Fire enforcement notices served on nuclear contractors

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has served a fire enforcement notice on five organisations after identifying significant fire safety shortfalls at the Hinkley Point C construction site.

The unit was inspected in December 2025 as part of a targeted inspection by the ONR to assess the Mechanical, Electrical and Heating (MEH) fire safety arrangements. On inspection, several shortfalls were identified, including the absence of a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment, inadequate means of escape resulting in insufficient emergency exits being available for the numbers of people working in the building, and a significant accumulation of combustible materials within a staircase designated for use as an emergency exit route.

The enforcement notice requires all companies to make improvements to address the identified shortfalls and to make adequate improvements to ensure compliance.