The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is urging flat owners to verify fire assessors’ credentials after a fire engineer was sanctioned for unprofessional conduct.
Liberal Democrat MP Al Pinkerton is set to raise concerns with the housing minister regarding EWS1 forms signed by Adam Kiziak and his consultancy firm, Tri Fire.
Pinkerton claims thousands of these forms were improperly completed, potentially endangering residents. Kiziak’s membership has been suspended pending further investigation by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE).
RICS says that EWS1 forms should only be completed by a fully qualified member of a recognized professional body with expertise in assessing external wall cladding, fire-resistant cavity barriers, and fire-stopping installations, as outlined in PAS 9980.
DETECTION MEASURES
While UK banks and building societies have fraud detection measures in place, RICS advises landlords and property owners to personally verify an assessor’s credentials with their respective institution.
CRACKDOWN
RICS has been alerted to reports of unqualified individuals signing off EWS1 forms and strongly condemns any exploitation of the current system. It urges anyone with relevant information to report concerns to Trading Standards or RICS.
