Lords committee recognises role of automatic suppression in prison fire safety, BAFSA says

The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has called for greater attention to fire safety in prisons and recognised the role automatic water-based suppression can play, according to the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA).

The committee's report, Fire Safety in Prisons, highlights the limitations of relying on manually deployed suppression systems across the prison estate, BAFSA said. The trade body said a key concern in the report is the lack of automatic water mist systems, with the vast majority of prisons reportedly not having the technology.

BAFSA gave evidence to the committee in June. Its chief executive Ali Perry appeared alongside Richard Cebreiro, chair of BAFSA's technical committee, and Derek Killaspy, managing director of Fireworks Fire Protection Ltd.

Perry said: "The challenge now is to turn the Committee's findings into action, ensuring that automatic water-based fire suppression is properly considered and, where appropriate, implemented." The aim, Perry said, was greater protection for vulnerable people in custody and the staff who care for them.

BAFSA thanked Lord Foster and members of the committee for considering its evidence. The association has represented the British sprinkler industry since 1974 and says its members, made up of manufacturers, suppliers, installers and associates, install more than 85% of sprinkler and water mist installations in the UK.

The compliance backlog

The report lands against a backlog of fire safety work across the estate that the Howard League for Penal Reform has documented through its legal work.

Citing a parliamentary written answer, the charity said there were 2,546 fires in prisons in England and Wales in 2025. As of April 2026, two-thirds of publicly run prisons in England and Wales still required fire safety improvement works, it said, and more than 60 prisons were waiting for improvement work in autumn 2025.

The Howard League said in March 2026 that the government had reneged on a commitment to make all cells fire-safe by the end of 2027 or take them out of use, and that no new deadline had been set. According to the charity, the government has admitted the 2027 compliance deadline will not be met.

On funding, the Howard League said that of an estimated £1.4bn needed to remedy fire safety failures in prisons, only £275m has been confirmed by the Treasury.

What the committee found

The Howard League said the Lords committee found the refusal to commit to a deadline for completion suggested "a lack of candour, a lack of competence, or both". The committee also expressed disappointment, the charity said, that information on progress had required Freedom of Information requests and litigation from external partners.

The committee recommended an independent review of Crown immunity, according to the Howard League, on the grounds that it "removes a powerful incentive which is applied to the private sector".

Fire safety on the Crown estate is enforced by the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate (CPFSI), which applies the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in government buildings, Parliament and other Crown premises, according to GOV.UK. The inspectorate publishes a document setting out fire safety expectations in prisons as part of its inspection standards.

The Howard League said the CPFSI has issued nine Step Away notices since 2024. The inspectorate's public enforcement register, last updated on 3 August 2026, records that an enforcement notice for HM Prison Northumberland has been withdrawn.

Perry said: "I am proud of the contribution we have made through BAFSA, working alongside others in the sector, to bring greater attention to this important issue."

BAFSA said it expects the report to serve as a reference point for future discussion of fire protection standards across the prison estate.