As a block manager, it is your responsibility to protect the residents of your building from fire risks, including ensuring that fire doors are working. Your responsibilities include effectively communicating to residents about fire doors and fire safety to ensure they can keep themselves safe in the unfortunate event of a fire.
A block manager is responsible for having risk assessments carried out, and putting in place fire safety measures in communal areas, such as:
· fire extinguishers
· fire doors for any door opening onto a communal area
· emergency lighting in stairwells and hallways
· appropriate signage around the building, including “No smoking” signs and fire evacuation plans
· designated fire escapes
According to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, block managers must actively reduce fire risk and prevent fires in communal areas; otherwise they face an unlimited fine or risk prison time.
What do you need to tell residents of a building you manage about fire safety?
1. Fire door importance – explain to building residents how fire doors are important for keeping the building safe.
2. Fire door maintenance – make sure residents know who is responsible for the upkeep of fire doors and how they can report any damaged or faulty doors which need maintenance.
3. Fire door use – give residents instructions on how fire doors must be closed when they are not going through them. They should never prop open a fire door, and they should not tamper with the self-closing mechanisms.
4. Fire door location – inform residents where fire doors are in the building, for example, in corridors, stairwells and communal areas.
5. Fire safety arrangements – tell residents about the fire safety and evacuation plan, so they know what to do and where to go in case of a fire.
Don’t forget…
All fire doors in a residential block must meet these essential standards:
- The door must be FD30 type, if not FD60+, offering at least 30 minutes of fire resistance
- The door must be tested in accordance with BS476: Part 221987 (British Standard) or BS EN 1634-1 2000 (UK adoption of European standards)
- The door’s supplier should provide certification confirming it meets the specifications, which includes any accessories such as a letterbox, hinges etc.
Multi-occupied buildings must comply with the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. Buildings over 11m high must have fire doors in communal areas which are checked quarterly; and flat entrance doors that are fire doors need to be inspected annually.
If you need advice on fire assessments and fire door inspections, give our trusted team of experts a call.
