Fire Safety Regulations For UK Lift Owners & Facility Managers
The Fire Safety Regulations mean that any lift in a residential high rise building – that is, a building that is over 7 storeys high – that would be used by firefighters must be inspected on a monthly basis by a responsible person.
If you own or manage a building that fits this criteria (and there are over 12,000 in England), the Fire Safety Regulations apply to you. Even if you use a lift maintenance company to handle your lift servicing and monitoring requirements, you’re still classed as a Responsible Person under the Fire Safety Regulations – and liable in the event of non-compliance.
In summary, the Fire Safety Regulations 2022 requirements include:
- All lifts in a high rise building must be inspected monthly by a Responsible Person(s)
- Fire doors must be inspected quarterly
- Entrance doors must be inspected yearly
- Records of all checks and maintenance must be kept up-to-date
- Faults must be reported if they cannot be rectified within 24 hours
- Local Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) must be provided with up-to-date building plans indicating the location of all lifts (including those for firefighters or evacuation lifts) and key firefighting equipment.
How to comply with the Fire Safety Regulations
The good news is that the comprehensive lift maintenance services offered by Sheridan Lifts involve thorough lift inspections, on-site and digital reports, 24/7 customer support, regular maintenance and much more – all to ensure your building complies with the Fire Safety Regulations (and other legal requirements like LOLER).
When it comes to fire safety in high rise buildings, however, there is much more that can be done to prevent fires, and limit the spread should a fire start. This collection of measures is called fire stopping.
What is fire stopping and why is it important?
Many building elements like walls, floors and ceilings are also designed to be fire stopping, for a time. The problem arises when these elements are penetrated for utilities like cables, pipes and wires, because this creates a gap around the area which fire and smoke can get through, allowing rapid spread.
Fire stopping services aim to plug all these gaps – literally – with specialised material to restore the fire containing capabilities of walls, ceiling, and floors. According to a recent market report, there’s growing demand for fire stopping materials and services.
At Sheridan Lifts, we provide fire stopping services as standard alongside lift installations and maintenance. It’s about more than meeting regulations – it;s about saving lives, which is why we offer fire stopping services as a complementary part of our packages.
For more information, give us a call on 0330 175 8747.