Housing Act 2004 Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Fire Safety in Purpose-Built Flats Have you taken sufficient action?

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1 Housing, Culture & Enterprise Private Sector Housing Hove Town Hall (Room 217) Norton Road Hove BN3 3BQ Telephone: (01273) Fax No: (01273) D G Prichard QFSM, DMS, MBA, MCIPD, MIFireE Chief Fire Officer & Chief Executive East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service Brighton & Hove Fire Safety Office English Close, Hove East Sussex, BN3 7EE Telephone: (01323) Switchboard: (0845) Fax: (01273) In the case of emergency please dial brightonandhove.firesafety@esfrs.org Date: 21 June 2010 Dear Sirs Housing Act 2004 Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Fire Safety in Purpose-Built Flats Have you taken sufficient action? This letter has been written jointly by Brighton & Hove City Council and East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service to give you advice about fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats. We are writing to all local managers known to us who may have responsibilities for such buildings. Even if you do not have responsibility for a whole block you may be concerned with a flat or flats in one; in such cases we suggest that you contact the person responsible for the building to satisfy yourself that they have taken appropriate steps to ensure compliance with legal requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) and to avoid the possible need for enforcement action to be taken under the Housing Act 2004 or the FSO or both. You may in any case still have duties yourself. Nationally in recent months there have been several serious fires in purpose-built flats and tragically some have resulted in the death of members of the public and fire service personnel. There have also been some worrying incidents locally, indicating that nobody should be complacent and assume that problems will only arise elsewhere; our advice is intended to help you to reduce the risk of further tragedies. Our main concern is for fire safety in high rise blocks of six or more storeys, but it would be prudent for you to take similar action in lower rise blocks too. Director of Housing, Culture & Enterprise Scott Marshall Web: Telephone: 1 (01273) Printed on recycled, chlorine-free paper

2 There are many blocks of flats in Brighton and Hove. Those constructed recently should comply fully with current Building Regulations; others were built at a time when standards were lower and some date from a time when there were no nationally recognised fire standards. The standards of continuing maintenance and management after construction are crucial to the safety of residents and visitors and it would be imprudent to believe that because fire safety standards were considered adequate at the time of construction they will necessarily still be so. Each case has to be judged on its merits, but we would advise you, as a minimum, to take the steps set out in the following checklist. NB WE HAVE NOT NECESSARILY COVERED EVERY POSSIBLE POINT, YOU WILL NEED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RISK ASSESSMENT IS THOROUGH CHECKLIST FOR FIRE SAFETY IN PURPOSE-BUILT FLATS No. Action 1 RISK ASSESSMENT Ensure that you have carried out and implemented a full fire safety risk assessment as required by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). These assessments have to be reviewed regularly and updated as and when necessary, particularly when major changes have occurred. Failure to carry out an adequate assessment and to implement it could result in prosecution or other legal action. 2 The assessment required by the FSO relates only to the common areas of the building, but you would be well advised to carry out an assessment of other parts of the building too. Do not forget that the commonways are affected by other areas, (for example, are flat entrance doors fire resisting?) and you need to consider them anyway. 3 EMERGENCY ACTIONS AND INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS Establish the design criteria and the planned emergency actions for the building; for example are residents intended to stay-put in their flats or to evacuate in the event of a fire? (NB Whichever is decided the risk assessment should confirm that it is a viable option. In the case of a stay-put policy the assessment should confirm that the structural compartmentation is suitable. In the case of evacuation the risk assessment must confirm that this would be viable in all respects). Ensure that residents and any staff know what to do in the event of a fire. Do not forget to tell new residents and new staff. 4 KEEPING ESCAPE ROUTES CLEAR Ensure that all staircase enclosures and escape routes are kept free from obstructions, combustible materials (including curtains) and other items that could be a potential ignition source, propagate a fire or hinder escape in an emergency. Such areas should not be used for the storage of any items (including recycling bins, refuse bins, furniture, bicycles, motor cycles etc). Care should also be taken with the decoration of these areas to ensure that the surface spread of flame Class 0 is maintained. 2

