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HMO’s make up a huge percentage of fire service enforcement action. It could be because the requirements can differ between boroughs and councils but it’s also because landlords often do not take fire safety and the safety of their residents as seriously as they should. It’s important to get a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment for every HMO.

HMO’s make up a huge percentage of fire service enforcement action. It could be because the requirements can differ between boroughs and councils but it’s also because landlords often do not take fire safety and the safety of their residents as seriously as they should. It’s important to get a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment for every HMO.

Another block of flats with a ‘Waking Watch’. I have known some blocks of flats to have had these for up to two years. Basically it’s fire wardens constantly walking up and down the stairs and throughout the communal areas to monitor for any signs of fire and speed up a fire evacuation. They are massively expensive and some residents are up in arms about the costs. I think there are more cost effective solutions that can be considered. The safety of residents has to come first of course and that should never be compromised but I think we need to look at this building by building and consider a whole range of issues and alternatives. I have actually heard of incidents where members of a ‘Waking Watch’ have increased the fire risk by smoking and disposing of cigarette ends close to the perimeter of the building. You would be surprised. This is not always the right solution.

More pressure being put on councils to provide intrusive fire risk assessments on high rise tower blocks (type 4). This involves opening up parts of walls and looking into voids beyond the scope of a normal type 1 fire risk assessment. The argument against is that the intrusive surveys can cause damage that is never quite the same once made good and the argument for is that you potentially expose hidden fire spread areas not seen by the naked eye. I think everything needs to be taken into account, the type of building, whether there is cladding, what type of cladding, the history of the building, the findings of any past fires within the building. If in doubt, you should do a type 4 and we can provide these should you require one.

Great to see any consultation which is likely to lead to sprinklers being installed more in blocks of flats. Sprinklers are proven in limiting the development of a fire and these changes are welcomed

This is an interesting article and goes to show how important it is for all businesses and commercial premises to have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment in place. It’s not just residential premises affected by fire and it’s often the case that many smaller premises with a perceived lower risk often feel they can ignore fire safety laws and not bother with a fire risk assessment or implementing a fire safety strategy for their building. But if a fire does start then it can cause such significant damage that they have to close down and it’s only then they wish they had put those procedures in place. One factor commercial premises need to watch out for is the threat of arson and making sure the external perimeter of their building is protected including overnight. Adding CCTV, high fencing, additional lighting are all possibilities but it’s better to consider these options before a fire rather than after......

Whale Fire offers an exclusive fire safety service for all residential properties and provides fire risk assessment packages for converted and purpose-built blocks of flats as well as HMOs and student accommodation. We have vast experience assessing residential properties and our assessments come with built in compartmentation surveys. Our fire risk assessments are professional and easy to follow for the client. We have a common sense based approach and work with our clients when making recommendations based on time, logistics and costs.

Good practice on how residents and landlords work together to keep their home and building safe: summary findings Following the call for evidence that concluded in February the government has published a summary which will be used to inform policy options in the consultation on Building a safe future: proposals for reform in the building safety regulatory system.

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