Fire Safety experts in the region have welcomed a raft of new legislative requirements for high rise residential buildings.

On Monday 23rd January, new regulations came into force changing the way Fire and Rescue Services receive information about high rise residential buildings.

These change comes just five years after the tragedy at Grenfell Tower in London and aims to implement the recommendations of the subsequent inquiry.

The new legislation has been welcomed by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) who are working closely with housing providers to implement them.

The Service’s Fire Safety Department have been making sure those responsible for the premises understand what changes they will have to make to be compliant.

The new regulations will require them to provide Fire and Rescue Services with more information that will assist them in response to an emergency at the building.

That includes information about the building cladding, the layouts of properties and any ongoing faults to fire safety features.

Today (Monday) the lead for Fire Safety in Tyne and Wear has explained what this means for people living in those buildings.

Group Manager Chris Lane, Head of Fire Safety, said “These new regulations means our firefighters are better prepared to respond to an incident in our region.

“It helps us plan, prepare, and practice our response so that the people living in those high rise residential buildings feel safer.

“We’ve been working with housing providers across the region to ensure that they are prepared for the changes and know what the implications are for them.

“Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and subsequent inquiry a raft of recommendations and legislative changes have occurred all designed to try and prevent such an incident happening again.

“We have worked hard with our partners in that time to ensure the safety of the communities which live in those premises, and will continue to do so.”

TWFRS have also been conducting more training exercises at high rise buildings to ensure their firefighters are ready to respond if an incident were to happen.

These changes named Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have been introduced alongside with the changes introduced under the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Further changes that will improve fire safety are still to come following the Building Safety Act 2022.

For more information on the new regulations, please visit the TWFRS website