Following the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire and forthcoming new building safety standards, there has been an understandable increase in the concerns for building occupants living in high-rise buildings. This advice and guidance article covers the topic of waking watch services, detailing what waking watch is, and when a waking watch may be recommended.
What is a waking watch?
The government defines waking watch as ‘a system whereby suitably trained persons continually patrol all floors and the exterior perimeter of the building in order to detect a fire, raise the alarm, and carry out the role of evacuation management.’
The aim of waking watch is to continually patrol a building (fire patrol) to ensure that there is sufficient warning in the event of a fire situation to support the evacuation strategy. If the waking watch identifies or is informed of a fire situation, they will attend immediately, assess the situation, and if required will call the Fire and Rescue Service. They may also support residents to evacuate and may liaise with the Fire and Rescue Service on their arrival.
While a waking watch is a costly measure to introduce, it is sometimes used as a short-term mitigation measure while remediation works are taking place on a building. Government data obtained through MHCLG in 2020 found that the median monthly cost of waking watch per building was £11,361.00. You can find out more about waking watch costs here. A Waking Watch Relief Fund was released by the government, however applications for the latest fund closed in March 2022.
When is a waking watch required?
In August 2022, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and other industry partners published the fourth edition of the Simultaneous Evacuation Guidance (SEG), replacing the third edition which was published in October 2020. When it comes to SEG, the NFCC states that:
‘If a building has been identified as high risk because of an unsuitable external wall system, or other fire safety defects, interim fire safety arrangements can be adopted for the temporary, short-term management and mitigation from fire risks, and the risk to life if a fire occurs.
‘These arrangements can range from simple steps to remove potential ignition sources that might give rise to a fire, through to a change in the evacuation strategy for a building, moving from Stay Put to Simultaneous Evacuation supported by the installation of common fire alarms and/or a waking watch.’
Where fire safety issues have been identified on a building, and the responsible person has recognised that a switch from a Stay Put strategy to SEG is needed, a short-term mitigation measure such as a waking watch is sometimes recommended to aid simultaneous evacuation while other interim measures such as a fire alarm system (first aid fire alarm system) are being installed. The NFCC guidance recommends that:
‘Where a waking watch is implemented, as soon as practicable but within a month, the Responsible Persons should make a plan for implementing sustainable means for supporting the evacuation strategy to allow the building to transition away from a waking watch. Such a plan should include details such as costings, timeframes, a resident engagement strategy, and relevant procurement processes. In the immediate and transitional term, this plan could include the installation of a first aid fire alarm system.’
You can read the full Simultaneous Evacuation Guidance, along with comprehensive FAQs by the NFCC and other industry partners here.
Please be aware that considerable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this article at the time of publication, however any legislative (or other) changes that come into effect after this may render the information out of date until it is reviewed and updated as part of the FPA’s content review cycle.