Fire safety advice

We check all fire equipment regularly to make sure it’s working, like your building’s emergency lighting, automatic opening vents and its fire alarms.

• Emergency lighting – every three months.
• Fire alarms – every three months.
• Automatic opening vents – every six months.
• Firefighting equipment – every year.

Residential tower blocks with one main staircase and no fire escape are designed in this way so that if a fire breaks out in a flat, it will be contained by fire doors and not spread. This protects the communal staircase from fire, leaving it as a safe escape route.

Advice from the fire brigade and other authorities recommends that fire alarms should not be fitted in the communal areas of blocks which operates a stay put policy – where it is safer for you to stay in your own flat.

This is because it would be confusing and even dangerous for residents to hear a communal alarm when they have been advised to stay in their flat in the event of a fire.

Fire extinguishers aren’t normally provided, except where staff are employed on site, or where there are communal facilities including plant rooms and staff rooms.

In the event of a fire, don’t try to put it out: follow your evacuation plan and get to safety.

The fire brigade advises that it is not practical to have fire drills in residential blocks. Instead, you should make sure you’re up to date on fire safety advice and that you and your family know what to do in the event of a fire, including practicing your evacuation plan.

You’re not allowed to set off fireworks or light bonfires in the communal areas of any Clarion property.

Firework safety

If you plan to set off fireworks on your own property, only use fireworks bought from reputable suppliers that display a CE mark and the safety code BS 7114. Keep fireworks in a closed box, well away from open flames or cigarettes. Never keep them in your pocket.

When you light your fireworks point them away from people and follow the instructions on the packaging. Light them at arm’s length using a taper, then stand well back. If you’ve lit a firework, it could still explode, even if it looks like it hasn’t gone off, so keep away from it.

Wear gloves when using sparklers and keep a bucket of water nearby to dispose of used sparklers. Only light one sparkler at a time. Never give a sparkler to a child under five.

Bonfire safety

If you plan to have a bonfire on your own property, position it well away from buildings, sheds, fences, trees, or any telephone wiring or cables.

Never use paraffin or petrol to start a fire – this is very dangerous.

Only burn dry materials on a bonfire. Things that are wet, like damp wood or grass, can cause excessive smoke. Don’t burn aerosols, tyres, canisters, or anything containing foam or paint on a bonfire – these give off toxic fumes and can explode.

Make sure you keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby in case the bonfire gets out of control. Wet the embers afterwards to stop the fire from starting up again.

Keep children and pets away from fires.

All doors that lead onto the communal area are Fire Doors. However, there are some exceptions where they are not required.

Flat entrance doors and communal corridor doors must be fire-rated and have self-closing devices fitted. It is illegal to wedge or tamper with any Fire Door.

Are Fire Doors ever checked?

Yes, all Fire Doors are checked routinely by a fire risk assessor. High-rise buildings have extra checks due to their height. If any issues are recorded, repairs or replacement fittings will be scheduled.

My flat door is old, is it still safe?

The age of a door will not determine whether it is safe and compliant, how it functions will. As doors are checked routinely, we will let you know if yours needs changing to make it safe.

What is a Fire Door and what else makes them safe over other doors?

Notional Fire Doors

A Notional Fire Door (usually installed pre-1985) is a Fire Door that satisfied fire resistance standards at the time of construction and installation. These types of doors are therefore not the most up to date with the latest codes, regulations, and tests. They also may not have been fitted with intumescent strips and smoke seals, but could have much thicker door stops around the frame 25mm (about 1in).

Nominal Fire Doors

A Nominal Fire Door is a timber-based door providing fire resistance for a specific time frame (around 30min). It has all the expected elements but nothing to link back to a manufacturer, like plugs and labels, as that would not have been a requirement when they were originally installed.

An Upgraded Fire Door

An Upgraded Fire Door is simply a Notional Fire Door that has been updated with additions like intumescent strips and smoke seals, or even fire-rated letter box.

Fire Door Sets – FD30s

Fire Door Sets – FD30s means the Fire Door has a minimum of 30 minutes-resistance and strips and seals, plus all the other required features.

Fire Door Blank

An Fire Door Blank is fitted internally but does not require self-closing device, strips and seals, and fire-rated furniture. Instead, these are the responsibility of the resident. These can also be used as temporary doors while a new set is being made.

Self-Closing Device

Your flat entrance door must always be fitted with a self-closing device, so that the door shuts completely into the frame. You must never tamper with this, and you are required to inform the landlord immediately if there is an issue of it not closing.

Fire-Rated Furniture

Letterboxes, door handles, hinges, spy holes and locks are all fire-rated and must be certified.

Other Fire Door requirements

Your Fire Door must be a minimum of 44mm (about 1.73 in) thick, have three hinges, and be CE-marked.

Permissible gaps

There is an allowance between the door and the frame to be 3-4mm (about 0.16 in) on all sides and top, and 10mm (about 0.39 in) at the base of the door.

Strips and Seals

Strips and seal are fitted on both sides and at the top of the Fire Door and will expand approximately 5mm (about 0.2 in) when heated up to seal the smoke. Pre-strips and seals might have a 25mm (about 1in) door stop fitted around the door frame, which means only a smoke seal is required and not an intumescent strip.

Glazing

Fire doors can have glass, but it must be either Georgian Wired or Pyro Laminated Glass (with an etching mark in corner, such as 30E or E30). They must also be sealed with fire retardant mastic.

Fire strategies such as ‘Simultaneous Evacuation’ and ‘Stay Put’ are introduced on a building during construction, by qualified fire engineers. If certain work needs to be done, like an upgrade or improvement, these strategies can be changed to something temporary. If a change is to happen, all residents would be contacted in advance and new signage would be put up. The Fire Authority would also informed and building documents updated.

How do I know what my fire strategy is?

All buildings must display a Fire Action Notice (FAN). These are located by all final exits and will tell occupants and visitors what to do in the event of a fire.

Why is Stay Put considered safe?

1) The vast majority (93%) of Purpose-Built Blocks of Flats have the ‘Stay Put’ policy in place because of their design and fire protection measures. Flats are compartmented, which means they are isolated or self-contained. The only gap is the way in through your front entrance fire door so once closed, the door seals the compartment. Outer walls and windows do not need to be fire rated as they are facing the open air.

Communal walkways are the protected route out of a building and are known as the ‘means of escape’. These areas must always be kept clear and clean to safely exit and provide access for emergency services, if needed.

2) If the building has ‘Stay Put’ (safe) policy, then residents should remain in their flats for their own safety. If there is a fire in a resident’s flat, they will be asked to leave by the fire service. Leaving unnecessarily could be fatal and result in breathing in poisonous gases (such as hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide). This is another reason why detection devices, like smoke alarms, are not installed in the communal walkways to prevent leaving unnecessarily.

My flat is in a converted street property. Why is my strategy different?

Converted Street Properties (CSP) carry a ‘Simultaneous Evacuation’ strategy. If the flats have been occupied before the landlord took ownership, we cannot confirm if the flats had been properly fire-compartmented by the original builder. This means you should leave when your alarm system is activated.