The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) have today released a
Position Statement on Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
The ambition to build homes quickly and sustainably, should not
be prioritised at the expense of building safety. Today the NFCC
is calling on the Government for tightened rules for the testing
of MMC.
Gavin Tomlinson, NFCC Protection and Business Safety
Scrutiny Committee Chair said
“NFCC is concerned that MMC buildings are being designed,
approved and built despite a lack of understanding about their
performance. Given the current regulatory system has already been
described and accepted by Government as ‘not fit for purpose’
even for traditional construction techniques, this adds
additional uncertainty in the built environment.”
NFCC welcome the current reform of building safety, however,
significant cultural change in the system must take place to
improve competency levels across the sector and ensure that MMC
is promoted and used in a manner which provides safe buildings
for all. We believe that building ‘better’ means buildings that
are safer for residents from the risk of fire, and for
firefighters who respond when a fire does break out.
The construction sector is a strategically significant part of
the UK economy. The sector has been struggling to meet growing
residential demand, with supply and demand imbalances
contributing to unaffordability, tenure shortages and
homelessness. NFCC understands that the Government is very
supportive of MMC and see MMC as central to the delivery of
ambitious housing targets and the Affordable Homes Programme.
Across Government and the built environment NFCC cannot just
speak for ease and speed. The safety of residents and safety of
operational crews in fighting fires in these buildings is vital,
as well as the need to prevent problems arising before
remediation of them is needed, usually at greater cost.
Mark Hardingham, Chair of the NFCC added
“It is vitally important to make sure that products and
technologies are safe for use, including their likely performance
in a fire, before they are used in the built environment. Not
only is this important for safety but it also helps to protect
leaseholders from unnecessary costs that can arise when buildings
need remediation, or interim measures, including things like
waking watches.”
NFCC support reducing the environmental impact of construction
wherever possible, and recognise the role that MMC can play in
achieving this. However, this must not be at the expense of
safety.
Ben Brook, NFCC lead on Climate Change added
“We are understandably seeing a focus on sustainable building
approaches and materials, including the use of timber and living
walls. While these may present useful solutions to help reduce
the carbon footprint of buildings, they should also be supported
by evidence and testing to demonstrate their long-term
suitability and safety to provide reassurance for the lifetime of
the building.”
The MMC position launched today, asks for a range of measures to
ensure that new construction products and technologies do not
contribute to the risk of fire and that there should not be a
conflict between sustainability, improved building standards and
fire safety.
