Raising Standards Together
How North West Fire Services Are Strengthening High-Rise Safety
High-rise fire safety has been one of the most closely scrutinised areas of building management in recent years. The tragic events at Grenfell Tower in 2017 reshaped how the UK approaches fire risk in residential buildings — and in the North West, fire services have taken proactive steps to make sure lessons are learned, not repeated.
A regional initiative involving Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (GMFRS), Merseyside FRS, and neighbouring brigades has shown how collaboration, communication, and consistency can make a real difference.
At Fletcher Risk, we see this as an excellent example of how responsible persons, building owners, and fire professionals can work together to protect people and restore confidence in high-rise living.
🏙 A joined-up regional approach
Following the post-Grenfell regulatory reforms, the North West’s fire services launched a coordinated project to review fire safety across more than 650 high-rise buildings.
This effort, detailed in International Fire & Safety Journal, focused on three key goals:
Improving consistency in how fire services inspect and assess high-rise risks.
Enhancing resident communication, ensuring occupants understand evacuation procedures and safety measures.
Supporting building owners and managers to meet new legal duties under the Building Safety Act 2022 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.
By working together, the services developed a shared understanding of risk, shared resources, and coordinated enforcement where necessary — a model many other regions are now studying.
🧱 What they found
The project revealed that while many buildings had good fire-safety systems in place, others suffered from familiar issues:
Outdated or incomplete Fire Risk Assessments.
Poor communication between managing agents, residents, and contractors.
Unclear ownership of safety actions or maintenance.
Inconsistent evacuation strategies and record-keeping.
Rather than focusing solely on enforcement, the North West services took a collaborative approach — supporting responsible persons to make practical improvements while still holding them accountable where necessary.
🔍 The role of the new regulations
The initiative came alongside major updates to UK fire-safety law, including:
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which introduced new duties for high-rise buildings such as:
Monthly checks of lifts and fire doors.
Information sharing with residents and fire services.
The provision of electronic building floor plans to local FRSs.
The Building Safety Act 2022, which created the new role of the Accountable Person — responsible for ensuring ongoing building safety throughout the structure’s life.
The North West collaboration helped many building owners understand how these new duties apply in practice — particularly for mixed-use and legacy buildings.
🧠 Lessons for landlords and managing agents
The North West high-rise project offers clear lessons for everyone managing multi-storey or complex buildings:
Fire safety is ongoing, not one-off.
A single Fire Risk Assessment isn’t enough. Building layouts, materials, and uses change — reviews should be scheduled and updated regularly.Communication saves lives.
Residents must understand what to do in an emergency, especially in “stay put” buildings. Clear signage and simple written guidance are essential.Ownership matters.
Every action in your Fire Risk Assessment should have a named person responsible — and a clear deadline.Records protect you.
Keep inspection logs, maintenance certificates, and communication records accessible. They’re not just paperwork — they demonstrate compliance if you’re ever audited.Collaboration works.
Engage your local fire service, managing agents, and residents early. The more transparent the relationship, the smoother compliance becomes.
🧩 Building confidence through cooperation
The North West approach proves that fire safety doesn’t have to be adversarial.
When fire services, building managers, and residents work together, progress is faster — and trust is stronger.
As fire-safety expectations rise, this model of open communication and joint responsibility will be critical to meeting the new standards set out under the Building Safety Regulator.
🔧 How Fletcher Risk can help
At Fletcher Risk, we help property owners, housing providers, and managing agents meet their legal duties and strengthen resident safety.
Our services include:
Comprehensive Fire Risk Assessments for high-rise and complex buildings.
Gap analysis against the Fire Safety (England) Regulations and Building Safety Act.
Evacuation planning and resident-communication strategies.
Fire-door and compartmentation surveys to ensure structural safety.
Annual reviews to keep compliance continuous and up to date.
We believe the best outcomes come from the same principle that drives the North West initiative — collaboration, transparency, and consistency.
🔑 The key takeaway
The North West Fire & Rescue Services’ high-rise safety project is a model for the future: proactive, data-led, and rooted in communication.
For landlords and managing agents, it’s a reminder that compliance isn’t just about avoiding enforcement — it’s about protecting lives and rebuilding confidence in the buildings people call home.
👉 Contact us for expert advice on high-rise fire safety, regulatory compliance, and resident engagement.
Fletcher Risk Team - 8 November 2025
Disclaimer:
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Fire-safety requirements may vary depending on your building and local authority. For specific guidance or a formal Fire Risk Assessment, please contact Fletcher Risk or a qualified fire-safety professional.