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40 Spring 2021 THE NEW FIRE SAFETY BILL AND HOW IT COULD AFFECT YOU I t has been three years since the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Home Office has now introduced the Fire Safety Bill. The Bill is part of a series of changes to fire safety and building safety the government is making, with further primary and secondary legislation to follow. It proposes to build on action already taken, but also will amend the Fire Safety Order 2005 in order to clarify the responsibilities of responsible persons and duty holders. Particularly relevant to multi- occupied, residential buildings, the Bill highlights the requirement for management and reduction of risk of fire for: • The structure and external walls of a building, including cladding, balconies, doors and windows • Entrance doors to individual flats that open into common parts. It must be therefore ensured that the fire risk assessment for multi-occupied, residential buildings covers all of these areas, with fire risk assessors requiring access to areas not previously routinely assessed, such as balconies and doors to the individual flats. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has really made it clear that a significant shift in attitude is needed in order to improve building safety, both culturally and in terms of approach to infrastructure. There will also be further power for fire and rescue services to take enforcement action and hold building owners to account if they are not compliant.