Fire Risk Assessor – Investigating The Safety of External Walls

Synopsis
The scope of fire risk assessments has changed with the Fire Safety Act 2021. PAS 9980:2022  states that there are cases where a FRAEW is not required – traditionally built masonry blocks and “cases where the quantity of combustible material within the external wall construction or on facades is so small that it can be discounted.” How, then, does the fire risk assessor confirm that a full FRAEW is required or not? Fire and rescue services will be inundated needlessly with tens of thousands of blocks flagged up to them, RPs and leaseholders will spend avoidable money, and Fire Engineers will be distracted from the primary Government objective of appraising medium/high-risk buildings.

This course will arm fire risk assessors with the knowledge and skills to help make professional judgements about the risks presented to fire development and spread across different external walls in blocks below 18m high.

Learning Objectives
This one-day course will raise your confidence in undertaking FRAs and making recommendations on external walls, which will benefit your clients and insurers, and specifically provide you with :

1. Updating and refreshing your knowledge of fire safety law, codes of practice, and guidance
2. An understanding of the different types of external walls and materials used in construction
3. Insight into practical aspects of investigating wall construction
4. Learn how to undertake a methodology for appraising risk in external walls, based on PAS9980.

Session 1 – Fire safety and building control – legal background
a. Brief history of standards, codes of practice and guidance
b. Fire Safety Act 2021 and regulations
c. PAS 9980:2022; FSF, FIA and Home Office guidance
d. Changes to Building Regulations Approved Document B

Session 2 – Construction of external walls
a. Evolution of design and specification of purpose-built blocks of flats
b. Typology of external wall construction methods
c. Understanding all components and materials used in external walls
d. Traditional construction

Session 3 – Investigative methods and techniques (
a. Gathering documentation and information for desktop study
b. Inspecting and testing walls and related building elements
c. Use of visual survey and “Lite” investigation techniques
d. Analysing, recording and reporting on the information collected
e. Case studies

Session 4 – Methodology for appraising risk posed by external walls
a. Determining the risk rating: fire performance factors, façade configuration and hazards/fire strategy
b. Risk ratings posed by different external walls
c. Assessing whether external walls pose low-medium-high risk
d. Introduction to a risk assessment tool