THE MINISTRY of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published the Authoritative Statement of the Fire Engineers Advisory Panel in addition to a policy paper focused on the next steps for reform of the fire engineering profession. [Read More]

THE FIRE Industry Association (FIA) has confirmed that its two-day Emergency Lighting course will become a Level 3 FireQual qualification, with a FireQual examination included at the end of the tuition. This change applies from the first course delivery in 2026 and represents a significant step forward in the development of recognised professional qualifications within the fire sector. [Read More]

THE BUILDING Safety Regulator’s latest Gateway 2 update shows a continued positive impact from the new processes in place, record year-end determinations and an increasing number of new high-rise residential Building Control applications from industry. [Read More]

THE BRITISH Standards Institution (BSI) has published the revised version of BS 8524 focused on Active Fire Curtain Barriers. This long-awaited update to the UK’s definitive series of standards in this area of fire safety follows an extended delay caused by concerns over scope overlaps with a related BS EN designated product standard. Those concerns have now been fully resolved. [Read More]

SERVICED APARTMENTS and aparthotels are becoming increasingly common across the UK, write Paul Trew, Ian Bailey, David Quinn, Jon Pagan and Ian Moore, particularly so in urban developments and mixed-use buildings. While the layouts of these units are often very similar to standard residential flats, they’re rented out for varying durations from single nights to several months (or even years), in turn creating a grey area when it comes to fire safety compliance and enforcement. This can affect the design as well as the management of these buildings. [Read More]

THE REGULATOR of Social Housing has published the findings of its latest survey of the fire safety of 11 metre-plus tall buildings in the social housing sector. Of the 16,990 relevant buildings reported, 1,867 were identified as having a life-critical fire safety defect relating to the external wall system. Over 99.9% of all relevant reported buildings have had a fire risk assessment carried out. [Read More]

THE CROSS-party Industry and Regulators Committee in the House of Lords has warned the Government that “unacceptable” delays caused by the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) approval processes are leaving residents waiting for the remediation of dangerous cladding in unsafe buildings, at the same time increasing costs for leaseholders. [Read More]

THE BUILDING Research Establishment (BRE) – the multi-disciplinary building science centre – has announced the creation of the PV Fire Intelligence Network (PV-FIN), itself a steering group of leading organisations brought together to analyse the fire safety of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. [Read More]