Can
a Fire really start in a Cupboard in the Communal areas of a Block of Flats? Do
Residents really have to remove ignition sources and flammable substances from
Risers and Store Cupboards in the Communal areas? Or as one Resident said ‘this
is Fire Safety gone mad!’
Just recently London Fire Brigade reported, on
their incident page, that Five fire engines were called to a Fire in a block of
Flats in Bromley-by-Bow, London.
A Cupboard on the tenth floor of a twelve-floored
tower block was destroyed by Fire and half of a Cupboard on the floor directly
above it was damaged in the blaze. Fortunately, Fire doors contained the Fire
to the Cupboards. Click here to read more.
So in answer
to the questions above – Yes
Fires can happen! That is why there
shouldn’t be any storage in ‘Riser’ cupboards and if you have a personal Storage
Cupboard in the Communal area of your block of flats it’s your responsibility
to ensure there are no ignition sources or flammable substances stored within. Do
not overload your Store Cupboard either because if there is a light in there it
could be damaged or the risk of a Fire will increase.
London Fire
Risk Assessments advice to customers; When a Fire Safety
Inspection is carried out by one of our ‘qualified’ Fire Safety Risk Assessors
it is their job to identify any deficiencies within communal ‘Riser’ Cupboards
and if Residents are happy for them to look in their Storage Cupboards they
will assess them too. All the deficiencies will be listed in the Fire Safety
Risk Assessment report and it will be the ‘Responsible Persons’ responsibility
to action on the findings. Some Residents don’t always receive this positively
but nevertheless our job is to help reduce the risk of Fire.
The Fire
Safety Risk Assessment includes a Fire Safety Management Plan –
Significant Findings this document becomes your job list - it will identify all
the deficiencies in your premise and it will tell you what actions you must do
to put them right. It is a ‘live’
document and it should be kept updated by the ‘Responsible Person’ as this will
help you work towards preventing a Fire in the first place.
Another part of the Fire Risk Assessment is the
Fire
Safety Emergency Plan this tells you what to do if a Fire breaks out –
you should make sure that you and your family are fully aware of the ‘Plan’. It
is a good idea to ‘walk’ the Means of Escape too.
If you are based in London and need a Fire
Protection Service then contact London Fire Risk Assessments they have a
friendly team that will listen to your Fire Safety concerns and help you find a
solution – call now on 01689 890879.
