Fire risk assessment: What is PAS 79:2020?

This year looks set to be fairly groundbreaking where fire safety law is concerned. The tragic events of the 2017 Grenfell disaster have set wheels in motion to overhaul fire safety legislation and more clearly assign accountability to fire risk assessment. The Fire Safety Bill is currently working its way through the parliamentary stages with a view to be passed as the Fire Safety Act 2020. In the meantime, there’s also been significant updates made to PAS 79 to better define fire risk assessment guidance after the housing sector called for more specific recommendations.

It’s advised that anybody who comes into contact with fire safety law – in whatever capacity – should brush up on the guidance and standards that affect them and assess what the changes will mean to their role.

In this detailed guide, we explain exactly what PAS 79 is, which parts of it have changed and who it applies to.

What is PAS 79 about?

The British Standards Institution previously published PAS 79:2012, which provided generic fire risk assessment guidance. However, the new standard – published in December 2020 – replaced this and was renamed and restructured to focus on ‘Part 1’ along with a new, housing-specific ‘Part 2’. This means the existing PAS 79 has become the revised PAS 79-1, while the housing-specific section is now known as PAS 79-2. The decision to do this follows requests from professionals within the housing sector to develop PAS 79 with a section specifically dedicated to housing.

PAS 79-1:2020 is now a code of practice (rather than its previous status as simply a guide) for premises other than housing. It provides recommendations for conducting and recording fire risk assessments (where they are required by law) in non-domestic properties. BSI has commented that key objectives of PAS 79-1:2020 include to ‘promote a framework for the assessment of fire risk’ and ‘promote better understanding of fire risks and fire safety by organisations and non-fire specialists’.

Pas 79-2:2020 relates specifically to the conducting and recording of fire risk assessments in housing premises only. Its objectives include to ‘present to housing providers and their advisors a methodology that can help them in meeting their legislative responsibilities to undertake fire risk assessments’.

PAS 79:2020 is to be followed by ‘fire safety professionals with knowledge of the principles of fire safety, who are either responsible for one particular organisation’s fire safety assessment or work for consultancies providing fire risk assessments as a service’.

What are the main changes in Parts 1 and 2?

An element to pay particular attention to, as mentioned, is the fact that 2012’s version was a guide. The latest revision is now code of practice in an attempt to ensure a higher level of compliance.

PAS 79-1:2020 excludes blocks of flats, sheltered housing, extra care housing, supported housing and some houses in multiple occupation. These are now covered in detail in PAS 79-2:2020. Part 1 also features new guidance on external wall construction and cladding and places heavier emphasis on the competency of fire risk assessors.

Meanwhile, PAS 79-2:2020 comprises all types of housing mentioned previously – fire risk assessment for non-housing premises is now addressed in Part 1. It takes into account guidance published by the Local Government Association regarding fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats (and the equivalent in Scotland by the Scottish government). Part 2 also takes into account guidance produced by the National Fire Chiefs Council on fire safety in specialised housing (again, the Scottish equivalent applies in Scotland). These two bodies have overseen a key inclusion in PAS 79-2:2020 – recommendations for a four-tiered approach to fire risk assessments in the housing sector. As with Part 1, there is new guidance on the consideration to be given to external wall construction and cladding, as well as a greater emphasis on the competency of fire risk assessors. Plus, there’s detailed discussion of the ‘stay put strategy’ in the event of a fire, as well as reference to evacuation alert systems for use by the fire and rescue service in blocks of flats and maisonettes.

Local authorities, property landlords, fire risk assessors – and any role for which responsibilities require compliance with fire safety legislation and code of practice – should ensure they’re fully clued up on fire risk assessment and PAS 79:2020. It’s available to download from BSI: PAS 79-1.

Need help to review your fire safety strategy? There might be changes afoot in the push to tighten legislation but CheckFire remains your one-stop shop for fire safety products, advice and support and marketing materials. Get in touch to speak to the team or head over to our resource centre, as your business navigates the year ahead.