Organised by:
Sponsored by:
Opening Remarks from the Chair:
Martin Hilditch, Deputy Editor, Inside Housing
Organised by:
Sponsored by:
Nick Coombe,
Head of Fire Safety,
London Fire Brigade
Fire Safety Order &
Housing
Inside Housing
29th November 2011
FSO & Residential Premises
• Responsible Person or Person
in Control
• Competent Person
• Relevant Person
FSO & Residential Premises
• Fire Risk Assessment
• People especially at risk
• Significant findings
• Fire Safety Arrangements
FSO & Residential Premises
• Portfolio Risk Assessment
• Prioritise & Plan
• Procurement
• Petty cash ?
FSO & Residential Premises
• Enforcement
• Reasonable
• Proportional
• Post Fire
FSO & Residential Premises
What if it goes wrong?
FSO & Residential Premises
• Douglas & Gordon
• John O’Rourke
• Michael Arthur Billings
• Mr Parlak
Organised by:
Sponsored by:
Nick Cross,
Head of Housing Services,
Southampton City Council
Fire and Gas Safety Webinar
Learning from our experience
Nick Cross, Head of Housing Services, Southampton City Council
Fire safety in sharp focus
•
•
•
•
•
Fire on the 9th floor of a Tower
Block
Fire started and was contained
in one flat
Over 40 families were evacuated
in the middle of the night
Huge practical operation in
managing the scene and the
aftermath
Sadly 2 firefighters lost their lives
The morning after!
•
•
•
•
•
One flat completely gutted
Significant water damage to two
‘stacks’ of flats
Significant smoke damage on 3
floors
40 plus families in just the clothes
they had on
Police, Fire and HSE investigations
underway
The reality of what happened
•
•
•
•
•
A fire started in a single flat and took over 2 hours to
extinguish – but the fire was contained within the flat
Being a ‘scissor’ block the impact of the smoke damage
spread over 3 floors
The block had an ‘agreed’ Fire Risk Assessment that had
only been carried out the month previously
No residents were injured
Most occupants of the 150 flats were able to remain in their
flats
Shared lessons with the Fire Service
•
•
•
•
Risk Assessments on Tower Blocks are done in partnership
with the Fire Service – but are you sure you are working
with the right people?
Fire Training exercises using different types of Tower
Blocks are excellent for local Fire crews – but what about
those ‘outside’ crews who attend major incidents?
Have information readily accessible for Fire Crews and
make sure it is easy to find and interpret
Fire safety campaigns and messages need regularly
repeating
Points to consider as a landlord
•
•
•
•
•
Do you have a regular programme of inspection and
certification? Is it sub-contracted?
Do your contractors carry out fire stopping works when they
make changes to communal areas?
Is your signage clear and up to date?
Do your residents know what to do in the case of a fire?
When did you last remind them?
Do you know what residents have any specific
vulnerabilities that you need to take into account in case of
fire?
Specific improvements carried out
•
•
•
•
•
•
Emergency lighting is now checked every month and not
quarterly
Windows in communal corridors are now opened by a
master key system
Fire retardant paint has been reapplied in corridors
All flat front doors have been checked to make sure they
are fire rated – including leaseholders!
Signage has been improved and updated
Wardens check communal fire doors daily
Tenancy Visits
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
As a landlord we cannot tell a tenant how to live – but we
have a responsibility to support them if their ‘lifestyle’ might
impact on others!
Internal alterations can breach fire precautions
Hoarding and cluttered properties present a risk
Padlocks on fire exits from individual flats
Safeguarding and other social ‘concerns’ shared
Who is living in a flat?
