News6 May 2025

External Wall Appraisal Programme - Tri-Fire update

Clarion is reassessing external wall fire safety after ending work with Tri-Fire, following regulatory concerns, to support affected homeowners and ensure compliance.

Clarion has been undertaking fire safety appraisals of external walls to our blocks of flats in line with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Alongside this legal requirement, some lenders have required an EWS1 assessment be carried out, and the form submitted to support mortgage applications. In 2022, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) clarified the criteria around which buildings should need an EWS1 assessment, meaning many buildings would no longer meet the requirement for this assessment.

Recently, an issue arose when the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) announced a sanction against one of its members, Adam Kiziak, who was the lead engineer at Tri-Fire, a company engaged by Clarion to undertake both appraisals and EWS1s. As a result, Clarion has stopped working with Tri-Fire. In many instances, Clarion has completed Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEW) which supersedes previous EWS1 assessments. The FRAEW is undertaken in accordance with the latest guidance known as PAS 9980. However, there are a number of buildings where we are yet to undertake an FRAEW and the only assessment we currently have is an EWS1 from Tri-Fire.

To address the concerns raised, we have engaged additional consultants to undertake external wall appraisals to sites that have formally been signed off by Tri-Fire. We are currently in the process of completing these investigations as quickly as possible and working with individual residents who are trying to sell, re-mortgage, or staircase.

Additionally, the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE) has confirmed that as of 07/02/2025 Adam Kiziak has been expelled from the institution due to non-compliance of sanction. As a result, he is no longer permitted to use any IFE or Engineering Council post-nominals, nor represent himself as a member of the Institution in any capacity.

In April 2025, UK Finance, the trade body for financial services, in conjunction with the RICS, updated its guidance for External Wall System 1 (EWS1) forms that have an invalid signature or are over five years old. The statement sets out that where there is an invalid EWS1 form, those lenders that have agreed to the statement have pledged not to require wholesale reviews of the buildings affected. We are currently reviewing the impact of this announcement and are seeking to discuss the position further with some of these lenders.

Read the statement

We appreciate the difficulties and concerns that this may now cause for some homeowners, especially as some lenders are no longer accepting forms issued by Mr. Kiziak or Tri-Fire. We would like to assure you that this does not mean your home is any less safe, and we are currently reviewing the best way to have these buildings reassessed. If you are selling, staircasing, or remortgaging your home and a lender has raised concerns with a Tri-Fire certificate, please contact the relevant team as soon as possible:

Residents in buildings 11m+ (or 5 or more storeys) are still afforded protections set out in the Building Safety Act 2022, and will be provided a Landlord’s Certificate.

We know this may be a worrying and frustrating time for homeowners, and we apologise for this. We’re committed to reviewing all buildings impacted and will ensure that the required assessments are undertaken where necessary as quickly as possible.

If you have any further questions about your home’s fire safety, please email the Building Safety Teams at buildingsafety@clarionhg.com.