Fire Action Notices in the common parts of Sheleted Accommodation properties

[Suttonfire]

Re the above, when communal fire alarm systems are in place at a Sheltered schemes, within which communal fire alarm systems have been installed and communal facilities are in place (lounges, kitchens, laundry rooms etc); would it be your view that standard fire action notices setting out the procedure for activating the alarm and evacuating from the property should be displayed above the fire alarm call points throughout the common areas, as persons within the common areas in the event of a fire should be encouraged to evacuate. Whilst additional, 'Stay Put' guidance should be given to residents who are in the flats when the fire alarm activates (either as part of their induction or on notices displayed on the inside of entrance doors to there flats).

Otherwise there would be no guidance on the actions to take if you find yourself within the common areas (e.g. the lounge) if standard 'stay put' notices only were on display. Furthermore if you attend to combine both sets of instructions on a single notice it becomes less likely that the whole notice would be read and understood.

I would be interested hear any views.

[Mike Buckley]

The simple answer is: it depends.

You need to balance the issue of making sure the residents know what to do and the information is available to visitors, with turning what is essentially their home into a bill poster's paradise.

The standard get out is often 'put up a notice' and there is a tendency to put up a warning notice about everything such as 'caution water is hot' over a hot water tap! The key has to be Risk Assessment. there is a difference between the communal areas only being used by the residents and the communal areas being used by the residents and visitors for example community bingo sessions, whist drives, tea dances etc. Also the frequency of use.