Language and cultural issues
In summary
•
•
•
•
•
Make sure you are working in partnership with your local
Fire Service
Ensure you have an up to date programme of inspections
and assessments and you know who does what and when
Most fire precautions are simple and not expensive
Know your vulnerable tenants and share any issues or
concerns with others
Regularly remind tenants of what they need to do in case of
a fire
Organised by:
Sponsored by:
Michael Vickers,
Senior Investment Manager,
Liverpool Mutual Homes
Gas Safety
Ensuring LGSR’s are up to date is key to achieving
high levels of gas safety
Well publicised programmes will assist 1st time access
Use of internet, customer newsletters, block notice boards,
text messages, local press
High profile community notices, and the use of local TARAS
to assist with access
Gas Safety
Incentives and deterrents can help achieve 1st time
access
LMH puts all customers who allow 1st time access into a £100
prize draw, this has helped achieve over 78% 1st time access
Use of service interrupter programmers which incorporates
a message on screen and an audible alarm 14 days prior to
service anniversary which changes to an hourly interruption
of the gas supply on the anniversary of the service date
Use of posters to cover door locks on persistent no access
properties
LMH has achieved 100% LGSR’s for the last 2 years and are
on target to achieve 100% by Christmas for 2011-12
Gas Safety
Ensure that access procedures are robustly followed
Monitor the process to ensure that at risk properties
are at correct stages of your process
The reduction of open flued appliances will help
reduce the risks
LMH remove open flued appliances wherever possible
Install Carbon Monoxide alarms
If an open flued appliance is still installed LMH will fit a hard
wired CO2 detector which is also inspected as part of the
annual service
Fire Safety
Fire prevention is key
Develop a Fire risk management strategy
Important to identify and manage your risks through
robust fire risk assessments
Work closely with your local fire authority
Ensure robust management of communal areas to
reduce fire risks
Control fire loading in communal areas
Invest in training to enable the workforce to identify
and deal with risks
Fire Safety
LMH are upgrading all communal areas within walk up
flats
Replacing front doors and frames to all of our flats
Upgraded all bin store and communal cupboard doors to
FD30 incorporating intumescent smoke seals
Inspecting loft compartmentation and installing replacement
fire curtains as necessary
ensure that loft hatches are fitted with a fire resistant
product
Ensure all breaks through floors and ceilings are correctly
sleeved and fire sealed
Replaced vinyl floor tiles with ceramics in communal areas
Safe egress by ensuring that emergency lighting is up to
standard and maintained
Fire Safety
Communal area improvements
LMH has 630 walk up
blocks with communal
areas
We have been upgrading
these since 2009
To date 80% have been
completed
All due for completion
during next 12 months
Before
Fire Safety
Communal area improvements
LMH has 630 walk up
blocks with communal
areas
We have been upgrading
these since 2009
To date 80% have been
completed
All due for completion
during next 12 months
After
Fire Safety
LMH has worked closely with Merseyside fire
authority particularly within our sheltered
accommodation
Addressed issues identified during fire risk assessments
Trained scheme managers to be aware of fire risk
management
Developing management plans and Personal Emergency
Egress Plans (PEEP) to sheltered schemes
Incorporate fire risk management into cyclical activities
Hard wired smoke detectors to all of our homes, which are
cleaned and checked during the annual gas safety inspection
Regular block inspections
Organised by:
Sponsored by:
Graham Fieldhouse,
H&S and specialist in fire safety in social housing
Graham Fieldhouse
Fire safety
Why Compartmentation Matters
Protecting the means of escape
Article 14
• Sister block to Lakanal House after the fire
• Source: London Evening Standard
Kick the Wedge Survey
Fireco Ltd . Jan 2007
• Kick the Wedge Survey Fireco Ltd . Jan 2007
• Survey 100 Accredited Fire Risk Assessors / Fire Safety Officers
• Inspections where:
– fire escapes obstructed 80%
– Fire doors wedged open 65%
– Door closers removed or disengaged 80%
My own observations show this is still happening
When a fire door is no protection
• Doors & Frames do they meet British Standards
• Intumescent Seals have they been painted over?
Is that a problem? What if it is smoke seals
• Ironmongery are they a tested product to BS
• Glazing Detail can you prove it is fire rated? Are
all beadings and seals free from damage
• Fire Rated Air Transfer Grills (are they connected to the alarm)
• Gaps do they meet the correct British standards
for fire and if required smoke 3mm
We should be OK with a new build !
• We might assume everything should be OK with new
built properties, is it?
– If fire doors not installed to the requirements set out in the
certification they will not be certified
– Fire stopping – not real fire stopping or protected walls
failing to be sealed to the roof
Is this a one off? Picture thanks to Niall Rowan ASFP Draft Guidance
Compliant
over
Certified
• What if it just looks ok…. The responsibility is
with you if it fails to do its job
Source ASFP Draft Guidance
Thanks to Niall Rowanof ASFP
Working with brigades enforcement team to get
it right or should we bury our head in the sand
and hope nobody dies
• Setting our priorities, agreeing a timeframe
protect life, property, and reputation
Organised by:
Sponsored by:
Q&A
Organised by:
Sponsored by:
Closing Remarks from the Chair:
Martin Hilditch, Deputy Editor, Inside Housing
Organised by:
Sponsored by:
Thank You - The Webinar is Now Closed