Fire Safety Blog

Dangerous landlord prosecuted

13/12/2019

Landlord fined £14,000 and banned from lettings.

Camden Council has successfully prosecuted an irresponsible landlord for multiple fire safety risks and overall breaches against the Housing Act 2004.

Camden Council reported that after investigation, it was found that Mr Cesar De Sousa Melo failed to provide adequate fire/smoke alarms in his a flat he had been letting.

The council said: “Tenants’ health and safety at Goldington Crescent was placed at risk through non-working fire alarms, a kitchen door broken off its hinges and the property being overcrowded, and the kitchen was too small.”

All tenants were identified as young, overseas tenants who were vulnerable to exploitation, that had their health and safety ‘compromised’ through the landlord’s neglect.

This case is the first of its kind in London, where a landlord is banned from letting for numerous safety breaches including fire.

Mr Melo’s operation has now ceased, and all the flats have been fitted with working smoke/fire detectors.

https://news.camden.gov.uk/camden-council-obtains-londons-first-rogue-landlord-banning-order/

“Tenants’ health and safety at Goldington Crescent was placed at risk through non-working fire alarms, a kitchen door broken off its hinges and the property being overcrowded, and the kitchen was too small.”

Fire Doors (part 2)

24/7/2019

Government safety tests prove no “performance concerns” with timber fire doors, but caution is advised...

A police investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire raised concerns about the quality of fire doors in the UK, after it revealed the doors had failed a test in just 15 minutes – half the required FD30 standard.

The bad news: The government has subsequently carried out tests on a number of popular models of ‘composite’ plastic fire doors, 75% of which failed to meet the standard criteria.

The good news: Newly released findings show that 100% of timber doors tested have passed the official government test. Those tested included glazed and un-glazed doors with a variety of different hardware, tested on both sides. However, these results only apply to doors that are purchased directly from the manufacturer and produced to specification.

Confidence is king.

Don't bury your head in the sand, get your fire doors inspected by a qualified, third party
fire door assessor.

Be confident that you have done your part!

The government's Housing secretary, James Brokenshire, told parliament: “It is important to be clear that, although the results of our testing provide assurances for residents who have concerns about their fire doors, it is for building owners to assure themselves that the fire doors they install are fit for purpose and have the required documentation and certification.”

The take-home message is that any 'responsible person' must not rely solely on the results from government testing. What applies to one door, might not apply to the other!

...although the results of our testing provide assurances for residents ...it is for building owners to assure themselves that the fire doors they install are fit for purpose and have the required documentation and certification.”

What is a fire door?

Buildings are compartmentalised to delay the spread of fire from one area to another. Fire doors have two important functions in a fire:

1. They form a barrier (when closed) to stop the spread of fire and when opened they provide a means of escape.

2. They delay the spread of fire and smoke without causing too much hindrance to the movement of people and goods.

Every fire door is therefore required to act as a barrier to the passage of smoke and/or fire to varying degrees depending upon its location in a building and the fire hazards associated with that building.

The British Woodworking Federation (BWF) ratings for fire door assemblies are stated in minutes and prefixed by the letters ‘FD’; referring to the number of minutes the door should provide protection against fires.

The most commonly specified integrity levels are:

FD30 (30 mins of protection)
FD60 (60 mins of protection)
FD90 (90 mins of protection)
FD120 (120 mins of protection)

Fire Doors

7/7/2019

An article published by Inside Housing, a weekly trade publication that covers the UK's social housing sector, has reported that there are tens of thousands of inadequate fire doors in council homes across the UK.

A Freedom of Information Act request by the publication has revealed data on 326,863 doors from 98 councils, which together own well over half of the nation’s local authority housing stock.

The data reveals that councils believe that 33,522 doors do not provide the minimum 30 minute protection against flames and smoke. This means that 1 in 10 flat entrance fire doors installed in their blocks may not be fit for purpose.

Furthermore, only 8% of the doors identified as non-compliant have been replaced, and 44 of the councils questioned have yet to replace a single one.

Councils blamed the slow progress on a lack of clarity from government and the fire door industry about which products to trust.

Do I need Fire Doors?

Building Regulations set-out the following requirements:

Domestic Dwellings

In homes over two storeys high, every door of a habitable room leading to a stairwell must be a fire door (not including WCs or bathrooms). Fire doors are also required between the house and integral garage (if applicable).

Mixed Use Buildings

Fire doors are also required at the joining points between business and habitual residences.

Non-Domestic Buildings

There is no ‘one size fits all' approach to fire doors for non-domestic buildings due to the huge variation in size and structure. Fire door guidance is divided into two sections, based on vertical and horizontal escape routes. Find out more about Building Regulations for Buildings other than Dwelling houses here.

Unsure about fire doors?

Contact BBFS now to discuss a fire door survey.

Get ahead of the curve.

28/6/2019

Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Housing 2019 conference on this week, the deputy director of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) building safety programme, has advised landlords NOT to wait for the Government to legislate new fire safety regulations before implementing fire safety programmes.

The government has already published a consultation, which will run until July 31st, on plans for implementing the Hackitt Review recommendations on fire safety and building regulations; commissioned in response to the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Recommendations include the introduction of a regulator for building safety and the requirement to designate ‘dutyholders’ to assume responsibility for building safety.

Dutyholder?
So who is currently responsible?

Dame Judith Hackitt has suggested her system should only apply to buildings above 30 metres. However, the government has proposed the regulations should also include buildings above 18 metres.

Recommendations include ... the requirement to designate
‘dutyholders’ to assume responsibility for building safety.

In a nutshell: Don't wait for new legislation to be responsible on fire safety!

Contact BBFS now to find out what you need to do.

The bigger picture...