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Surrey fire service has received just 10% of external wall plans since the introduction of new fire safety regulation

30th April 2024

New research from signage specialists, FASTSIGNS UK, has revealed that Surrey Fire and Rescue Service has only received 10 percent of external wall plans and no building plans, since the introduction of the Government’s updated fire safety regulations.

The regulation, known as the Fire Safety (England) Regulation 2022 was updated in light of the ongoing Grenfell Tower Inquiry, which made it a legal requirement for responsible persons of high-rise residential buildings of 7 storeys or more to provide the appropriate information, including up-to-date building and external wall plans, to local fire and rescue services across the UK.

At a national level, fire and rescue services included in the research have received just 30 percent of required high-rise building plans and 21 percent of external wall plans, on average. While in Surrey, where 86 currently stand, fire and rescue services have only received 10 external wall plans and no building plans, falling short of the legislation’s updates.

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in July 2017, on-site emergency response teams reported that navigating such a complex residential building, without clear directional signage, prevented them from carrying out their duties safely.

Consequently, a recommendation was made that signage, building and external wall plans in multi-occupied high-rise residential buildings should now be a legal requirement.

FASTSIGNS UK’s research sheds light on whether, since the introduction of the regulation, this criteria is being met, using data from a series of Freedom of Information Requests (FOI).

John Harvey, managing director of FASTSIGNS Guildford, added:

“No matter what the industry, health and safety signage is fundamental to help emergency services, residents and employees safely navigate their environment in the event of an emergency. The research, combined with the updated fire and safety regulation, shows there is still some work to be done to ensure all qualifying buildings are adhering to the regulation.

“With certified safety and directional signage, both residents and a response team are better able to navigate high-rise buildings in the event of an emergency.”

For more information on FASTSIGNS Guildford, visit: https://www.fastsigns.co.uk/guildford/.