In England, unlike Scotland, there is currently no maximum height for residential buildings with only one staircase.

Fire chiefs are urging the government to make it mandatory for all new residential buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys to have more than one protected staircase.

They also want all existing such buildings to be retrofitted with sprinklers and lifts in existing buildings should be installed or replaced for use in an evacuation.

Gavin Tomlinson, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) protection and business safety scrutiny committee, said: “We are calling on the government to ensure that all new high rise residential buildings over 18 metres, or seven storeys, have more than one fire escape staircase. In the event of a fire, a correctly designed second staircase removes the risk of a single point of failure, buying critical time for firefighting activities, and providing residents with multiple escape routes.”

The NFCC says that evacuation may not always be necessary, as it is often safe for residents to stay put in the event of a fire. However, Incident Recording System data on mass evacuations shows that in the three years between 1st April 2019 and 31st March 2022, the London Fire Brigade reported 154 cases where 10 or more people evacuated from a block of flats of at least six storeys. This means nearly 8,500 residents chose to evacuate buildings rather than stay put, either before, during, or after the fire and rescue service arrived.

NFCC says that its recommendations could be reinforced by amending building regulations or the key government guidance, Approved Document B.

NFCC chair Mark Hardingham added: “The government should be commended on the improvements it has made, such as banning combustible cladding and requiring sprinklers at 11 metres. However, we urge the government to now publish an updated workplan for the review of Approved Document B to give regulators, the public, and the wider fire safety industry confidence that the government is still committed to reform.”

Countries such as the USA, Canada and Australia all have height limits for buildings with a single staircase. Even within the UK there is inconsistency, as buildings over 18 metres in Scotland are required to have multiple staircases.

The NFCC’s position statement on single staircases in high rise residential buildings is available here or via www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk

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