do it safely.

“We are going to see significantly more tall buildings,”

he told delegates. “They will be taller, more complex
and vertical villages. They won’t be single use anymore.

“They will have offices, apartments and viewing galleries

all in the same building.”

He also quoted the example of the proposed Sky City

building in the Chinese city of Changsha, which has been
designed to stand 838 metres tall with 202 floors and
house 30,000 residents.

“A planet with 10 billion people living on it means we’re

going to have to live in much denser environments.
The architect said you can be born, grow up, meet your
partner and get a job all without having to leave the
building,” said Timpson.

“If we are going to talk about a planet with 10 billion

people living on it, we are going to have to live in much
more dense environments.”

09
Legislation and New Technology: The Future of Fire Safety
“The fire safety community has to get onboard and you
will see a tall timber building coming to a city near you
very soon, and it will probably have lots of greenery on
the outside.”
He also raised the idea of having a fire safety rating
system for buildings, similar to the ones already in
place for energy and sustainability.
‘If we have 541 tall buildings being built [in London],
then we better have a serious look at construction
fire safety.’
He also added that architects need to do away with
assembly points outside buildings, because they are
dangerous.
“In a world of new dimension risks, I think they are a
terrorist target. We all have to move to a philosophy of
evacuate and disperse,” he explained.

“When you leave the building, you should signify you

“We all have to move to a are doing that via your smart phone and disperse. We
philosophy of evacuate and need to move and embrace technology.”
disperse. When you leave the
And Timpson also predicted that drones will play a
building, you should signify you are much larger role in fire safety in the future.
doing that via your smart phone
and disperse. We need to move and “I can see high value tall buildings having a drone
built into the building itself. It will be activated by the
embrace technology.”
alarm system, go and find where the fire is. We are
probably not far away from that and it could be part of
a standard fit for tall buildings going forward.”

And he warned that construction fire safety in the UK

is “very poor”.

“I spend a lot of my professional time going around

doing fire safety audits on tall building sites, and it’s
very poor here in the UK and we are lagging behind
other countries.

“I strongly feel we will have a tall building construction

fire here in the UK and construction workers could
be killed.

“Only the other day, I was on a building on the 30th

floor, and when I asked ‘where is the wet riser?’, they
‘said there is no wet riser on this building, there is only
a dry riser, but it finishes on the 20th floor’. How the
hell do you expect fire fighters to fight fires on
construction sites when they have no access to water?

10
 FIREX International 2020
19-21 May 2020, ExCeL London
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