LANDLORDS MUST FOCUS ON FIRE DOOR SAFETY AMID NEW RENTER RESEARCH, SAYS BUREAU VERITAS

New research released this Fire Door Safety Week by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) found that 1.7 million renters fear ‘revenge eviction’ if they were to raise a fire safety concern. However, with fire safety on the agenda now more than ever before, compliance firm Bureau Veritas is encouraging landlords and local authorities to use this Fire Door Safety Week as a stark reminder of the importance of this life-saving equipment.

This year’s initiative has highlighted some concerning statistics on fire safety in rented properties. Research gathered for Fire Door Safety Week found:

• A third of all renters have experienced fire doors being damaged or propped open in the last 12 months
• 13% of private renters and 12% of social housing tenants fear that raising fire safety issues with their landlords will put their tenancy at risk
• 12% had not had their most recent fire safety-related issue resolved within three months of reporting it
• A quarter have been living with a broken or missing fire extinguisher, and just under a quarter (23%) were aware of a smoke alarm that wasn’t working
• 14% have noticed a fire exit in their property being blocked

However, with the recent Fire Safety Act enacted into law this year, fire safety has never been more critical for landlords. The Fire Safety Act 2021 means landlords responsible for multi-occupied, residential buildings must manage and reduce the risk of fire posed by the building’s structure, and most notably external wall systems, including windows and balconies, and individual occupants’ entrance doors.

Lee Perry, Business Unit Manager – Fire & Life Safety Consultancy at Bureau Veritas, said: “Properly fitted and maintained fire doors are critical to the safe evacuation of a building in the event of fire, forming part of the compartmentation of the building and helping to retain the fire in its area of origin. Poorly fitted and damaged fire doors allow smoke and heat into the escape routes within the building, which makes it much more difficult to evacuate and puts lives needlessly at risk.

“This Fire Door Safety Week offers a timely reminder to landlords and local authorities of the importance of fire doors in the safe evacuation of a building. However, this year it has identified widespread fear of ‘revenge eviction’ amongst tenants who raise fire safety concerns, as well as a lack of urgency when it comes to resolving fire safety issues and misuse of fire safety equipment and fire doors.”

Fire door checks form part of a building’s Fire Risk Assessment and includes a checklist of 42 items to check on each door, including hinges, damage to the frame or door, checks for gaps and the door’s original certification label. If the door and its unit is found to have defects, it will need to be repaired or replaced, and re-certified.

Lee continues: “Whilst awareness of fire risk in multi-storey buildings has really come to the fore in recent years, following the Grenfell Tower fire and subsequent Hackitt Review, it is clear from the research that too many landlords and local authorities are still not doing all they can to comply with UK Fire Legislation. Third party compliance specialists, like Bureau Veritas, are able to support duty holders in achieving and maintaining compliance, knowing they’ve done all they can to keep their residents safe.”

The specialist fire safety team at Bureau Veritas offers a range of services including fire door inspections, acting as the ‘Responsible Person’ to carry out a regular check of fire doors and monitor their condition for effective operation to mitigate the risk of smoke and fire spread in the event of a fire incident.

Fire Door Safety Week was first launched in 2013, in response to a legacy of fire door neglect, and is managed by the British Woodworking Federation, with support from partners including London Fire Brigade (LFB), The National Fire Chief’s Council (NFCC) and the Home Office’s National Fire Safety campaign.