Safety information for managing agents and landlords

Roles and responsibilites for managing agents and landlords

States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service (SJFRS) are introducing a new set of roles and responsibilities to owners and managers of high rise buildings in Jersey, following a change of fire safety legislation in the UK in October 2023.

We’re working in partnership with managing agents and landlords to improve fire safety, to ensure that critical information is gathered for local tall buildings in case of an incident.

This begins with an inspection which will help create a Secure Information Box.

The new roles and responsibilities for the managing agents and landlords covers:

information about the buildings structure and external areas
information regarding the design and materials of external walls
undertaking regular checks of fire doors in common areas and flat entrance doors
providing SJFRS with building floor plans
monthly checks of firefighting lifts and firefighting equipment
the provision of Wayfinding signage
the installation and maintenance of Secure Information Boxes

The inspection process

The inspection process will involve gathering premises information to recognise any specific hazards and risks to improve the general fire safety standards for each tall building.

This will be achieved by each individual building being allocated a single Site Risk Questionnaire (SRQ).

The SRQ will be split into 2 parts:

SRQ-Ops which will be completed by SJFRS
SRQ-MA will be completed by the Managing Agency

Once each section has been completed, the information will be collated and combined to provide a single finished document.

This document will be known as a Site Risk Information (SRI) document.

The process will consist of:

an electronic SRQ to be completed by both the managing agent or landlord, and SJFRS for each building that falls within the ‘tall building’ category
SJFRS contacting the managing agent (or responsible person) to agree a convenient time and date for their visit. This will allow the managing agent to inform all residents of the building prior to the agreed date
SJFRS attending the premises to undertake and complete their part of the SRQ
the Managing Agencies answering their SRQ, which will be submitted to the Fire Safety Department upon completion
information from SJFRS and managing agents being collated and the 2 electronic documents will be combined to create a single Site Risk Information document for the allocated premises

Tall buildings site risk questionnaire and guidance for managing agencies

Secure Information Box

Managing agents and landlords are requested to create a Secure Information Box (SIB) as part of the SRQ.

The SIB is a system to provide SJFRS with essential information for attending fire crews at an incident. It will provide the Incident Commander with critical information in the early stages of an emergency to bring the incident under control.

SJFRS Secure Information Box guidance