Doubt hangs over cladding remediation work on more than 60 buildings after a fire safety consultancy was suspended as an assessor last week by housing quango Homes England.
Last week, Homes England suspended Tri Fire from its panel of firms approved to conduct fire risk appraisals of external walls (FRAEWs) for applicants to its cladding remediation fund for medium-rise buildings, the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS).
Tri Fire carried out 62 FRAEWs for CSS applicants before its suspension from the fire assessor panel, Construction News has discovered through a Freedom of Information request to Homes England.
A statement on the applicant portal reads: “Homes England are working with Tri Fire in a current investigation. While this [is] ongoing we have temporarily suspended Tri Fire from the CSS FRAEW Assessor panel.
“Reports instructed to them after 21 January 2025 will not be accepted. We will continue to accept reports already produced, however they will subject to additional checks for assurance.”
A Homes England spokesperson said they were aware of allegations against Tri Fire and that the firm will be suspended from its assessor panel while the claims are investigated.
They added: “We are carrying out an audit of all Tri Fire reports and additional control measures are in place on reports carried out prior to their suspension.”
Tri Fire’s director Adam Kiziak was sanctioned by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) last August for lacking “accuracy and vigour”, in a case it called “unprecedented in its seriousness for the institution”.
The CSS, administered by Homes England, offers government funding for remediating dangerous cladding on buildings between 11 and 18 metres in height.
Before remediation work can begin, applicants must provide a FRAEW, which sets out exactly what remediation works are needed, carried out by one of the firms on the scheme’s fire assessor panel.
Michael Wharfe, partner at law firm Devonshires, told CN: “The fact that CSS applications require an FRAEW report, that sets out the scope of any remedial works required to make a building safe for occupation with the funding specifically tied to that work, means that any questions about the accuracy of the supporting report should be resolved before the application or works continue.”
He added: “The repercussions are simple: due to the somewhat imprecise findings of the IFE – that Mr Kiziak lacked competence, accuracy and vigour, with no further details of the period, failures or documents in question – all documents authored by Mr Kiziak fall to be questioned and invite independent peer review.”
Kiziak was sanctioned by the IFE in August for failing to “maintain and work within professional competence” and failing to hold adequate professional indemnity insurance. Kiziak also breached the organisation’s ethical principles of “accuracy and vigour”, the sanction document added.
The IFE suspended Kiziak’s membership for six months and removed him from its register of fire risk assessors. Last Friday (21 January), the IFE extended the suspension until investigations into complaints about Kiziak are concluded.
The IFE put out a statement on Friday (24 January) addressing “significant interest surrounding a high-profile matter involving a sanctioned member”.
The statement said: “The aforementioned case is unprecedented in its seriousness for the institution and is the first case of its kind where a member has been issued a sanction of this nature.
“As such, we are actively developing and refining our processes to address the complexities it presents. Throughout this process, we remain committed to ensuring accuracy, rigour and fairness.”
Phenna Group, which had acquired Tri Fire in July last year, announced in November that it had returned Tri Fire to the ownership of its founder shareholders.
Last Wednesday (22 January), Labour MP Mike Amesbury asked building safety minister Alex Norris whether his department had audited post-remediation qualifying assessments Tri Fire carried out under the developer remediation contract scheme.
Norris said his department had begun auditing developer assessments and will publish results in the next few months.
He said: “If a relevant assessment obtained by a developer does not meet the standards set out in the developer remediation contract, the developer would be obligated to address the matter.”
Tri Fire has been contacted for comment.
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Charlotte Banks