The Government have updated the England Fire Safety Regulations, but the updates still don’t account for those unable to self-evacuate.
In response to Phase 1 of the Grenfell Inquiry – the Government released the recommendations in May last year, suggesting that they “will implement the majority of the recommendations made by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in its Phase 1 report which required a change in the law.” This month they have made additions to the regulations which aim to ensure that residents have access to information on how to evacuate their building.
This new information includes:
- instructions relating to the evacuation strategy for the building,
- instructions as regards how to report a fire to the fire and rescue authority, and
- any other instruction that tells residents what they must do when a fire has occurred.
However, there is still no mention of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) and no progress has been made on implementing the Grenfell inquiry recommendation to make the implementation of PEEPs mandatory in high-rise buildings.
Bethany Bale, DR UK Policy and Campaigns Officer, said “having access to information on how to escape doesn’t help someone if they are not provided with a means to escape, or support to escape if they are unable to do so alone. The Government must make PEEPs a statutory requirement for building managers – as they initially committed to doing several years ago.”