The recent announcement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) on proposed changes to Approved Document B (ADB) of the Building Regulations has been welcomed by the British Sprinkler Alliance (BSA) as a ‘common-sense step’ to improving fire safety in care homes.
The Government is proposing several new updates to the ADB, including recommendations to mandate sprinklers in care homes, regardless of building height, and is inviting responses to a consultation, which ends this month. It comes as recent figures from the Home Office indicate that, for the financial years 2016/17 to 2020/21, there were just over 3,100 fire incidents in care homes, with 589 people injured as a result and seven people losing their lives. While the majority of UK care homes have fire alarms and detection systems, staff have to undergo fire safety training and the majority of homes do not have sprinkler systems installed. Iain Cox, chairman of the BSA, said: “Sprinkler systems add another layer of protection and make buildings such as care homes resilient to the impact of fire because they automatically control, or even put out, the fire before emergency services arrive. “The BSA has long since advocated for the installation of sprinkler systems in these supported care environments and we welcome the consultation and the proposed amendments to Approved Document B.
“There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to fire safety, but the consequences of not doing the right thing can prove tragically fatal and it is time that we changed that.”
