The residents have a part to play too
Fire safety in a residential block of flats is not just the responsibility of the freeholder or management company — the residents have a part to play too. Unfortunately, due to misunderstandings or ignorance of safety issues, residents can sometimes make errors that put themselves and their neighbours at risk. Here are some of the most common fire safety issues residents are well-placed to help prevent and how block managers can engage residents to reduce these risks.
Modifying fire doors
To residents, the self-closing mechanism of the fire door to their flat can be seen as an annoyance — it stops them from propping the door open and may cause it to slam when it closes. To this end, residents may modify it by placing dampening strips in the doorway or removing the whole mechanism completely. But the door to a flat is an important safety feature for preventing fires from spreading to other flats in a building and should never be tampered with. Fire doors also have stickers attached to them that list their manufacturer and certify their protection rating. These are important and should not be removed or modified. To help prevent safety risks, residents should be encouraged to seek advice about repairs relating to the fire doors to their flats and report any issues with those in communal hallways. Make sure you communicate the importance of having functional fire doors that remain closed and what their role is in preventing fire. Communicate this information via a number of channels — newsletters, emails, flyers and the building’s noticeboard to ensure it’s accessible to everyone. Consider bringing up any recurring issues at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the RMC, RTM or Residents’ Association.
Leaving objects in common areas
Another common fire safety issue is the leaving of personal objects in common areas. Pushchairs and bikes can take up valuable space in a flat, and residents may choose to leave them outside in the hallway or other common areas instead. This should be discouraged, as, during an emergency, large objects like these may get in the way of escape. If the building has a bike store, ensure residents know about this. Encourage them to work as a community to recognise and deal with hazards or engage in improvements if the lease, site logistics and budget allow. Residents will sometimes leave combustible items in shared areas, too, such as bags of rubbish. These can ignite and burn easily and residents should be vigilant and remove these immediately if spotted to protect the means of escape and reduce the risk of fire. If objects in common areas are becoming an issue, consider addressing this in communications to residents. Be sure to explain why bikes and pushchairs cannot be stored outside of flats because the reason why may not be immediately obvious.
Misunderstanding evacuation strategy
The majority of fires occur in individual flats themselves. Modern flats are designed to be compartmentalised so that fire is less likely to spread from one flat to the other. For this reason, stay-put policies affecting all but the flat in which the fire is occurring are common. However, depending on age and design, some buildings may have a simultaneous evacuation policy instead. It is vital that residents are clear on what they need to do in the event of a fire. As with fire door safety, communicate this information via a number of channels to ensure it is understandable to everyone in the building. You should also be aware of any vulnerable persons in your block, such as the elderly or disabled, who may require a separate Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) or additional help with escaping.
Tampering with fire safety equipment
Fire extinguishers, wet and dry risers, automatic opening vents and smoke alarms all play valuable roles in either protecting against or fighting the causes of fire. Ensure that residents know what this equipment looks like and what it does because it’s not always clear. Smoke alarm detector sounder units, for example, can be mistakenly covered or blocked. Residents should feel free to report any issues they have with equipment and once again be discouraged from making any changes themselves. An overly sensitive smoke detector may be an annoyance, but unscrewing it or covering it up is not a solution. For equipment in common areas, considering having the details for your repair reporting method nearby, such as an online repair reporting portal, to allow residents to see when it is to be serviced and report any issues they have. For alarms inside flats, you could share educational material via flyer or email to familiarise residents with what is normally installed and how to maintain it. Consider creating a block guide book highlighting what equipment is in the flats. Working on this in collaboration with residents can help foster trust and improve engagement.
Breaching electrical safety guidance
Many fires in flats come from electrical installations. Sometimes this is because of faulty appliances, and sometimes it is because of unsafe usage. Residents should be reminded of basic electrical safety tenets such as not overloading sockets and avoiding the use of anything with wire or plug damage. Residents’ usage of electricals can also demonstrate wider problems with the building. For example, electric heaters should never be left on unattended or overnight, and reliance on them could show that there is an issue with the insulation or the central heating in a flat. As your duty as a block manager does not extend to inside the flats themselves, encourage any repair and maintenance contractors to report safety issues they see when they visit.
Preventing many fire safety issues relies on clear communication and engagement with residents. The Draft Building Safety Bill requires a Resident Engagement Strategy to be in place to allow the reporting of resident safety concerns. We discussed the Bill on 27 April with Andrew Bulmer, CEO of the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM), Nigel Glen, CEO of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) and Shaun Lundy, Director of Strategy and Innovation at Tetra Consulting, in the on-demand webinar Building Safety Reform: What It Means for Block Managers.
