FIA and NFCC issue Code of Practice for the Provision of Premises Information Boxes in Residential Buildings

In the quickly shifting grounds of new legislation, new regulators and the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, there’s an overriding need for guidance to promote Best Practice and, by extension, ensure consistency of application and regulation; especially so when it comes to keeping occupants safe in high-rise residential buildings.

Equally, the principles could be applied to a range of other premises where there would be a need for the provision of emergency response plans and to ensure the safety of occupants as a direct result of them being able to use dependable, readily available, concise and clearly presented information.

The need to ensure that information is available to Fire and Rescue Services in a consistent format such that it can assist with the emergency response – and notably so in relation to those individuals with mobility, cognitive or sensory impairments – is also absolutely crucial.

With all of the above in mind, the Code of Practice for the Provision of Premises Information Boxes in Residential Buildings helps to ensure that those most in need of support are fully considered in the decisions and plans for managing an incident.

Cross-industry expertise

For its part, the FIA is pleased to have co-produced this Code of Practice in partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council. By bringing cross-industry experts together in a collaborative manner, the organisation is then able to create far-reaching guidance incorporating expertise from myriad experts tasked with providing and delivering fire safety.

The guide covers the location of Premises Information Boxes (PIBs), their security (focusing on physical security, key security and management protocols and also mechanically operated keypad security), signage, emergency response packs, the maintenance of PIBs and the definition of responsibilities.

This Code of Practice was produced thanks to the support, experience and expertise of representatives from not just the FIA and the National Fire Chiefs Council, but also Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Secured by Design), the London Fire Brigade, the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, Gerda Security Products Ltd, C.S. Todd & Associates, the National Social Housing Fire Strategy Group, Ensure Safety and Compliance and the Fire Sector Federation.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1

The Phase 1 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommends that PIBs should be provided in all high-rise residential buildings. The report also recommends that the contents of PIBs should include various pieces of information that will be of value to firefighters during an emergency.

There are specific recommendations for owners and managers: to provide their local Fire and Rescue Service with up-to-date plans (in both paper and electronic form) of every floor of the building, duly identifying the location of key fire safety systems, and also to ensure that the building contains a PIB, the contents of which must include a copy of the up-to-date floor plans and information about the nature of any lift intended for use by the Fire and Rescue Service.

*Copies of the Code of Practice for the Provision of Premises Information Boxes in Residential Buildings are now available for download on the FIA’s website