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Fire Safety England

Regulations 2022
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 FIRE RELATED LIFTS
STANDARDS AND LEGISLATION

EurIng Prof. David A. Cooper

BSC(Hons), MSc, MPhil, CEng, FCIBSE, FIET, FSOE, MIMechE, FCGI
 A BIT OF HISTORY
In 1930 it was recognised firefighters should be
provided with a means of swift access to the upper
floors of large buildings beyond the height of their
ladders.
Resulted in passenger lifts being fitted with a
break-glass key switch which firefighters could
operate to bring the lift to that floor quickly.

Minimum Requirements for such lifts were: -

Load capacity of at least 1200 lb (550 kg)
Sufficiently fast to travel the height of the building
in less than one minute
Power-operated doors 2ft 9 in (800 mm) wide

Additional requirements were gradually added: -

Fire resistant landing doors with normally one hour
rating
Local authorities imposed further specific
requirements i.e. Section 20 of the London Building
Acts 1939
A BIT OF HISTORY

Common standards for lift were formed into BS

2655:Part 1:1970, which specified requirements for
‘firemen’s lifts’.
This standard was superseded in 1979 by BS 5655-1
with a larger car size and improved protection by the
building of firemen’s lifts.
Published in 1986, BS 5588-5, included the first
requirements for firefighting lifts (Revisions updated
in 1991 and 2004)
In 2008, its content was incorporated within BS 9999.
BS 9999 no longer contained requirements for the
design of firefighters lifts;
A BIT OF HISTORY

These were included in BS EN 81-72:2003 - the

first European standard for firefighters lifts.
Since then, BS 9991 was published to cover
residential buildings in 2011.
BS EN81-72 was further updated in 2015 and
2020.
FIRE SAFETY (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022

For lifts which fall under The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (FSER), the
responsible person must undertake routine checks of any lift that is for use by
firefighters and evacuation lifts.

These are checks that the lift is in efficient working order and in good repair and
intended to be carried out by the responsible person without the need of specialist
personnel.

These includes weekly, monthly checks and an annual performance inspection.

WHEN MODERNISING………….

• Notice this is a BS and not a BS

EN standard.
FIREMANS LIFT
A "fireman's lift" is now an obsolete term but the facility is often retained on older lifts that are
being modernized or upgraded and have the facility.

System is extremely simple in that there is a switch at the main floor which when operated: -

• Causes the lift to stop at the next floor if it is in travel, not open its doors
• Illuminates an indicator in the lift car stating "fire recall service“
• The lift returns to the floor where the switch is located and parks with its doors open
• The lift will then only respond to a call placed on the system within the lift car and will go to
that floor and park with its doors open

The system can be specified for new lifts or those being modernised but must not be confused
with a firefighting lift.
 FIRE FIGHTING LIFT
A "firefighting lift" is a completely different animal!

The firefighting lift must have the following features as a minimum: -

• Minimum 630 kg / 8 person lift car

• Minimum car interior size of 1400 mm x 1100 mm
• Must travel the height of the building in less than 60 seconds
• Automatic power operated doors, at least 800 mm wide and 2000 mm
tall
• Position indicators fitted inside the lift car and at the FSAL (Fire
Service Access Level)
• Two way intercom provided between the machine room, lift car
and FSAL
• An emergency trap door provided in the car roof with minimum
size 400 mm x 500 mm
• The lift must not be used for goods transportation
FIRE FIGHTING LIFT • Rescue shall be available from both inside and
outside the lift car
• Buttons shall be protected against water ingress
• Electrical equipment in the shaft shall be protected
against water ingress
• An audible fire alarm must be fitted to alert a
maintenance operative of the firefighting need
• A secondary power supply must be provided
• The shaft must be protected from water ingress by
drains and/or ramps
• A "peek a boo" control system when on fire fighting
mode
• The car interior components shall be a minimum of
class 0 resisting combustion
• The lift must have fire rated doors
• The lift must be within a separate fire compartment
• Shaft smoke ventilation should be provided
EVACUATION LIFTS

• At present there is no standard for

evacuation lifts
• EN81-76, the intended standard, was
never finalised but is now being revisited
• The London Building Plan mentions the
requirement to comply with EN81-76 but
unfortunately the standard was never
published

• It is NOT for a lift engineer to advise on the

requirements for evacuation or an
evacuation lift
• This is a specialist job to be undertaken by
evacuation professionals in conjunction
with the lift engineers
HOSPITALS

Attention is drawn to HTM 05 Fire

Safety

Escape lift: A passenger lift protected in

accordance with Health Technical
Memorandum 05-03 Part E –‘Escape lifts’
to enable it to be used to safely transport
staff, patients and visitors to the ground
floor in the event of a fire.
Firefighters lift: A lift with protection
measures, controls and signals that
enable it to be used under the direct
control of the fire and rescue service in
fighting a fire.
HOSPITALS

Training in the use of equipment will

be by the Authorised Person (Lifts)
and by the site Fire Safety Adviser in
relation to the emergency evacuation
duties

Training (where applicable) should

take into account the description of
the operation of the lift and its
features as described in the lift
owner’s manual provided for each
new lift
(see Health Technical Memorandum
05-03 Part E – ‘Escape lifts’ for full
details)
LIFTING OPERATIONS & LIFTING EQUIPMENT
REGULATIONS 1998
(3) Subject to paragraph (6), every employer
shall ensure that lifting equipment which is
exposed to conditions causing deterioration
which is liable to result in dangerous situations
is:
(a) thoroughly examined;
(i) in the case of lifting equipment for lifting
persons or an accessory for lifting, at least every
6 months;
(ii) in the case of other lifting equipment, at least
every 12 months; or
(iii) in either case, in accordance with an
examination scheme; and
(iv) each time that exceptional circumstances
which are liable to jeopardise the safety of the
lifting equipment have occurred; and
(b) if appropriate for the purpose, is inspected
by a competent person at suitable intervals
between thorough examinations, to ensure that
health and safety conditions are maintained and
that any deterioration can be detected and
remedied in good time.
So hopefully………….

