Can we talk about the fire standards in new build houses

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Iver the past few years within a30 mile radius of me there gave been two huge fires on relatively new build housing estates. Both times the fire has ravaged swathes of houses. Now we are seeing the same in Stourbridge.

The houses near me were all those ones where they basically build the house with wood then add bricks after. All these we are told are safe and should resist fire. Obviously to me they don't.

AIBU to think we need to look at these regulations again??

It's not the regs it's the builders not adhering to them... retirement complex where mil lives, built without proper fire breaks in loft.

The is a well known house builder who has built thousands of terrace and semis without fire breaks between the houses.

But in my experience of household claims management, major house fires are extremely rare and the fire regs are part of the reason this is the case

Without knowing the causes of the fires it’s a bit difficult to say isn’t it? I mean fires in brick built Victorian terraces had a horrible habit of spreading. My completely uniformed guess is that houses are too close together, plastic windows are not only an aesthetic abomination but spread flames and smoke too easily, and people have far too much cheap flammable furniture, carpet and plastics, sorry, vinyl flooring and other associated tat. I reckon the timber frame construction method is way down the list of problems!

It might depend on what you’re expecting from fire regs.

Modern ones are generally intended to stop people from dying, rather than preventing fires from damaging property. Hence why you get things like 30 minute fire doors. They won’t be fit for anything after there's been a fire but it gives you long enough to get out. Yes, timber frame means less left at the end than brick, but in bith cases the properties would have been destroyed.

Building closer means more potential for spreading between buildings, but again, should generally see people get out.

Well stopping them spreading alomd with saving lives is the main thing I'd expect tbh. And whilst they do one they don't do both.

Fire regs are basic in any houses, new or older.

More stringent fire regulations would increase the price of property though and people are already struggling to get on the housing ladder. Although saying that, new build estates in my area never seem to issue selling their houses!

Not near me or recent but this is what I mean.

Am I missing something. Has anyone died in Stourbridge fires?

Is any building material indestructible in fire? As I don't know of any.

No, but bricks don't burn. Wooden frames do. These houses are totally destroyed. Brick houses aren't.

The majority of house fires start internally, chip pans, people smoking in bed etc, so fire regulations have that in mind, there's a fire get everybody out. All new builds in Wales have to be fitted with sprinkler systems, again to extinguish fires started inside the property. Fire spreading along terraced houses has been a problem for years, the Victorian terrace I grew up in, had no walls in the lofts between the houses originally, the bad installation of modern firebreaks is a direct result of the relaxation of building inspection, such that builders are essentially allowed to mark their own homework. The Stourbridge fire is a rare occurrence, I don't think there is a means of construction or fire suppression that could have saved those houses no matter when they were built.

Brick houses are also destroyed by fire since the floor and ceiling joists collapse, along with the staircases I would have thought! After a fire I can’t imagine what’s left is structurally stable…

Wouldnt thr location matter more here. The houses lost in wildfire events tend to be the ones next to fields etc.

Obviously I don't know but the ones in Stourbridge I saw on the news looks like they have a road in between some houses!!

This. Steel, timber, bricks, concrete is all destroyed by fire.

The ones in Stourbridge look 50/70 years old. Would be still standing if there were not a bunch of tinder dry land on fire next to them.

The fire regs for houses being built right now are stringent and are reviewed what appears to be daily.

After Grenfell the NHBC faced a lot of criticism so they’ve (rightly) tightened the regs.

All building materials burn but houses now are designed to give you enough time to escape rather than being concerned about what is left which is the right way as far as I’m concerned.

Whilst there have been a couple very recently, house fires that destroy houses or kill people are actually pretty rare.

If you check, bricks don't burn. They are A1 fire rated.

What do you think the houses were made of in Stourbridge, cardboard?

What is your point?? The bricks are still standing, the wood around them isn't. My point is we need to stop building with wooden frames. But hey, if you want your house to be a massive fire risk, build it with wood!

But houses (of any age) aren’t only made of bricks. They have blocks, wood, metal, plasterboard etc.

What are you proposing we used for joists, staircases and floors?

Grenfell was concrete construction. It still burned.

The bricks and stone are still there but not else.

My Dd2 has bought a new build . It's excellent for safety . Has its own built in Sprinkler system in the event of a fire and it's inspected every year .