Minister Simon Coveney has recently signed the Statutory Instrument, S.I. No. 57 of 2017 – Building Regulations (part B Amendment) Regulations 2017, which will come into operation on the 1st of July 2017. These regulations amend the existing Part B regulations, by introducing regulations B6 – B11 to Part B of the Second Schedule of the Building Regulations making provision for fire safety requirements in dwelling houses. The new regulations include:
- B6 – Means of warming and escape in case of fire.
- B7 – Internal fire Spread (linings).
- B8 – Internal fire spread (structure).
- B9 – External fire spread.
- B10 – Access and facilities for the fire service.
- B11 – Definitions for this part.
A new specific Technical Guidance Document has been published to provide guidance on meeting the new requirements (B6-B11) and it is entitled “Building Regulations 2017 Technical Guidance Document B Fire Safety – Volume 2 – Dwelling Houses”. This new guidance deals solely with dwelling houses providing guidance which relates to non-complex dwelling houses of normal design and construction.