Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans In Residential Buildings

Following on from Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in 2021, the government carried out a consultation on proposals to introduce a requirement for owners or managers of high-rise residential buildings to have personal emergency evacuation plans (“PEEPs”) in place for those residents who would have difficulty self-evacuating in the event of a fire.

 

While PEEPs are common in education, care settings, and workplaces where there are people who may require assistance to safely evacuate, these are rare in general residential settings.

 

Following concerns about the practicalities of PEEPS in residential settings, a second consultation in 2022 looked at person-centred fire risk assessments and emergency evacuation information sharing. This proposed a higher level of duty on those buildings with simultaneous evacuation strategies compared to those with stay-put evacuation strategies.

 

The government recently published their response to the latest consultation. The government is proposing to introduce legislation setting out a five-step process covering:

1. Defining the building evacuation strategy
2. Identification of those needing support to evacuate
3. A Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment checklist
4. Sharing information with the local Fire and Rescue Service
5. Access to and use of this information by the Fire and Rescue Service in the event of a fire

 

The regulations will require that a type of PEEP, to be known as a “Residential PEEP,” is put in place for every resident who self-identifies as needing one in all high-rise residential buildings and those residential buildings between 11 meters and 18 meters with simultaneous evacuation strategies in place.

 

Building-level evacuation plans will also be required for all high-rise residential buildings and those residential buildings between 11 meters and 18 meters with simultaneous evacuation strategies in place.

 

The government will also look to produce a toolkit to support responsible persons with their new obligations.

 

Full details of the government’s response to the consultation.

 

If you have any questions or would like support with managing issues at your workplace, please speak to your usual contact or get in touch using the form below.