Managing fire safety for a building (heights, duty-holders, fire duties)

What you'll end up with: each building placed in the right fire safety band by its height, its responsible person recorded with a UK address for notices, and the fire safety duties that are done by telling someone (residents, or the fire and rescue service) recorded as done.

Before you start you need: each building's height in metres and number of storeys (recorded with Edit Height on the property's Compliance tab), and who the responsible person is under the Fire Safety Order.

The law that applies to a building depends on its height. Every block needs a fire risk assessment. Above 11 metres there are fire door checks. At 18 metres or 7 storeys the Building Safety Act's higher-risk rules apply. Some duties, such as giving residents fire safety instructions every year, have no certificate: the record of what you told them is the only evidence.

1. Go to Compliance → Fire Safety. Each band shows how many buildings are in it and how many fire duties are overdue. This Band Only narrows the page to one band.
2. Choose the building from the list. Each shows its band, height and storeys, and how many duties are overdue.
3. Check Fire Safety Duty-Holders: the responsible person, their UK service address, and the period they hold the role. Press Add Duty-Holder to record a new one, choosing who they take over from.
4. Under Resident Fire Safety Information, press Add Entry each time you give residents fire safety information.
5. Type what was issued in Information Issued.
6. Choose the Audience: All Residents, A New Resident or One Unit (with the Unit).
7. Choose Issued On.
8. Type How it was given, and who issued it.
9. Press Save Entry.

The same page records fire risk assessments and their actions (Add Assessment, Add Action), notifications to the fire and rescue service (Record Notification), material changes to the building (Add Change) and personal emergency evacuation plans (Add Resident). Entries in these registers cannot be edited or deleted: to correct one, add a new entry saying so. Under the assessments, Fire Risk Assessor names the person or firm who did the latest one: the law says you must record who it was.

You'll know it worked when: the entry is listed under Resident Fire Safety Information with the date, and the overdue duty for the annual issue has left My Duties.

If something's wrong:

• A building is in "Height Not Recorded". Its band cannot be worked out. Press Edit Height on the property's Compliance tab and record its height and storeys.
• "Annual issue to all residents overdue." More than twelve months have passed since the last issue to every resident. Send the information, then record it (steps 4 to 9).
• You recorded an entry wrongly. It cannot be edited or deleted. Add a new entry stating the correction, and re-issue the information if it was wrong.
• A Building Safety Act role is not offered. Those roles apply only at 18 metres or 7 storeys. If the building is that tall, correct its height first.
• A fire duty reads Not Needed. Someone marked it Not Needed for this building, with a reason. It raises no reminder. Add Back on the property's Required Duties puts it on the register again.
• The responsible person changes. Press Add Duty-Holder and choose who they take over from in Takes Over From.