Fire safety in flats

Steps we take to keep you safe 

As your landlord we are responsible for carrying out regular fire safety checks in the communal areas of buildings. Minimising the risk of fire in your home and any communal areas is everyone's responsibility. 

If you have any questions about safety in your home, please contact us or call 01775 761161.  In an emergency, always call 999.

We carry out the following checks on our flat schemes:

Fire Risk Assessments are a routine process that checks the fire safety of buildings and analyses their fire risks.  By law as your landlord, we have a duty to appoint a competent person (suitably trained/qualified, knowledgeable) who can carry out a Fire Risk Assessment, thus ensuring it is suitable and sufficient. We use fully accredited professionals who are members of the IFE (Institute of Fire engineers) they employ industry best practice to assess and report fire risks/hazards. 

Evacuating in the event of a fire

If you're a resident in a block of flats, you should be aware that a fire could occur in your flat, but could also happen somewhere else in the building. It's important that you and other members of your household know what to do in the event of a fire. 

Please contact us if you would have difficulty evacuating your home in the event of a fire due to a disability or vulnerability, OR if you have oxygen in your home.  We can organise a personalised evacuation plan for you and consider if you need any additional items installing to meet any disabilities. 

If you find a fire in your flat

• Shout Fire
• Alert any neighbours who might be at risk from the fire, without putting yourself in danger
• Leave the building and close all doors behind you
• don't use a lift, always use the stairs
• don't collect personal belongings
• don't attempt to put the fire out
• call 999 as soon as it is safe to do so
• stay a safe distance away from the building 
• don't re-enter the building until the emergency services have said its safe to do so.

If your flat block fire alarm sounds

If you hear the fire alarm in the building and you're in your flat, you should:

• stay inside your flat unless you're affected by the fire or smoke
• keep all doors closed, but unlocked - check your front door is un-latched
• call 999 as soon as you can
• don't open your front door unless the emergency services or council staff have asked you to.

If you're in a communal area, such as the stairwell or corridor, you should:

• Shout Fire
• evacuate the building by leaving at the nearest and safest exit
• don't use a lift, always use the stairs
• don't collect personal belongings
• don't attempt to put the fire out
• call 999 as soon as it is safe to do so
• stay a safe distance away from the building 
• don't re-enter the building until the emergency services have said its safe to do so.

If you live at The Square, Church Street, Spalding

This advice is specific to residents of The Square as the property wasn't originally built as a block of flats. If there is a fire, you must evacuate the building. 

If you live at The Square, Church Street, Spalding and there is a fire in your flat or anywhere else in the building, you should:

• leave the building and close all doors behind you
• alert any neighbours who might be at risk from the fire, without putting yourself in danger
• don't use a lift, always use the stairs
• don't collect personal belongings
• don't attempt to put the fire out
• call 999 as soon as it is safe to do so
• stay a safe distance away from the building 
• don't re-enter the building until the emergency services have said its safe to do so.

Communal fire doors

A fire door is a door manufactured to withstand the spread of fire from one area/room to another for a given period, normally 30, or 60 minutes. We are legally accountable for fire doors in all communal areas of our shared buildings and blocks. All communal fire doors are checked weekly by our Facilities team. Our Compliance Officer carries out quarterly fire door inspections and our fire risk assessor inspects the communal fire doors annually.

If you think there is an issue with a fire door in your building, please contact us to report it. We will arrange for a contractor to attend and fix any potential faults.

Please note, you should not alter the fire door and frame in anyway, for example, attach a doorbell or screw numbers into the door.

Steps you can take

• Lansdowne Court and The Square - Test smoke alarms in your home once a week by pressing the test button.
• Sheltered Housing tenants should give Lincolnshire Housing Partnership access to their home each quarter for them to test their alarm system including their smoke detectors. This system is connected to and monitored by a call centre.  
• DO NOT alter the fire door and frame in anyway, for example, attach a doorbell or screw numbers into the door.
• Keep flat communal areas, corridors and staircases clear.  You must not store items such as prams, bikes or plant pots in these areas as they could get in the way of people evacuating the building, and could also fuel a fire.  We will remove these if they are found upon a property inspection.  
• Additional steps can be found here - Fire safety in the home  Fire Safety in Flats (PDF) [997KB] (opens new window)

Fire Safety Advice FAQ

You can find out more about Fire Safety in flats by clicking on the following link Frequently asked questions about fire safety advice..