The Industry Safety Steering Group has published its fifth report, and its central message deserves attention across our sector: the urgency to change that followed Grenfell is, in parts of the industry, beginning to fade.
The ISSG calls for closer engagement between construction and government, for meaningful differentiation between those doing safety well and those who are not, and – the point that resonates most with us – it raises concern that building safety is still not being properly prioritised at the earliest and latest stages of the construction process.
That concern is well founded, and it’s worth being specific about what it means in practice.
The build phase is where protection is thinnest
Most of the regulatory reform since Grenfell has rightly focused on how buildings are designed, approved and occupied. But there is a period – often measured in years – when a building’s permanent fire protection doesn’t yet exist. No installed detection. No commissioned alarm system. Escape routes that change week by week. Add hot works, temporary accommodation units and stored combustible materials, and the construction phase carries fire risks that the finished building never will.
The guidance is there. The Joint Code of Practice on Fire Prevention on Construction Sites and HSG168 set out clearly what a competent approach looks like, including temporary means of detection and warning appropriate to the size and complexity of the site. But guidance depends on culture – and culture is exactly what the ISSG is worried about.
Good actors are already differentiating themselves
One of the report’s most constructive points is that the industry needs recognition for those who exceed minimum standards, not just sanctions for those who fall short. We see this every week: the principal contractors we work with who treat temporary fire safety as a planned, audited discipline – with proper coverage assessments, weekly testing regimes and evacuation strategies that evolve with the build – are not doing it because an inspector might visit. They’re doing it because it protects people, programmes and reputations.
The ISSG is asking government to help make that difference visible. In the meantime, the difference is already visible on site, to anyone who looks.
Our view
We welcome the report and share its impatience. Fire safety during construction sits outside much of the reform conversation, yet it’s the phase where risk is often highest and protection most temporary. If the sector wants to demonstrate that post-Grenfell commitment hasn’t waned, the state of fire precautions on live sites is a good place to start.
Howler UK has specialised in temporary fire safety for construction sites for 40 years, supporting principal contractors across the UK with wireless fire alarm systems and compliance guidance aligned to the JCoP, HSG168 and BS 5839.
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