• You can now identify what type of lift you have

• You have an idea of some of the standards and legislation that

apply
 Checks and inspections of lifts used
by firefighters, evacuation lifts and
lifts-with fire recall.

Andrew Harrison – Technical Director – Classic Lifts Ltd

Expertise, built in.

 Why are we here?
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (FSER)

This Regulation makes it a legal requirement from

23 January 2023 for responsible persons in high-rise
residential buildings to undertake additional
monthly checks of any lifts within the building that
are designed, installed and maintained to be used by
fire-fighters (with the addition of evacuation lifts)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regula
tions-2022
 FSER Point 7
1. The responsible person in relation to a high-rise
residential building must undertake monthly routine
checks of lifts for use by firefighters, evacuation lifts
and essential fire-fighting equipment within the
building.

We will discus the required Checks and the identification

of different types of Fire Lifts later in this presentation.
 FSER Point 7
2. Where the responsible person identifies any fault
with a lift for use by firefighters, evacuation lift or
piece of essential fire-fighting equipment, the
responsible person must take steps to rectify
the fault.

This would normally involve reporting the fault to the

maintenance company
 FSER Point 7
3. Where a fault identified under paragraph (2) cannot
be rectified within a 24-hour period beginning with
the time the fault is identified, the responsible person
must, as soon as reasonably practicable—

(a) report the fault to the local fire and rescue authority
by electronic means; and
(b) report the rectification of the fault to the local fire and
rescue authority by electronic means when it has been
rectified

Link to National Fire Chiefs Council FSER Reporting page.

templates for reporting faults and rectifications
 FSER Point 7
4. The responsible person must make a record of the
monthly checks undertaken pursuant to this
regulation and make that record accessible to the
residents of the building
 FSER
Definitions

“responsible person” is a person or persons responsible

for, or having effective control over, fire safety provisions
adopted in or appropriate to the premises or building or
risk where a lift is installed.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/check-your-
fire-safety-responsibilities-under-the-fire-safety-england-re
gulations-2022/check-your-fire-safety-responsibilities-unde
r-the-fire-safety-england-regulations-2022#responsible-per
sons
 FSER
Definitions

“high-rise residential building”

if either of the following circumstances apply:

the building is at least 18 metres above ground level, measured

from the lowest ground level adjoining the outside of the
building to the height of the floor in the top storey (ignoring any
top storey that contains only plant or machinery);
or
the building is seven storeys or more, excluding any storeys
below ground level).
 FSER
Definitions

“routine check” means a check that any lift or piece of

equipment is in efficient working order and in good repair,
carried out in accordance with the relevant industry standard
or any recommendations made by the manufacturers of
equipment within an operators’ manual.
 Routine Checks
You must undertake monthly routine checks of all lifts that are
intended for use by firefighters.
Similarly, you must undertake monthly checks of any
evacuation lifts that are provided for the evacuation of
disabled people in the event of fire.

It is not envisaged that any of the above checks will need to be

carried out by specialists or contractors

These checks are in addition to the servicing and maintenance

of the systems
 Routine Checks
How do you know what Routine Checks are required?

Identify the equipment you have installed in your building.

It may not be immediately obvious what features are present

on a lift for use by firefighters. The above are examples of
types of switches that may be found at the Fire Service Access
Level (FSAL), and each may have different features.
 Routine Checks
Where a lift for fire service use needs to be classified, a full
check of the lift features using BS 8899, Annex A; should be
undertaken by a competent person.

This is something Classic Lifts can assist with.

Annex A; Also lists environmental/building requirements which

must be checked by the building’s responsible person.
 Routine Checks
Until reporting templates for these checks are formally included
in BS 8899, the following may be used as a basis:

The next few slides show examples of Routine Check recording

templates.

These Templates have been produced by LEIA The Lift and

Escalator Industry Association. The link below takes you to their
website which provides excellent information for lift owners
and responsible persons.

https://www.leia.co.uk/technical/leia-newsletter-2/
Routine Check Report

Lifts with Fire Recall only

Routine Check Report

Lifts for use by Firefighters

Routine Check Report

Evacuation Lifts
 Routine Check Report

Failure of the primary power

supply
 Annual Inspections

Fire Fighters Lift Operational

Inspection Report
 Annual Inspections

Evacuation Lift Operational

Inspection Report
 Overview
From the 23rd January 2023
In respect to Lifts which are used by Firefighters or for
Evacuation, the Responsible Person needs to:

1. Undertake monthly routine checks of lifts for use by

firefighters and evacuation lifts.
2. Take steps to rectify any faults which are identified.
3. Notify the local fire and rescue service when a lift for
use by Firefighters or for evacuation is out of service
for more than 24 Hours.
4. Make a record of the monthly checks undertaken and
make that record accessible to the residents of the
building.
 Question and Answers.

https://www.classiclifts.co.uk/customer-information/

andrew.harrison@classiclifts.co.uk
 Thank you for your
time

Expertise, built in.