This list of fire safety tips for your flat and home is useful and its always good to stay on top of fire safety advice. From my experience the most important things for fire safety in the home are:
Make sure you have a working smoke alarm (ideally mains-wired). Make sure you test it on a regular basis and change any batteries when necessary
Make sure you keep your property as clean as possible and maintain good housekeeping procedures
Keep ignition sources away from combustible materials
Keep electrical appliances switched off where possible and don’t overload sockets
If you are permitted to smoke in your property, be careful and never leaving cigarette ends unextinguished
Never leave your cooking unattended and be extra careful after consuming alcohol
https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/information/help-tenants-feel-safe-fire-safety-checklist/
For London and all South-East Fire Risk Assessments please visit:
A council in South London has warned thousands of tenants are at risk after work from over 400 fire risk assessments have been uncompleted causing huge backlogs.
Having a fire risk assessment completed and then ignoring the findings defies the object and this is most likely the case with many buildings across the UK. I have often gone back and reviewed one of my assessments only to find the same issues the following year.
It would not wash in court to just say you have had the fire risk assessment completed and you view this as compliance with the law. It is due diligence on behalf of the responsible person to go through the assessment, complete the work from the action plan and share the assessment with relevant persons.
I can imagine with some councils there is a pass the buck mentality and one person passes the problem onto the next person and the assessments get lost in the system somewhat.
For all Fire Risk Assessments in London please visit our London Fire Risk Assessments page here:
https://www.whalefire.co.uk/london/fire-risk-assessments-london.aspx
This property fire in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was dealt with by 6 fire appliances and resulted in 3 casualties suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.
It is imperative that smoke alarms are fitted to enable occupants to safely make their escape if a fire takes hold. It is the smoke that kills and if everybody is safely out of a property then the firefighting crews can then deal with the fire in a controlled and strategic way.
I am unsure whether this was a single private domestic dwelling or whether it started in a flat and occupants had to be led to safety via the communal staircase.
If it was the latter, then a fire risk assessment should have been in place to protect that communal staircase and fire escape.
For Fire Risk Assessments in Tunbridge Wells and the rest of Kent please visit:
This is not the first time a fire has occurred in a building with a history of recent major refurbishment works. I have often said that buildings are at risk during the actual construction phase as it often incudes opening up areas of compartmentation and sometimes introducing ignition sources.
Then there are cases when works are carried out cheaply and not up to standard. How many of todays fire safety issues are created or as a result of building works. It’s an ongoing situation as many of todays issues are trying to rectify old building construction issues but could then potentially be causing a further problem down the road.
Its important that clients use competent third party accredited contractors and don’t increase their fire risk when they are trying to do the opposite.
https://lnkd.in/ePJ4PxGa
For all London Fire Risk Assessments, please visit Whale Fires Fire Risk Assessments London page here:
https://lnkd.in/e8NhtV-r
This recent fire in a 18 storey high rise block of flats in East London started at the top of the block and was able to be extinguished without anybody suffering any injuries.
The fire damaged several windows at the top of the block and was extinguished by London Fire Brigade (LFB) before the fire could cause any more damage.
There were also two other fires nearby in fields at the same time as LFB faced a really busy few days. The hot weather and dry conditions can increase the chances of fires starting and spreading and extra vigilance should be put in place in these conditions.
Following basic fire safety advise can help such as:
Being careful when discarding off cigarettes (as these can smoulder for hours if not properly extinguished)
Not overloading electrical sockets and making sure these are switched off after use
Never leaving your cooking unattended
Being extra careful with BBQ’s when outside
Not using BBQs or smoking on external flat balconies
Making sure you use all electrical applications safely such as fans and switching off mobile phone chargers after use
Not leaving unnecessarily combustible materials lying around and making sure the external perimeter of your building is clear
Keeping your building or property secure to prevent unauthorised access
The above list is not exhaustive but every little helps at times like these
Stay safe
For London Fire Risk Assessments please visit out Fire Risk Assessment London page here:
https://www.whalefire.co.uk/london/fire-risk-assessments-london.aspx
London Fire Brigade (LFB) have been seriously busy the last few weeks as soaring temperatures and super dry conditions have led to a series of grass and other rural fires.
There have also been many house and other building fires which has led to a shortage of resources and cover for Fire Services throughout the country.
These wildfires can spread so quickly as the dry combustible materials can ignite and burn so readily, especially if accompanied by a moderate to strong wind flow. The main aim for the fire service is to limit the spread of these fires and to protect any nearby residential properties etc. These wildfires can easily catch firefighters out depending on the location of the fire, whatever is burning and the weather conditions.
Evacuation of nearby properties is often required and the need to protect the egress route away from the incident, should conditions change rapidly.
https://lnkd.in/eR7MKmgV
For Fire Risk Assessments in London please visit:
https://lnkd.in/e8NhtV-r
Another huge fire broke out in London recently in a residential property in Belgravia.
Up to 80 firefighters had to extinguish the blaze which took out an upper floor and roof of an exclusive block of flats.
It’s the latest in the series of a large number of fires in London and will be interesting to establish what the cause of the fire is. I understand that nobody was injured and everybody was able to safely make their escape.
One resident was reportedly awoken by the sound of cracking noises as the fire took hold. These are very expensive buildings and I would be interested to know whether the fire started and was contained in a single flat and roof space or whether the fire spread to the communal areas and potentially other buildings via the roof space.
As fire risk assessors, we can all learn from every incident and the most
Important thing is that everybody is safe.
https://lnkd.in/eWdyuMDJ
For all London Fire Risk Assessments please visit Whale Fire’s Fire Risk Assessment London page here:
https://lnkd.in/e8NhtV-r
Over 100 firefighters attended this pub fire in Trafalgar Square recently. The public house is located on the corner of two busy streets and would therefore would have caused LFB (London Fire Brigade) numerous problems in terms of access, traffic and pedestrian control.
Lots of people were safely evacuated from the pub which is believed to have started in the basement. Again, this would have caused a range of complications for firefighting teams in terms of access, crew safety and welfare, arduous heat, smoke dispersal to name just a few.
Pubs often have basement areas which are often used as cellars for drink storage and the location of the utilities. They often come with difficult access and can have unusual layouts.
It was good to see LFB safely evacuate the pub so quickly and deal with the basement fire so efficiently before it took control of the rest of the building.
Whale Fire provide fire risk assessments right across London including to all public houses. Please visit our Fire Risk Assessment London page here:
https://www.whalefire.co.uk/london/fire-risk-assessments-london.aspx