As a building manager, you know that you have a legal and moral obligation to protect the health and safety of your tenants wherever possible.
Ensuring proper fire safety is in place is perhaps the most important task in this regard, as residential fires pose a serious risk to life and can cause extensive property damage.
By implementing these basic fire safety tips your property management company can minimise the risk of a fire outbreak in the apartment building you are responsible for, and make sure that if the worst does happen, the damage will be as minimal as possible.
A failure to take action to prevent fires from starting and educating tenants on basic fire safety can have devastating consequences both financially and legally for your company and by following this advice both you and your residents will enjoy significant long-term benefits.
Top tips for fire safety
As a property manager, following these 10 preventative fire safety tips will significantly reduce the odds of a fire breaking out.
1. Electrical Safety
Close to half of all dwelling fires in the UK are caused as a result of either faulty electrical appliances or misuse of equipment.
Ensure that all residents are aware of best practices when it comes to using electrical devices and hire a qualified electrician to carry out any building rewiring.
Pay close attention to the lifespans of your electrical systems and teach all residents the importance of reporting signs of faulty electrics such as a hot power cord or burn marks around the plug socket.
2. Maintain heating systems
Heating systems are another major cause of domestic fires in the UK.
As a building manager, it is your responsibility to ensure yearly cleaning and maintenance of communal heating equipment and remind tenants of the importance of doing the same.
3. No Smoking
Although it is impossible to prevent residents from smoking in their own homes unless you are the landlord, make sure that the legal requirement for no smoking in communal areas is maintained and no smoking signs are placed in prominent areas.
Also, make sure to remind residents of the risks associated with having a lit cigarette around soft furnishings.
4. Monitor the laundry
Many apartment buildings have a shared laundry area, but without the proper maintenance and cleaning, this convenience could soon become a nightmare.
Dryer lint is extremely flammable so remind tenants to always remove their dryer lint after using the dryer and provide designated disposal areas.
At least once a year you should also have your communal dryers professionally cleaned.
5. Promote safe cooking
Kitchen fires are by far the most common residential fire type, and whilst you can do little to directly prevent poor fire safety practice you should remind tenants of the risks associated with cooking.
Also provide information on how to deal with common fires which require unique responses such as grease fires, oven fires, and microwave fires.
6. Schedule inspections
Including inspections in your lease agreements is a good way to check for major fire hazards within apartments.
7. Landscaping
Remove all flammable foliage that is too close to your rental property.
Dried up and dead shrubbery is the most prone to ignition so remove all dead wood, leaves, and weeds.
Instead, choose a healthy fire-resistant plant species to add some colour to your building’s outdoor space.
8. Be careful with rubbish disposal
All rubbish disposal bins and areas should be located at a safe distance from residential areas.
You should asl provide residents with a list of materials that are highly flammable and, therefore, require special disposal.
These include oil/gasoline, bleach, old gas canisters, batteries, and fireplace ashes.
9. Use professional fire safety services
To guarantee that equipment installation, maintenance, and repairs of your fire safety systems are completed to the highest possible standard, hire a professional fire safety and security firm to manage your property.
Fire safety is not something to take lightly so rely on the experts to make your property as fire ready as possible.
10. Waking Watch
If the building that you manage has been identified as having unsafe flammable materials within the exterior wall system, similar to those found on the Grenfell Tower in 2017, you are legally obligated to take additional fire safety measures.
These come in the form of either a common fire alarm system or a waking watch service.
Whilst waiting for the funding or installation of a common fire alarm, a waking watch service can be used to monitor the entire property for signs of a fire.
Trained fire marshals will be stationed in the building 24/7 continually patrolling the interior and exterior for signs of a fire and managing the evacuation if required.
Here at Prime Secure, we offer highly trained and fully qualified Waking Watch Fire Marshals officers at below the industry average hourly rate.
For more information, contact us now on 0345 88 88 333, or via email at info@prime-secure.co.uk.