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Effective fire-resisting doors are vital to ensure occupants are able to evacuate to a safe place. Correctly specified and installed doors will hold back fire and smoke, preventing escape routes becoming unusable as well as preventing the spread of fire.

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• – Fire Door Inspections and Maintenance
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Common questions often asked are ‘what fire signs does my premises require? and ‘why do we require so many signs?’

Fire safety signs are designed to warn building occupants of any fire hazards, provide information on fire safety equipment and procedures, and give concise instructions about the actions all occupants at anytime should take in the event of a fire. Installing and maintaining fire safety signs is not only essential to saving lives and protecting property, but is also a legal requirement.

The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 outlines the types of fire signs, their placement, and the importance of maintenance, while the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005 requires the Responsible Person to take responsibility for fire safety within commercial premises.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 which came into effect in England from 23 January 2023 made it a legal requirement for way finding signs to be installed in all high-rise residential buildings in England, including clear markings identifying floor and individual flat numbers to assist the Fire and Rescue Service.

There are several types of fire safety signs. Carrying out a Fire Risk Assessment, as required by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, should ultimately determine which signs are essential for your premises.

• – Fire exit signs highlight the safest evacuation route and nearest emergency exit of a building.
• – Fire door signs provide mandatory instructions to ensure effectiveness.
• – Fire alarm signs highlight the nearest fire alarm and provide information regarding its activation.
• – Emergency door operation signs offer simple instructions on how to operate emergency exit doors.
• – Stairway and floor level identification signs enable occupants of multi-storey high-rise buildings to accurately and quickly inform Fire and Rescue Services of the location of a fire and assist firefighters in navigating their way around the building.
• – Fire assembly point signs show where a building’s assembly point is located to enable evacuees to report to their designated point and identify any missing persons quickly.
• – Fire extinguisher signs indicate the position and type of extinguishers present in a premises, show the classes of fire they can be used on and how to operate them safely, and help identify any missing extinguishers that need replacing.
• – Fire equipment signs ensure that equipment is present, and correctly and clearly identified (where provided) to enable firefighters to gain immediate access to facilities such as rising main outlets on arrival at the scene of a fire.
• – Fire safety notices reinforce important messages of life safety arrangements to occupants.
• – Fire action notice signs include step-by-step instructions for occupants to follow in the event of a fire.
• – Hazard signs identify the location of potential hazardous materials or environments.

In the event of a fire, smoke and power outages can reduce sign visibility. Photoluminescent signs which function without the need for any additional illumination help maintain their visibility.

RES FIRE supplies high quality, affordable internal and external fire safety signage in a range of different formats and sizes to ensure your premises is compliant.

For further details on fire safety signage audits and maintenance or to ensure your premise emergency escape/exit lighting is fit for purpose please call RES FIRE on 0800 731 0727

For HM Government Wayfinding Regulations go to:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regulations-2022/fact-sheet-wayfinding-signage-regulation-8

In addition to the new Regulations that came into force on 23^rd January 2023 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regulations-2022/fact-sheet-overview further new fire safety guidance comes into force on 1^st October 2023.

The new Regulations will improve cooperation and coordination between Responsible Persons (RPs), increase requirements in relation to the recording and sharing of fire safety information, make it easier for enforcement authorities to act against non-compliance, and ensure residents have access to comprehensive information about fire safety in their building.

GOV.UK published the following news storey 30^th March 2023 concerning the new guidance.  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-fire-safety-guidance-comes-into-force-on-1-october-2023 Commencement regulations for new fire safety legal provisions within section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 have been laid in Parliament.

Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) makes a number of amendments to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) to improve fire safety in all buildings regulated by the FSO. These improvements form Phase 3 of the Home Office’s fire safety reform programme, building on Phase 1 (the Fire Safety Act 2021) and Phase 2 (the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022).

Phase 3 further strengthens fire safety in all FSO regulated premises by:

• – improving cooperation and coordination between Responsible Persons (RPs)
• – increasing requirements in relation to the recording and sharing of fire safety information thus creating a continual record throughout a building’s lifespan
• – making it easier for enforcement authorities to take action against non-compliance
• – ensuring residents have access to comprehensive information about fire safety in their building

GOV.UK are not at this stage commencing a requirement for RPs to ensure that anyone they appoint to do a fire risk assessment is competent. GOV.UK are actively working with the sector to develop a robust roll out plan and will provide more information on this in the coming months.

Guidance to support RPs in understanding and meeting these new requirements will be published before they come into force.

Three new fire safety guides have been published 30^th March 2023 on small non-domestic premises, small blocks of flats and for small sleeping accommodation. These replace the old short guides to making your premises safe from fire. GOV.UK have also published and updated the fire risk assessment checklist.