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Is your high-rise ready for the NEW FIRE SAFETY REGULATIONS?

After the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase1 report highlighted the lack of on-site information available to London Fire Brigade, the latest Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 made it a legal requirement to have a secure information box with up-to-date plans on all existing high-rise residential buildings from 23.01.23.

With the same required for new build flats under The Building Regulations 2010 Approved Document B amendments in June 22 Section 15, which took effect on 01.12.22.

Having developed the original secure Premises Information Box™ (PIB)® and Emergency Response Pack (ERP) with the Fire & Rescue Service (FRS), you can rest assured we have you covered - simply leave your details.

Enquire below to find out about our secure Premises Information Box™ (PIB®) systems and ERP Plan Service

Enquiry - GerdaPIBs

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Where are the new fire safety regulations applied?

They make it a requirement for all high-rise residential building to have easily identifiable secure repositories for clear specified documents intended for use by the fire and rescue service during a fire, as per the NFCC FIA Code of Practice types of premises:

  • Existing blocks of flats whose top storey floor height is 18m or more, or over six storeys (ground plus five upper storeys), whichever is the lower.
  • Existing blocks of flats whose top storey floor height is below 18m or under six storeys which have additional complexity i.e. layout, access, facilities etc.
  • Student accommodation designed like a block of flats, e.g. those adopting a stay put approach whose top storey floor height is 11m or more.
  • New build blocks of flats whose top storey floor height is 11m or more.

Our Solution

Designed to the exacting specification of the Fire & Rescue Service, by fire fighters for fire fire fighters.
The original Gerda secure Premises Information Box™ (PIB®) and Emergency Response Pack (ERP) have been adopted by organisations nationwide and helped establish the FIA & NFCC Code of Practice.

Click here to view the PIBS Guide

Our Solution

Designed in partnership with the fire service, our products have the firefighter in mind, to provide essential fire safety and security.
The original Gerda secure Premises Information Box™ (PIB®) and Emergency Response Plans (ERP)™ have been adopted by organisations nationwide and helped establish the FIA & NFCC Code of Practice.

Click here to view the PIBS Guide

Get started in just three simple steps:

1. Complete your enquiry online

Submit your property details above and we’ll get back to you with details of the PIB and ERP options.

2. Confirm property requirements

Complete the PIB registration form for location & keyholder, then select your ERP service provision.

3. Product delivery or installation

Upon delivery or installation of your PIB, the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) are notified of the location.

Make sure your building abides by the Code of Practice

What the regulatory bodies have to say

As a minimum, the regulations require a responsible person to inspect the secure information box annually and ensure that its contents are up to date.

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

It is a legal requirement from 23 January 2023 for existing high-rise residential buildings in England to have a secure information box installed on the premises.

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

Blocks of flats (purpose group 1(a)) with a top storey more than 11m above ground level should be provided with a secure information box.
NOTE: Consideration should also be given to other buildings with large, complex or uncommon layouts where the provision of a secure information box may be beneficial.

June 2022 Amendments to Approved Document B: Fire safety section 15.19

The need to ensure that information is available to the fire and rescue service in a consistent format to assist with the emergency response, especially taking into account those with mobility, cognitive or sensory impairments is crucial.

Ian Moore, CEO, Fire Industry Association on the code of practice

Ensuring that up to date vital information is readily available to firefighters in an emergency, ensures that those most in need of support are fully considered in the decisions and plan for managing an incident.

Mark Hardingham, Chair National Fire Chiefs Council on the code of practice

We have introduced the biggest improvements to building safety in a generation with the passing into law of the Building Safety Act 2022. These changes will support our tough new regulatory regime, duly ensuring that fire safety measures are incorporated into new high-rise homes and that all new residential buildings meet the same safety standards.

Fire Safety Minister Lord Greenhalgh on the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

We also support the inclusion of Secure Information Boxes in buildings over 11m, which will give fire and rescue services access to important details about a building and its residents in the event of a fire.

The NFCC Protection & Business Safety Committee Chair, Gavin Tomlinson on the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The authors of this Code of Practice are grateful to Gerda Security Products Ltd for their contribution of plans and drawings given as examples in the appendices of this document many of which have been taken or adapted from Gerda’s own Emergency Response Pack guidance.

FIA NFCC Code of Practice for the Provision of Premises Information Boxes in Residential Buildings

Recommendation 33.12b: That the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to ensure that the building contains a premises information box, the contents of which must include a copy of the up-to-date floor plans and information about the nature of any lift intended for use by the fire and rescue services.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Recommendations, September 2021

£1.01B

Annual fire related UK insurer
commercial claims (inc.HRRB)

728

FRS attended fires in high-rise flats in year to June 2021

48/52

Split of social/private
(student) sector

95%

FRS using Gerda One Key System® nationwide.

