The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has launched its consultation on the “clarification of building regulations guidance on fire safety (Approved Document B)”.

The stated aim of the consultation is to seek “…views on the proposed clarification of statutory guidance on fire safety (Approved Document B) that aims to improve usability and reduce the risk of misinterpretation by those carrying out and inspecting building work”.

It seems that the intention of MHCLG at this stage is to obtain views on the steps it has taken to “clarify” Approved Document(s) B. It goes on to say “A full technical review of the Approved Document will be a major exercise. The Government therefore intends to publish a Call for Evidence in the autumn to seek views on issues which need to be reviewed and priorities within that.”

The consultation documents and ways to respond to this stage can be found at to following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fire-safety-clarification-of-statutory-guidance-approved-document-b
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This consultation period closes 11 October 2018. 

BRE (Building Research Establishment) have published a study which finds multi-sensor fire detectors can reduce unwanted fire alarms.

Multi-sensor fire detectors are detectors which look for two or more combinations of products of combustion (e.g. heat, smoke (optical), smoke (ionisation), Carbon monoxide). The idea is they are more resistant than ‘single point’ detectors to reacting to non-fire events (e.g. burnt toast, shower steam, aerosols). 

Unwanted fire alarms reduce confidence and trust in automatic fire alarms and signals which result in undesirable consequences like reduced sensitivity to alarms by building occupants and changes to Fire and Rescue Service response policies. 

This finding was as expected, but data to evidence the theory was lacking. 

BRE say "New research has demonstrated the ability of multi-sensor fire detectors to reduce false fire alarms. Supported by the Fire Industry Association, fire detector manufacturers and the BRE Trust, this study included tests on thirty-five multi-sensor detectors. The research report and a video summary can be freely accessed here."