Global reviewed Fire Risk Appraisals to ensure that sites across Bedfordshire were compliant with fire safety requirements.  

 Overview

Gateshead Council was formed in 1974, with the vision of focussing on investing into the community. Currently, the council has over 4,000 employees who all work to provide services to the Gateshead community of nearly 200,000 people. The team at the council provide services that benefit the local community and enhances the lives of those living in Gateshead, such as through libraries, leisure, culture and housing. 

Brief –  

Global were asked to review the Fire Risk Appraisals for a total of 25 sites within Gateshead. The FRAEWS needed to be reviewed in accordance with PAS9980, the appraisal for the fire performance of walls, in order to mitigate risks. 

Situation

Gateshead Council required their FRAEWs to be reviewed to ensure they were compliant with regulations. The FRAEW was introduced to support FRAs by listing any potential fire risks and through evaluating the fire safety performance of external walls and cladding, and Gateshead required Global to carry this out to ensure that the building met the guidelines that are a part of PAS 9980, and to identify any requirements for remediation works.

The team were instructed to work as a third party to approve the appraisal of the works, which required their expertise in the industry to confirm that the FRAEW work was compliant with regulations.  

Challenges –  

Global were required to review the FRAEWs of 25 different buildings, making this a large project to work on that required effective communication and organisation between the different departments at Global.  

Solution

In order to complete the works, GTS took a team of fire engineers and façade consultants to complete the reports on all 25 buildings, and then categorised them into different building archetypes. To begin with, site visits were undertaken to see what needed to be assessed, and reports were produced to highlight points of clarification, confirmation or remediation. The team then supported the building safety officer with their FRAEW process and with the risk validation for each of the premises.

At the end of the project, the team conducted a document review and further research into the manufacturer’s installation details to validate the risk rating, then the next steps for remediation were advised. Global’s approach therefore ensured that this project was guided from its beginning stages until the finalisation of the works.  

Results –  

• FRAEW reports on 25 buildings  

• Points of clarification, confirmation and remediation highlighted through site visits  

• Compliant FRAEWs in accordance with PAS9980 

Summary

The GTS team and their fire engineers completed reports on all 25 buildings and supported the process to offer a third-party approval so that risks were mitigated. 

By using a holistic approach, GTS provided support for Gateshead Council and reviewied the FRAEWs to ensure that the FRAs were compliant.