It appears Camden towers haven't met safety standards for years but this only came to light due to investigation ordered by Theresa May.
Anyone know whether local authorities or private landlords have a duty to have regular fire safety inspections of their properties, whether multi-occupancy or not?
Thing is, would you really expect a routine fire inspection to test things like external cladding? Or any other major alterations that couldn't be seen to be a hazard at an inspection? They could hardly start ripping things apart to make sure it had been built correctly.
IMHO, it's the sort of thing which should be done during any works. To make sure it does comply. Not afterwards.
Some of the comments made on the news last night suggested that, in Camden, there were concerns about things that should have been picked up in a fire inspection, such as inadequate fire doors.
I'm talking more about the inside of the building, stairwells, fire-doors, inside people's apartments, and the approaches to such building for appliances. Clearly you would expect cladding to be safe via other regimes.
And 'gas pipes'. Both from the council leader. The gas pipe bit refers, AFAICT, to sealine between floors.
I'm sure there were. But they're hardly going to evacuate a building for something which could be fixed relatively quickly, even as a temporary measure. While waiting for new ones to be made.
Legislation does not require landlords carry to carry out fire risk assessments inside peoples' flats. That may of course change as a result of no-price-is-too-high recommendations from the inquiry judge. It may even prove to be value for money if there is evidence that such assessments would stop fires starting/spreading. But it will undoubtedby be expensive: just talk to any social landlord about the problems of gaining access to a property, let alone access which involves checking each room for unauthorised holes in plasterboard walls/ceilings etc etc
I would also enable landlords to interfere with tenants' private lives even more than they currently do. "You can't have that
A lot of universities require PAT on students' appliances in residences now.
I don't know how today's students manage to have valve radios and home-made things soldered on stripboard.
Owain
Rather surprised if it is not all.
Come on, you know the answer to that really :-)
They used to in the dim and distant past but stopped in about 2005 when it because a sort of self certify with checks and we have seen the fire brigade doing a fire inspection at our village hall once in a decade.
I think the fire brigade do go out and look from time to time but are sufficiently short staffed that they don't visit very often unless you are forever having fires. It would make a *very* interesting question:
"When did the fire brigade last properly inspect these premises?" "Show us your risk assessment for the rooms, floors and staircases"
There is certainly a requirement for a risk assessment
?
Well landlords tell me that they have to have smoke alarms fitted and have an inspection before they are allowed to let the property to council tenants, but nobody seems to know if this applies to all or just for councils, who are probably watching their backs. Brian
I used to perform tests on fire alarms in hospitals for years. Expensive and time consuming business.
I printed some rather convincing labels got all my lads kit.
I have a copy of a Government Publication "Fire Safety Risk Assessment for small & medium places of assembly" (eg Village Halls). You have to DIY - nothing about Fire Brigades.
I think it applies to all.
We've just had (wireless) linked alarms fitted throughout the building that contains my son's flat. His isn't rented, but others are.
Andy
So do I. And risk assessments to match dating back to 2005.
They come round about once every decade or so and ask to see it. We were done last year and so has a neighbouring one. They pick up on stuff that is predictable like kindling being left under the stairs for example.
Evacuation point being too close to the building - that sort of thing.
Martin Brown posted
Who's "they"?
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