IFE Suspension of Adam Kiziak - Member Advice
You will be aware from media reports that Mr Adam Kiziak has had his IFE membership and registration suspended.
According to the IFE, that sanction has been extended due to further complaints received, which are currently under investigation, and will remain in place until these investigations are concluded. The IFE has noted that the sanction issued applies to the individual and not any organisation.
According to the IFE, “the suspension of a professional does not necessarily invalidate work completed before the suspension, including EWS1 Forms.”
They have also said: “given the sanction imposed, if you have concerns about specific reports, we strongly recommend seeking verification from an independent qualified professional.”
To be clear, there’s no obligation on the landlord to procure an EWS1; these are intended for lending purposes only.
Responsible Persons do however have a duty under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 [FSO] to ensure that a fire risk assessment for a building which contains two or more sets of domestic premises, considers:
• the building's structure and external walls and any common parts;
• all doors between the domestic premises and common parts.
The reference to external walls includes:
• doors or windows in those walls, and
• anything attached to the exterior of those walls, including balconies.
In response to this requirement, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and the Home Office jointly sponsored ‘PAS 9980:2022 Fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding of existing blocks of flats – Code of practice’. This code of practice provides guidance on the risk of fire spread via external wall construction and sets out a methodology to conduct and record fire risk appraisals of external walls [FRAEW]. While PAS 9980 provides a comprehensive methodology for assessing fire risk in external walls, the EWS1 form is designed specifically for valuation and lending purposes. PAS 9980 assessments can inform the EWS1 process, but they serve distinct functions.
PAS 9980 indicates that an FRAEW is required unless a suitably competent assessor (often the fire risk assessor) has determined, after inspecting the building and reviewing the available information, that the risk of fire spread over the building is sufficiently low. However, in all cases the fire risk assessor or a competent assessor must assess the fire risks associated with the external walls.
It is worth noting however that the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require a Responsible Person in relation to a high-rise residential building (at least 18 metres above ground level or has at least seven storeys) to prepare a record of the design of the external walls of the building, including details of the materials from which they are constructed. The Home Office’s guidance in relation to this requirement references PAS 9980.
The FSO requires that a fire risk assessment: “must be reviewed by the responsible person regularly so as to keep it up to date and particularly if:
• there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or
• there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates including when the premises, special, technical and organisational measures, or organisation of the work undergo significant changes, extensions, or conversions,
and where changes to an assessment are required as a result of any such review, the responsible person must make them.”
If the Responsible Person has reasons to suspect a fire risk assessment is no longer valid because, for example, the suitability of the FRAEW, which the fire risk assessor has relied upon when considering the fire risk in relation to the external envelope, has been questioned, they must review the assessment.
Where the Responsible Person does not themselves have the competence to undertake the review, the review should be undertaken in consultation with the competent fire risk assessor who undertook the fire risk assessment or another competent person.
Where an EWS1 form is required, it is essential that the findings recorded on the form align with the findings of the fire risk assessment and where one is required, an FRAEW.
Where the findings of the EWS1 form or the FRAEW do not align with the findings of the risk assessment, the fire risk assessment should be reviewed immediately.
The required competence of FRAEW assessors is set out in Section 8 and Annex H of PAS 9980.
