fian door exit points being locked

[Steve Parkins]

Please may I pose a question regarding final exit doors in domestic premises being used as shelterd housing. If during the night staff wish to lock doors for security surely this means a emergency fire exit system must be installed on doors ?

Steve

[jokar]

The whole ethos of sheltered accommodation is that it is a defend in place strategy.  Those behind their locked doors are in their own homes and have thier own FA system, part 6.  One would assume that at night no one is in the common areas and therefore the doors can be locked but need to be available for exit.

[wee brian]

You shouldbe able to open them in the direction of escape withoutthe need for a key.

[CivvyFSO]

The final exit/entrance door required to open in the direction of escape? That will be a good one for knocking the salesman off your doorstep.

This sounds to me like people looking after other persons in their own home, and this is quite a different matter to what Jokar and Brian may be thinking about.

Have a look here if this is the case:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_ASSDOC_PTB_Adult.pdf

Basically, it seems like a bit of common sense and reasonable standards in the circumstances.

[redbadge]

An e-mag holding the door locked but releasable by internal exit button should suffice nicely (provided of course that there is a means of getting back in - intercom etc)

[wee brian]

OK Civvy

Inaccurate use of language on my part - what I meant was that i should be able to get out without a key (ie in the direction of escape). I wasnt refering to the door swing.

I didnt think we were talking adult placement but Steve may be able to clarify.

[Ken Taylor]

This sounds more like prison than sheltered housing! In every sheltered scheme with which I have been involved the tenants live in their own flats and need to be able to leave readily at any time whether the place is on fire or not.

[AM]

^

Not all types of sheltered houses are based around flats, so a 'defend in place' strategy isn't appropriate. Standard houses are used in many different schemes and there could be issues like security in a women's refuge to stop people getting in, or in a vulnerable childrens home to stop them running away. Either way, the risk of fire may be less than the general risk to the safety of the occupiers, and therefore a more case specific solution will have to be found.

[Ken Taylor]

Stopping people getting in isn't the same as stopping occupants from getting out. I've never heard of women being locked into refuges from which they can't escape. Children's care homes are not sheltered accommodation. Those with which I've dealt (even secure units) have staff available to enable emergency evacuation.

[kurnal]

This situation was described as sheltered housing which indicates independent living with some additional support or supervision.

Only if the residents are wholly dependent on staff for their evacuation and safety in a fire is it permissible for the doors to be locked such they cannot escape independently in case of fire. If they could reasonably be expected to follow normal procedures and make their own escape from fire then they need to be able to open the doors from inside in the normal way. A key may be acceptable within their own unit into a common area, but thumbturn or similar is the minimum requirement for common areas provided everyone has sufficient dexterity to operate one