Staff accommadation

[Joe Public]

Forgive a newbie if this is in the wrong section, i have tried searching this site.

In a nutshell  i operate a small bistro, above us are 3 floors rented out to a different buisness for staff accomadation.There is only one door in, no external fire escape.I have tried seaching the net for info about the regulations regarding this, but to be honest i am a bit confused, so thought this place seemed ideal.Would it be the landlord (freeholder) or the buisness that has rented it for it's staff resonsibility for Fire Safety?

Thanks for your help,glad i found somewhere to ask a question.

[Clevelandfire]

In a nutshell both the landlord and the company that rents it for its staff are responsible.
Also the accomodation you describe may be classed as a "licensable" House in Multiple Occupation. You should contact your local council and ask whether or not it should be licensed and they will send out an inspector to check. I strongly advise you to do this because if you fail to declare a accomodation which is licensable you could be fined. They will explain what a "licensable" House in Multiple Occupation is in detail, but again in a nutshell "licensed house in multiple occupation" have to meet certain fire regs and housing standards.

[kurnal]

Its down to the Employer of the staff in the first instance to make sure that the workplace is reasonably safe,  but the owner of the building also has a duty provide a safe building and to communicate,  co-operate, co-ordinate the fire safety arrangements in the common areas used by the tenants.

You will find the guidance documents you need by clicking this link:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firesafety/firesafetylaw/

To answer your query further we would need to know whether the staircase is protected by fire resisting walls and doors , and whether it leads directly to a final exit, the arrangements for raising the alarm of fire, how many occupiers there are,  exactly what is meant by "Staff  accommodation"- offices, factories, store rooms, rest rooms etc etc. But if you provide this info for starters we will be happy to help if we can.

[Joe Public]

Thanks for such a quick reply!

To clarify, i only have the premises on the ground floor, above us is a different land lord, and they are not my staff,nothing to do with me.I'm just concerned that when the property above was used as Holiday accommadation, i believe the owner has plans for an external fire escape, which did not happen.I was interested in the difference in the regulations for Paying  Holiday Guests and Staff accommadation, if there is one? I feel a resposibilty only as i have a kitchen below them, and God Forbid we had a fire, i couldn't live with myself if i had not done something.

[Clevelandfire]

Good for you Joe Public

The answer to your question is that there should either be:-

1) Materials achieving 60 miuntes fire resistance between you and the accomodation above, so that if you had a fire in your kitchen after you had shut for the evening smoke or flame wouldn't break through to the accomodation above for atleast 60 minutes in which time someone will have hopefully seen the fire and called the fire brigade.

or where that cant be achieved or you aren't sure that the ceiling or walls separating you from the accomodation above will achieve 60 minutes fire resistance then:-

2) Automatic fire detection should be linked between your bistro and the accomodation above to warn them of a fire occuring below

[Joe Public]

There is no way the ceiling would last an hour IMHO.As the owner of the Bistro below, i would have to provide fire detection for people above me, or is that their responsibility?

[PhilB]

Hi Joe

If you have identified that your premises could pose a danger to relevant people (whether they are paying guests, or employees is not really relevant) you must take measures to reduce the risk.

If there is not sufficient fire separation between your premises and the flats it may be necessary to provide early warning with smoke detection. I would recommend that you speak to the employers of the people in the rooms above to discuss a way forward.

The old law had a section dealing with this situation but the new fire safety order does not, but it does have a section that says people must co-operate and co-ordinate their efforts.

If you can e-mail me simple plans I would be happy to offer my opinion.

[Clevelandfire]

Just to add to PhilB's post above, perhaps you might want to look at splitting the cost of installing smoke / heat detection with the people responsible for the staff accomodation.

There would be great advantages for both parties involved, not only could automatic fire detection protect life, but also protect the property by ensuring that a fire is detected as early as possible, the fire service are called and hopefully life and properpty are saved.

[kurnal]

We aren't talking about fairness and right and wrong here- and Phil B  has it spot on.

But it would seem to me that the landlord has the over riding moral duty to ensure that the place he rents out is fit for purpose, and it would seem hard- though technically correct- to make all tenants directly identify the solution and contribute directly to the cost. After all only one of the responsible persons involved has the necessary level of control to be able to implement the findings throughout the building.

[PhilB]

Absolutely agree and that was why the Fire Precautions Act had a section titled 'Modification of Leases' owners and occupiers could use this section to take such a dispute to the County Court to allow a decision to be made as to whether leases should be amended and to come up with fair and equitable aportion of costs for any work that was necessary.

I don't know why it was not kept in the Fire Safety Order.

[Mike Buckley]

Just one point Joe do you own the building? This will affect what you can or cannot do and where the responsibility lies.