The Fire Sector Federation (FSF) and Construction Industry Council (CIC) are calling for change to Building Regulations Guidance which they say uses complex and inconsistent language.

So obscure is the language used in the current Building Regulations and its Guidance in Approved Document B, it has kept the experts from these two organisations confused for almost a decade.

The revelations follow a study by the Fire Sector Federation which found that 92% of FSF members indicate a need to make changes to Building Regulations and Approved Document B; more than half of the Construction Industry Council find the Guidance in Approved Document B difficult to use; and 100% agreed the need to address inconsistencies in building definitions.

The study was led by the FSF’s  Built Environment Issues and Affairs Workstream which surveyed Federation and CIC membership – which ranges from chartered associations to trade unions, building architects, engineers and building control officers to the UK’s fire and rescue services – on issues pertaining to clarity of wording, user-friendliness, adaptation to construction trends and the incorporation of factors other than life safety, on which the Building Regulations and its Guidance in Approved Document B’s scope is based. 

The findings reveal both the FSF and CIC believe issues with definitions, clarity of wording, adaptation to construction trends and its scope in the Guidance in Approved Document B should be addressed. The FSF is of a collective opinion a significant attitude change to fire safety is needed whereby proper assessment of construction products and methods, the consideration of credible research and mandatory accreditation must be urgently pursued.

Celestine Cheong, Chair of the Built Environment Issues and Affairs Workstream, said: “The Federation is founded on acceptance that fire safety in the UK is far wider than the Fire and Rescue Service alone because emergency firefighting is a measure implemented when safety features and protection has failed, and we need to remove this eventuality as much as possible.

“We understand the pressures on Government and we would like to help resolve issues pertaining to fire. Having identified areas in this study such as the research underpinning the Guidance being out of date, complex wording and the Guidance’s limited applied scope, we wish to work with Government to develop further opinion on an agreed frequency of updates, idea generation with relevant stakeholders for improved clarity of text, and to develop opportunities to minimise risks and impacts from fire to property, the wider built and other environments.”

Graham Watts OBE, Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Council, said: “As best practice and new technology evolves, it is essential that Building Regulations and Guidance Documents are aligned with these new developments, that they are clear in their meaning and easy to use.  This necessitates a regular need for review to ensure relevance.  A review of Approved Document B is long overdue. I welcome the findings of this study in drawing attention to problems that are challenging FSF and CIC members and may be compromising fire safety in our built environment.”

The Building Regulations and its Guidance in Approved Document B have not undergone an in-depth review since 2006. The most frequently reviewed Guidance documents are Part L (conservation of fuel and power) and Part Q (security), which are reviewed every two years.