Resident duties and responsibilities around fire safety

Mains powered automatic smoke detectors with battery back-up are installed in your home. THH tests these annually.

Where required, some properties also have a heat detector in the kitchen which is less susceptible to ‘false alarms’ caused by frying, grilling or toasting food. Detectors should be interlinked so that if one detector is triggered, the alarm sounds in each & every alarm location.

Remember to test your alarm on a weekly basis. 

Your Flat Entrance Door is a fire door. It is self-closing and has strips and seals that prevent smoke and flames from entering the staircase if your flat is on fire or your flat if the fire is in the other side. If you have to leave your flat because of a fire, make sure the door latches shut behind you.

Do not make alterations to your door such as fitting extra locks and cat flaps, as this will compromise your safety.

If required, some properties may have internal doors that also have fire resistance and these are usually the kitchen door. The doors have a solid core and can be recognised by smoke seals to the edges of the door that expand in a fire and seal the door against the frame. When you leave your home for any length of time and when going to bed for the night you should make sure these doors are latched closed.

It is important that you do not make alterations to the door such as additional locks and cat flaps, as this will compromise your safety.

Where required, emergency lights are provided in staircases and corridors. If the electricity fails, they will stay lit and guide you along the escape route and out of the building.

Some will not normally be lit but will have a small green or red light that indicates they are working. If the electricity fails, they will light up. The other type remains lit and are on a protected circuit so even if the electricity fails, they will remain lit.

THH tests these lights regularly.

Do not cover these lights.

A Dry Riser is used by the Fire Brigade to get water to the upper floors. On the ground floor there is a Dry Riser Inlet that the Fire Brigade connect their hoses to. Water is pumped up the vertical pipe to each floor where the fire-fighters can connect their hose to the outlet.

Dry Risers Inlets must have fire engine access within 18 metres, so this area must be always kept clear.

We test dry risers regularly.

If residents see any damage, please report this to THH.

The protected escape routes are there if you need to leave the building or are advised to do so by the London Fire Brigade. See below for more information on ‘stay put’ and when to leave your flat. The corridors and staircases are protected areas and designed to allow for residents from all parts of the building to reach the outside without passing through a higher fire risk area.

These routes are protected by materials that will provide a minimum of 60 minutes protection from fire and smoke. Generally, the only break is doors, but these also protect the route as they are fire doors.

These protected routes must be kept clear of obstructions & combustible materials so that residents evacuating can do so easily. It would be extremely hazardous if any of these items caught fire in the protected escape route making it unusable.

A fire door consists of a door and frame set that, when closed, is intended to resist the passage of fire and smoke.

In the closed position, they protect the escape route which enables residents to evacuate.  You will find fire doors on flat entrance doors, across corridors on the escape route and on electrical cupboards and the bin chutes. 

Fire doors are there to protect your means of escape and should never be wedged/propped open. Fire doors should not be locked or fastened in such a way that means a key is needed to make an escape.

Fire hydrants are found in the ground near your block. They are sometimes painted yellow but are marked with ‘FH’ or ‘Fire Hydrant’. Near to the hydrant on the wall there is a yellow ‘H’ plate. The plate indicates the size of the pipe and the distance the hydrant is away from the plate. In the example opposite, the hydrant has a 250mm pipe and is 1 metre away from the H plate.

They are used by the Fire Brigade to provide a supply of water from the mains to the Dry Riser Inlet.

Obstructing a hydrant is an offence and can carry a fine if convicted. Please remember to park considerately and away from any hydrants.

If a hydrant is leaking or faulty, you should tell the local water company (the owners). Any other defects or queries can be reported to the London Fire Brigade.

If a fire breaks out in your block and the Fire Brigade are called it is likely that the electricity to the block will be switched off when they arrive. This means that the lift will not be operational. It is imperative that residents do not use the lift when they are aware of a fire as they may become trapped in the lift. The Fire Brigade can control the lift for their own fire-fighting purposes by using the control switch adjacent to the lift doors.

Remember – never use the lift if there is a fire.