3 5 The fire and rescue service have experienced a number of fires originating from mobility scooters which not only cause an obstruction but are also a potential source of ignition. Careful consideration needs to be given to the storage of mobility scooters to ensure that they do not present an unacceptable hazard to fire safety. 6 PROTECTION OF ESCAPE ROUTES Ensure that all doors, fanlights, partitions etc forming stair case enclosures, lobbies, escape routes etc have at least 30 minutes fire resistance, are in good order and that doors are self-closing and without excessive gaps. All fire doors should also be fitted with intumescent strips and cold smoke seals. 7 SMOKE VENTING Ensure that openable vents and automatic opening vents and any ancillary equipment designed to remove smoke in the event of a fire are in good order (experience suggests that these are often sealed shut or removed). This will include vents at the head of staircases, which may be operated by localised smoke detection, remotely by the operation of a break glass device or manually. A programme of routine checking and maintenance is vital. 8 FIRE SEPARATION Ensure, so far as possible, that there is adequate fire separation between individual flats and between each flat and the common areas. For example, floors between flats should be imperforate and fire resisting in order to prevent the spread of smoke and fire. Unfortunately, experience nationally and locally suggests that these areas are often breached, for example, by electrical, television or computer wiring or by plumbing. Where this has occurred remedial action is vital. You should also take steps to ensure that in future appropriate making-good is carried out after maintenance works such as rewiring, plumbing etc. 9 EMERGENCY LIGHTING AND SIGNS Ensure that emergency lighting and signs, where needed, are appropriate and in good order. A programme of routine checking and maintenance is vital. 10 ELECTRICAL SAFETY Ensure that electrical installations are in good order and do not pose a fire risk. If there is no current electrical safety certificate you are advised to obtain a Periodic Inspection Report from a competent electrical engineer having regard to the current regulations of the Institute of Electrical Engineers. Ensure that combustible material is not stored in close proximity to electrical intakes. Where intakes are in common areas they must be contained with suitable fire resistant construction and kept secure. 11 CABLE SAFETY Ensure that fire alarm and other cables are adequately fixed to prevent their falling and becoming an obstruction in the event of a fire. Nationally there 3

4 have been fatalities related to people becoming entangled in cables that fell from above during fires. 12 SOURCES OF IGNITION Ensure that potential sources of ignition or fuel, such as boiler rooms and gas installations are safe and contained within suitable fire resisting construction. Where possible eliminate unnecessary potential ignition sources by replacing with something less dangerous. 13 FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT Ensure that any fire fighting equipment provided is in good order and that staff such as caretakers have had adequate training for using it. Dry risers provided for use by the fire and rescue service must also be kept accessible and in good order. A programme of routine checking and maintenance is vital. 14 AUTOMATIC FIRE DETECTION AND WARNING Where automatic fire detection and warning systems are provided these must be appropriate and kept in good order. A programme of routine checking and maintenance is vital. Careful consideration should be given as to what is needed and appropriate for the building bearing in mind its design and the intended emergency procedures. Unwanted fire signals should be appropriately managed and recorded so as to comply with the requirements of BS5839 Part 3. (This is important to prevent complacency from residents and staff who eventually expect an actuation to be a false alarm and will therefore not react appropriately). The causes of unwanted signals should be investigated and, where possible, eliminated. 15 FIRE SAFETY AWARENESS TRAINING & INFORMATION Ensure that all residents and any staff such as caretakers are given adequate fire safety information specific to the building. They should know what to do in the event of a fire and staff should know what to do to maintain fire precautions, e.g. how to deal with faults and what maintenance is their responsibility. Consideration should be given to sending staff on appropriate recognised fire training courses to help them to carry out their duties. 16 DOOR LOCKS Ideally where mortice locks are provided on the entrance doors to individual flats they should be fitted with a thumb turn device internally, so that a key is not needed to open the door at any stage. Where emergency escape is likely to be a problem this must be addressed with the occupier. Also the resident s ability to operate all door locks must be assessed and where appropriate the internal lever fitted to the locks may need to be changed to ensure that people with debilitating medical conditions, such as arthritis, can operate the lock(s) easily. Where the residents are owner-occupiers responsible for their own flats you should pass this advice on to them for their consideration. Doors which provide the final exit from the building must 4

