Building & Fire Safety

The Scottish government has opened a consultation seeking the views of stakeholders on a review of building standards relating to the fire safety of historic buildings converted for hotel use.

Collaborative reporting for safer structures. Report 1298: Fraudulent use of calculations from another engineer. Building control raised alarm of attempts made by another engineer to pass off work as their own

Two recently published reports have drawn attention to volumetric modular construction and the importance of undertaking further research into the method’s fire safety performance. 

Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder at ASK Partners, discusses how the new government in Westminster is facing a battle on housing reform.

CABE patron Lord Lytton has spoken in the House of Lords debate on the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry Phase 2 Report.

Here's a round-up of the latest news and articles.

Warringtonfire’s flagship fire resistance testing facility at Birchwood Park in Warrington is set to open in January 2025 with 50 new jobs including maintenance engineers and technical officer positions.

Mathew Fairie, Associate at Perega, looks at structural engineers’ roles and responsibilities in the remediation and reconstruction processes after a fire.

The Building Safety Reform Team is continuing to develop policy for the proposed Building Safety (Wales) Bill.

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has addressed the challenges arising from the removal of the national classes for fire resistance in Approved Document B (England).

Andrew Pearson sets out a timeline of some of the most significant pieces of legislation to have been introduced in the seven years since the devastating fire.

Dame Judith Hackitt recommended the creation of a Golden Thread of good-quality information about HRBs – but, as CABE’s Hywel Davies asks, how is that to be realised?

Speaking at the Sir James Wates Lecture for the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Dame Judith Hackitt DBE FREng said the Final Report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a final call to construction to step up and address its problems, or face further intervention and regulation.

The Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc) (England) Regulations 2024 set out the requirements for providing information about a Higher Risk Building (HRB) known as the ‘Golden Thread’. CABE's Head of Technical Insight, Dr Hywel Davies, provides a guide for ‘Accountable Persons’ for an HRB and what they need to be doing now.

The latest revision of BS 9991 - the UK's key fire safety standard for residential buildings - is due to be published next week (27 November).

Collaborative reporting for safer structures. CROSS UK Report 1327: Critically under-designed moment splice connections.

In order to understand why safety case reports have been causing such issues, it is best to start from the beginning.

CROSS-UK has issued a safety alert warning of the risks associated with preventing the operation of smoke vents, in particular Automatic Opening Vents (AOVs), by construction work on existing buildings.

CABE's Head of Technical Insight, Dr Hywel Davies, has been recognised in the 2024 Façade Design and Engineering Awards.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has issued a warning that Registered Building Inspectors (RBIs) registering for work categories beyond their certified competence are being investigated and could face penalties.