Fire Prevention: Protecting Your Home

18th Dec 2018

Flat owners often feel that living within a residential block can come with certain limitations.  You may feel certain measures and restrictions are unnecessary, however they are put in place for your own safety. We have listed a few of the fire prevention measures in your block that you may not be aware of.

Changing Your Flat Front Door

Many residents are unaware that their front door is part of an essential protective measure in the fire safety strategy for their building. They are often used as a part of the compartmentation process, ensuring fire is contained within the flat until it is extinguished by the fire services. This allows for other areas of the building to remain safe, allowing residents to stay safely within their flat unless the need for evacuation arises.

Flat doors and frames have specific requirements under Building Regulations to help provide fire resistance for no less than 30 minutes. They should always have self-closing devices attached to contain the spread of fire. Failure of correct care and maintenance to your flats front door can pose serious risks to the safety of others in the building. Any risk assessments carried out within your building will always include your front door, which will need to be evaluated from both sides. This is to check it remains in good working order. Failure to co-operate in this regard can lead to prosecution.

Alterations To Your Flat

For some blocks, the internal layout will also form part of the fire strategy, designed to add to the compartmentation of the building. For this reason, any alterations could pose serious risks to the prevention of fire and smoke spread.  Examples include:

Simple Measures

The best protection from fire is prevention. Your landlord/managing agent has duties to take steps to prevent fires breaking out within the communal areas of your building, but you can still ensure the safety within your home using these simple measures:

Your lease will most likely have a clause requiring you to comply with the statutory requirements of maintaining your flat. They are put in place to help prevent putting yourself and other residents (and also the building) at risk. If you are unsure of your personal obligations, always check your lease.

 

Contact Us

    PHONE:

    03333 601 601 (General Enquiries)

    0330 113 9258 (New Business Enquiries)


    EMAIL:

    info@blocsphere.co.uk (General Enquiries)

    newbusiness@blocsphere.co.uk (New Business Enquiries)

    GDPR - We need your permission

    Under the new GDPR regulations, we need to ask your permission to use website tracking cookies. You can find our more by reading our Privacy Policy. Please confirm if you consent to the use of website tracking cookies.