Advanced supports Building Safety Regulator’s campaign

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) was established to protect residents in high-rise buildings from unsafe building practices in England, in response to the Grenfell Tower fire.

Aimed at owners and managers of high-rise residential buildings, the ‘Be Ready’ campaign highlights their new legal duties. It also calls on those responsible for the safety management of higher-risk buildings to prepare for a new wave of regulatory change to ensure they are ready to step up and comply.

Under the Building Safety Act, high-rise residential buildings which are 18m or taller are defined as ‘higher risk’. Those responsible for these buildings in the UK, must take note that registering buildings with the new Building Safety Regulator is a legal requirement, and owners and managers who have not complied by October 2023 will be investigated and may be prosecuted.

Currently, the part B requirement for an evacuation alert system only covers new-build, high-rise residential buildings. However, since the Grenfell Tower Inquiry also recommends evacuation alert systems for high-rise residential buildings already in existence, further regulation may follow, so building owners and managers should familiarise themselves with evacuation alert systems in preparation.

An evacuation alert system is vital to help fire and rescue services inform residents of a change in evacuation strategy during an incident. These systems give firefighters an additional tool to use on the ground, alongside existing methods of evacuation and improving safety for residents.

To comply with the amended part B, an evacuation alert system should be provided in accordance with the recently revised BS 8629 code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of evacuation alert systems for use by fire and rescue services in England. Advanced’s EvacGo evacuation alert system has been designed specifically to meet these recommendations.

EvacGo has been developed to support any evacuation strategy chosen by the fire and rescue service, and operates completely independently of fire detection systems. The panel combines EN54-2 and 4 approved MxPro 5 technology with clear, easy-to-use manual controls to ensure firefighters can quickly and effectively identify and operate alert sounders to support the safe evacuation of tall residential buildings.

It provides a simple overview of a building’s evacuation alert zones, along with LED indication and manual toggle-switch controls for operating evacuation alert devices in each zone. The evacuation alert panel works equally well within hardwired, radio and/or hybrid systems, and commissioning and servicing are quick and easy using Advanced’s virtual PC tool. EvacGo also features built-in battery back-up options of up to 17Ah, to meet the BS 8629 code of practice recommendations.