Fire extinguisher regulations in apartments

carveone

Hi all,

I've dredged through the regulations and can't find any mention of fire extinguishers other than the Technical Guidance documents which says they aren't covered in the building regulations. Which may answer the question on whether fire extinguishers are required in apartment buildings! No it seems. For those who are renting, a fire blanket is required but that seems to be all.

However, once you do provide them (which seems like a good plan) there are regulations governing them. Which I can't find a copy of without paying for (which appalls me) so I can't check to which type of building they apply. But they seem to be a real pain if one were to apply them to a small complex (6 flats):

You have to test them by discharge every 3 years. But "One third of all fire extinguishers shall be test discharged each year, so that at the end of the 3rd year, 100% of the extinguishers will have been tested by discharged."

I see. And what if you have less than 3 fire extinguishers? It seems one must be removed for testing and refilling. Leaving none on site in the event of a fire. Great.

A fire safety register, a certificate of inspection, maintenance and a maintenance report from a competent person along with a service label must be provided to document all fire extinguishers.

So you need to pay someone to put them in instead of buying one for 40 quid. A competent person isn't me apparently.

It is the responsibility of the designated person on site to ensure that the visual inspections of fire extinguishers are completed at intervals of no greater than 1 month and documented in the fire register.

And if you didn't, an insurance agency could use that as an excuse to say you didn't do this properly.

The point is - does anyone in a small apartment complex have fire extinguishers? Are they checked every month and documented? Does it seem easier to buy one for your own apartment instead (seems vastly easier not to mention safer). Just wondering :P

TooObvious

Generally speaking there is no requirement for fire extinguishers in the common area of an apartment block. Sometimes an Insurance Company can request that they be installed as a condition for providing cover, but, if a fire has made it out into the common area, the most likely scenario is that the fire will not be put out by an extinguisher alone.

There is an no requirement for a landlord either to provide a fire extinguisher within an apartment, rather a fire blanket instead. Though having spoken to a fireman friend of mine his advice for anyone living in an apartment is to get a dry powder extinguisher for yourself, as these can deal with the the usual sort of chip pan fire/grill fire, but also the increasingly common electrical fire.

One final point - the most important steps to take in the event of any fire are...BIG ones, out the door!

Chris_5339762

...and, because a lot of the Celtic Tiger apartments are probably far more shoddily built than we realize, just in case the fire protection fails or wasn't installed, you might want to consider one of these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000OZ3Y2C/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

carveone

Thanks for the information. The block is only two stories with balconies so that's an exit if needs be! But I will definitely go for the powder extinguisher and recommend others do too.

When you've 6 apartments only I think you're better off having your own extinguisher and knowing how to use it rather than running around the common area looking for the extinguisher that someone has taken to prop a door!

Now to look at the emergency lighting