About us

 

SAFE Consultants is owned and operated by a small number of specialists in their field who have come together to provide unrivalled personal service in this complicated and fast changing environment.

This means we can quickly assess your specific individual requirements and offer a bespoke service at a sensible and fixed price.

We pride ourselves on working with clients to come up with pragmatic solutions to any problems that may be present.

EWS1 FORMS

In June of 2017, the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington caught fire and 72 people tragically lost their lives.

Since then, the Government have issued over a half a dozen formal advice notes, various orders and amendments to building regulations, all dealing with fire threats in multi occupied residential buildings. The latest legislation The Fire Safety Bill is still making it’s way through the Houses of Parliament.

The External Wall Fire Review process (EWFR) was developed and became an industry-wide process agreed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), UK Finances and the building Societies Associations (BSA). A standard analysis of External Wall Systems was required to allow individual dwellings in multi occupied blocks to be sold or mortgaged. Consequently the EWS1 Form was produced to provide comfort and conformity. This EWS1 form itself is now in it’s second edition which was released on 8th March 2021.

Every EWS1 form should be supported by an EWS1 Survey which allows for the inspection of the external wall systems of a building to make sure that it does not pose a fire risk to the people that may live or work inside it. The complexity of the survey can be as myriad as there are individual apartment buildings. This can range from simple confirmation that an EWS1 Form is not actually required through invasive examination and laboratory testing all the way up to a recommended evacuation and decanting of an entire block involving Fire & Rescue Services.

A competently undertaken EWS survey should involve more than one site visit, as invasive inspection of the structure may be required.

SAFE Consultants are uniquely placed using their principals’ vast experience and expertise to determine from the outset what level of report is likely to be required and hence save unnecessary costs on abortive works and visits.

All works and costs will be agreed up front and are fixed.

FRAA

The Fire Safety Bill 2020 when passed will introduce a new legal requirement for all buildings. The Fire Risk Appraisal and Assessment (FRAA) will require the Responsible Person to fully consider and mitigate the risks associated with any external wall system (Amongst other things). Proposed new guidance document (PAS 9980) relating to fire risk appraisal and assessment of external wall construction on existing residential buildings is to be published in 2021.

However a duty of care has already existed to consider the external wall construction in fire risk appraisal since January 2020 when the Government’s Consolidated Advice Note was published.

SAFE Consultants can provide a fully compliant Fire Risk Appraisal and Assessment (FRAA) in readiness for imminent changes. This may well involve adapting and expanding your existing FRA.

Insurance Certification

Due to concern following high profile fire safety failures, the uncertainty over specification of materials and ongoing legislation the Insurance Market has contracted it’s cover and introduced blanket exclusions in recent years. This has expanded from residential buildings into the commercial market and owners/purchasers are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain cost effect insurance on office, warehouse and industrial buildings with cladding.

SAFE Consultants can provide a Fire Safety Insurance Certification of your property enabling a competitive insurance quote to be achieved on normal terms.

Meet the Team

  • Raymond J Boyle MRICS

    Raymond is a Chartered Surveyor with over 35 years qualified experience of building surveying in the UK and Ireland.

    Raymond has been undertaking Fire Risk assessments for over ten years.

    Raymond was enrolled in the first tranche of exclusively trained building surveyors undertaking the Government and RICS backed External Wall System Training Programme which is due to be completed in September 2021.

    This will create a new specialist qualification ABBE Level 6 Award in External Wall Systems Assessment overseen by Ofqual.


    Holders will be the recognised experts in this field.

  • Dr. Martin Lawless. PhD, MSc(Fire), MSc(OSH), M.I.E.I., M.I.F.S.M. Grad.I.O.S.H.

    Martin is a consultant safety professional based in Northern Ireland, with specialist interests in Fire Safety Risk Assessment and Health and Safety Risk Assessment.

    He is a member of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland, a graduate member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (UK) and a member of the Institute of Fire Safety Managers (UK) with Masters’ degrees in Fire Safety Strategy (Trinity College Dublin) and Occupational Safety and Health (University College Dublin).

    He completed his Doctorate in Public Health (with a major in Fire Safety in large complex facilities) at University College Dublin in 2015 and lectures part-time in Fire Safety on the Diploma, Higher Diploma and Masters’ safety courses at University College Dublin.

    Martin has been providing independent consultancy services in Fire Safety since 1990 and Safety and Health since 2000.