The document ‘Building safety advice for building owners, including fire doors’ (also known as the Consolidated Advice Note) provided guidance on how to assess a building’s external walls and outlined interim measures to put in place if there was significant risk to life safety.
On 10 January 2022 the government withdrew this document and now advise that such assessments should be carried out in accordance with Publically Available Specification (PAS) 9980 that has been developed by the British Standards Institution and came into effect this week (31 January 2022).
What is PAS 9980?
PAS 9980 provides guidance on assessing the risk of fire relative to external walls of existing multi-storey, multi-occupied residential buildings. It also sets out measures that might improve the risk rating of a building and gives recommendations for the competence of professionals completing fire risk appraisals of external walls.
Who is PAS 9980 for?
Historically, external wall construction of blocks has not been routinely included in the fire risk assessments (FRAs) carried out under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, however, with the introduction of the Fire Safety Act 2021 this issue has been clarified to confirm that external walls do fall within scope.
While PAS 9980 is intended for use by competent fire engineers and other competent building professionals, landlords and building owners should also make sure they are familiar with the document. They should ensure that the principles of PAS 9980 are applied to FRAs they commission, where appropriate.
How we can help
PAS 9980 should provide clarity for those undertaking fire risk appraisals of external walls, however, at approximately 180 pages long it will take the industry a bit of time to digest this new guidance.
Our team of fire safety specialists are on hand to provide advice on your obligations and what you need to include within your FRAs. Please contact us today.
