What is 'Regulation 38'?

‘It is a legal requirement of the Building Regulations 2010 approved document B for England and Wales, Regulation 38, that “The person carrying out the work shall give fire safety information to the responsible person not later than the date of completion of the work, or the date of occupation of the building or extension, whichever is the earlier.” For those not familiar with the term ‘Responsible person’ the meaning of ‘Responsible Person’ is detailed in Article (3) of the Regulatory Reform (fire safety) Order 2005’.

The purpose of Regulation 38 aims to ensure that information critical to the life safety of people using or working near the building in the event of fire is communicated to the owner, occupier and/or end user, so that the building can be operated and managed correctly, not just at the stage of first construction but in the future.

By having this invaluable information available it will enable the responsible person to meet their obligations under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, otherwise known as the ‘Fire Safety Order’ and produce a ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire risk assessment. By having this information available it will accurately record the physical fire safety precautions in place, and so enable risks to the relevant persons in the building to be understood in a way that allows them to be appropriately addressed.

The facts:

Regulation 38 has been part of the Building Control requirements for many years. It is not something new! In Scotland, the information must be provided before a completion certificate can be issued. It is not the case in England and Wales. This should be addressed. The reason for this is that the onus is placed on the Person carrying out the work as defined within the regulation, in other words, the contractors. Many contractors are not aware of this and as such seldom is enough information provided. As a result, the Responsible person will not have enough information to meet their obligations under the Fire Safety Order. 

The initial enquiry into the tragic Grenfell Tower fire of 2017 and the resulting report by Dame Judith Hackitt, chapter 8, referred to this requirements as the ‘Golden Thread of Information’.

The Regulation 38 App has been developed by fire safety industry experts to assist in enabling both contractors and the Responsible Person/s to meet their obligations under the Fire Safety Order and Building Regulations.

The App takes the user through steps to enable a report of information to be produced that will be clear and detailed. By following the questions and providing information where asked the report will be useful throughout the life of the building. It is important that when asked to input details that the information the user inputs is as detailed as possible. To be able to do this may require the user seeking further clarity from the relevant persons i.e., contractor, architect etc. the App has been developed to be used by persons who are competent in the requirements of building regulations and fire safety, to achieve this may require communication with 3rd parties.

The report generator is compatible with both IOS and Android and can be used on phones or tablets in the field. Integration of company/organisation logos can only be carried out via the computer-based software. Uploading of information such as the projects fire risk assessment, construction plans, manufacturers literature etc, can only be carried out within the software.

By using this application and software it is accepted by the user that the information contained within the report may be made available to the fire authorities to enable them to form firefighting strategies for the building/s.

The information shall not be available to any other companies, organisations or individuals.