6.58

Average FRS response time
to high-rise fires (mins)

High-Rise Residential Buildings

919878924 LR Hackney Flats

Social Housing

181878620-612x612 private flats

Private Residence

525970211-612x612 student flats

Student Accommodation

1345793835-612x612 new build

11m New Build

Simple & Effective

Installing your secure information box, or PIB, quickly ensures that the FRS have immediate access to on-site plans during a fire.

The new Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 ‘seek to improve the fire safety of blocks of flats in ways which are practical, cost effective for individual leaseholders and proportionate to the risk of fire.’

Simple & Effective

Installing your secure information box, or PIB, quickly ensures that the FRS have immediate access to on-site plans during a fire.
The new Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 ‘seek to improve the fire safety of blocks of flats in ways which are practical, cost effective for individual leaseholders and proportionate to the risk of fire.’

Secure Premises Information Boxes

Group 295

HSS PIB C (Cat A)

Group 296

ERP Plan Service

Group 297

Gerda One Key System®

Group 292

Standard PIB (Internal)

Uniting Fire Safety & Security™

Just a handful of our accreditations and memberships that make Gerda No.1 for fire safety and security.

SBD PPS logo
KM-Keyline-Enhanced-Security-Lock-Cylinders
CPDcertified
BSI-Assurance-Mark-ISO-9001-2015-KEYB
FIA Logo 2014
IH-FSN-logo-CMYK-scaled

FAQs

Got a query? Browse our most commonly asked PIB questions. Though if there’s anything you want to ask, simply email our team here and we’ll get back to you.

Any existing block of flats whose top story is over 18m, or 6 storeys whichever is the lower (i.e. ground plus 5 alternatively ‘7 or more’), along with 11m or more for student accommodation designed like a block of flats.

Plus, any new build blocks of flats with a top story more than 11m above ground level from 1 December 2022 in England.


Height of top storey measured from upper floor surface of top floor to ground level on lowest side of building. Note height of top storey excludes roof-top plant areas and any top stories consisting exclusively of plant rooms.

Ref: Approved Document B - Diagram D6

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 highlighted the lack of on-site information available to London Fire Brigade and recommended that it be required by law for all high-rise residential buildings. In order to keep this information safe and secure a premises information box should be installed and access given to the FRS.

Yes... we have stock available now, simply get in touch and we'll help ensure you're PIB and ERP are ready.

As a minimum the regulations require the RP to inspect annually and ensure contents are up to date, which Gerda can do as part of a 5-year ERP Plans Service and Maintenance Package. Although your plans will only need renewing if any of the required elements have changed.

Having worked with the FIA/NFCC on the ERP guidelines (as acknowledged in the Code of Practice listed on Gov.uk regulation 6), Gerda provides a complete ERP Plan Service with annual audit & maintenance option for total piece-of-mind.

https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/NFCC%20Guidance%20publications/Protection/PIBS_Guide_06-21_V2.pdf 

They’re the same, a Premises Information Box (PIB) is the original Gerda name for a secure facility to store information about a building for use by the fire service during an incident, which is now also know by the generic term secure information box (SIB). PIBs are referred to in the initial Grenfell Tower Inquiry and FIA NFCC Code of Practice (for the provision of Premises Information Boxes in Residential Buildings) with the regulations simply referring to secure information boxes (now termed SIB). With a Gerda PIB you’re installing the SIB originally developed with the fire and rescue service.

The Gov.uk guidance states ‘the responsible person is the person who is responsible for the safety of themselves and others who use a regulated premises. This is normally a building owner, or in residential properties, any other person in control of the premises. The responsible person is the person on whom most of the duties set out in the Fire Safety Order are imposed.’

The person having control of the building, or a degree of control.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responsible-person-and-duty-holder-fire-safety-responsibilities/responsible-person-identification-supplementary

Gov.uk Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 coming into force on 23 January 2023

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regulations-2022

Gov.uk Regulation 4 for secure premises information boxes as a legal requirement from 23.01.23

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regulations-2022/fact-sheet-secure-information-box-regulation-4

Gov.uk Regulation 6 for floor plans and building plan as a legal requirement from 23.01.23

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regulations-2022/fact-sheet-floor-plans-and-building-plan-regulation-6

Gov.uk building regulations amendments June 2022 for new build high-rise fire safety from 01.12.22

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1080214/ADB_amendment_booklet_June_2022.pdf

Gov.uk Fire safety: Approved Document B covering fire safety matters with June 22 amendments

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b

FIA & NFCC Code of Practice for the Provision of Premises Information Boxes in Residential Buildings

https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/NFCC%20Guidance%20publications/Protection/PIBS_Guide_06-21_V2.pdf

Make sure your building abides by the Code of Practice

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