BSI publishes European specification on reviewing fire safety engineering designs

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has released a Published Document setting out how fire safety engineering designs should be checked and reviewed across a building's life, the Construction Health & Safety Group (CHSG) reported on 27 October 2026.

The document is PD CEN/TS 18332:2026, Fire safety engineering – Review and control in the building process. BSI's product record lists it as Current, with a publication date of 30 September 2026.

According to CHSG, the document is aimed at those responsible for checking fire safety designs. It names fire safety engineers, consultants, architects, building designers, building control professionals and developers among the intended users.

What the document covers

CHSG said the document details how fire safety designs should be checked and reviewed throughout a building's life cycle, from initial design through to refurbishment.

It also covers when to involve a third party, how checking should continue through the construction phase, and how to ensure that decisions and responsibilities are recorded, CHSG said.

A European document, not a British Standard

BSI's record shows the publication is identical to the European technical specification CEN/TS 18332:2026, issued in the UK as a Published Document rather than a British Standard. Its ISBN is 978 0 539 33427 2.

BSI lists FSH/24 as the UK committee responsible. The document is classified under two International Classification for Standards (ICS) codes: 13.220.99, other standards related to protection against fire, and 91.080.01, structures of buildings in general.

The same committee, FSH/24, is responsible for BS 7974:2019, Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings. Code of practice, which BSI published on 31 March 2019. BSI describes BS 7974 as providing a framework for an engineering approach to the fire safety of buildings, and says its primary users will be fire safety engineering practitioners.

The new Published Document therefore sits alongside the existing UK code of practice from the same committee, but addresses the review and control of fire engineering designs rather than the design approach itself.

Who reported it

CHSG, which received charitable status on 15 September 1981, published the notice on its website and directed readers to the BSI product page for the document.

The charity runs a Fire Safety Academy, with courses ranging from Fire Safety for Wardens/Marshals to Fire Risk Assessment.

PD CEN/TS 18332:2026 is available from BSI, with a listed publication date of 30 September 2026.