5 be easily openable from the inside without the use of a key, card or code. 17 ROUTINE CHECKS, MAINTENANCE AND RECORDS Establish a process for carrying out routine checks, dealing with problems and recording the action taken. 18 LIFTS Generally lifts should not be used during a fire (or when the alarm sounds). This should be considered as part of the fire safety risk assessment and appropriate clear and prominent notices should be placed at all lifts. 19 STORAGE REFUSE AND OTHER MATERIALS Ensure that refuse (including materials intended for recycling) is appropriately stored so as not to be a fire risk. Where refuse chutes are provided (even if disused) they must be designed and maintained so as not to be fire risk. Ensure that other materials (e.g. cleaning and maintenance materials and equipment, spare furniture, residents possessions etc) are stored so as not to be a fire risk. 20 SERVICE AREAS Ensure that any boiler-rooms, lift motor rooms, store cupboards, service cupboards, internal car parks and other service areas are in good order, fire safe and are not being used inappropriately. 21 RECORDS Ensure that you keep adequate records of the maintenance and testing of fire safety systems, equipment, gas and electrical systems and other relevant matters, reviews of the fire safety risk assessment, decisions made about specific issues, training and information given to residents and staff. The fire and rescue service and the city council can ask to inspect your records at any time. You would be well advised to arrange for an appropriately qualified and competent fire engineer to assess the building; including not only the commonways as required by the FSO but also the remainder of the premises including flats. Alternatively, you could carry out the assessment yourself using the published guidance. In either case ensure that you take part in the assessment process as your knowledge of the building is vital too and ultimately you and your clients are responsible. You need to be familiar with and understand the assessment and the action required. Whilst both the city council and the fire and rescue authority would be glad to give you advice where possible, neither organisation is able to carry out assessments or full inspections on your behalf. Detailed written guidance can be found in the Government s guide to fire safety in buildings where there are sleeping risks. This can be obtained from bookshops, The Stationery Office Online ( or see the Government web site for details of how to download it. 5

6 The general legal position is as follows; Responsible people have a duty to carry out, implement and review a fire safety risk assessment under the FSO. This is enforceable by the fire and rescue service who can take legal action where appropriate measures have not been taken. Such action can include; requiring works, prohibiting use of all or part of the premises and prosecution. Other people connected with the building, for example leaseholders, have a duty to cooperate reasonably with the responsible person. The city council has powers to inspect any residential premises under the Housing Act 2004 and where appropriate to serve Improvement Notices requiring remedial works to address hazards. Such Notices are enforceable in the courts. The council also has powers to prohibit or restrict the use of buildings or parts of buildings. These powers apply regardless of whether the residents are tenants or owneroccupiers. People responsible for providing accommodation have a general duty of care towards people who may be affected (e.g. residents). Failure to address this duty adequately could lead to action being taken against them in the civil courts. They could also be prosecuted for breaches of other legislation. The city council and the fire and rescue service work in partnership and share information. Should unsatisfactory conditions come to their attention (for example following a fire or other incident or from information provided by a resident or other organisation) either authority, or both, would take whatever action is considered appropriate in the circumstances; this could include legal action. Both authorities have legal powers to inspect premises and to require the provision of information if they deem it necessary. We have written to you and other managers now to give you the chance to consider the matter and, if necessary, to start taking action but we will shortly be seeking wider publicity in the media. This may result in your being contacted by concerned residents with queries. In the meantime, please contact us if you have any questions and we will do our best to help. Please ensure that you pass on the contents of this letter to your clients and anybody else with a relevant interest in the premises. Yours faithfully Mike Slagter Private Sector Housing Manager Brighton & Hove City Council Area Manager Keith Ring City Borough Commander East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service 6

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