Fire exit over balconies

[Guest Baffled]

I don't know whether this is the right place to put this question - I apologise if it's not. I own a flat which has normal fire escape from front door. However the living room opens on to a closed balcony at the back. There is no mention of this being a fire escape on my lease. However I am told that this is the case. The balcony is linked to balconies on properties either side. As far as I can tell if there is a fire alarm I should exit the flat along these linked balconies. However there is only one route from my balcony ie via the left side -the right hand door can only be opened by the neighbours on the property on the right. The balconies are totally enclosed so there is no way of seeing which direction the fire is coming from. My query is - if the fire is actually taking place in the property on the left then I will not know this until I have actually opened the fire door. I will presumably have gone from the relative safety of my own flat into what could be a raging inferno!  I'm getting conflicting advice from neighbours.  Also baffling is what do I do when I get into the left-hand balcony? It leads onto another linked balcony. Am I supposed to open the living room door of that flat and escape via that property? |If so, wouldn't it be essential for owners to leave their living room doors permanently unlocked? There is no mention of this on my lease and it makes me feel very insecure. Any advice from others gratefully received. Thank you.

[Tom Sutton]

The front exit is your principle means of escape (MoE) the rear exit is your alterative MoE so if you have to exit your premises then you use the front door and only if that is impassable do you use the rear exit. Assuming the MoE is of a high standard only one MoE will be affected in the event of a fire in your building so you will always have a means of escape available. The standard of the means of escape is a matter for the Responsible Person (owner, landlord or yourself) and without a survey I am unable to give a categoric reply.

[AnthonyB]

Linked balconies split by kick panels or doors are very 'old school' means of escape popular in large estates built in the 1960's. Current fire safety guidance addresses the situation this way
"The provision of alternative exits via linking balconies, pass-doors between adjoining flats and break-out panels within the flat has featured in previous guidance and can
be found in many existing blocks of flats. However, these arrangements are no longer recommended.

Escape via linking balconies, or pass doors between neighbouring flats, was a commonly accepted alternative escape arrangement under previous benchmark standards
and can be found in many existing blocks of flats.

However, these arrangements are no longer recommended for the design of new flats. In most of these situations, the linking balcony, and pass doors, were shared by the residents of two adjoining flats. In some other situations, more than two flats shared the linking balcony but, in all cases, there was a need to gain access into a neighbour’s flat to reach an alternative exit route.

The difficulties of ensuring access into, and exit from, an adjoining flat to reach an alternative exit are obvious and cannot be relied on with any degree of certainty to be available at all times.

Despite the above, in many existing flats, the provision of other, more suitable alternative exit routes, such as common balconies or stairways, will be impractical to achieve. In these situations, either one of the other two approaches (limited travel distance or protected entrance hallway) should be adopted, or compensatory measures will need to be considered. The latter include:
• pass doors between internal rooms to access a protected exit route
• additional automatic detection to a Category LD2 [hallway, kitchen, principle habitable room] or even LD1 standard [all rooms in the flat other than toilets/bathrooms]
• a sprinkler, or other suitable fixed automatic suppression, system.

However, there may be circumstances where, even with these additional measures, the access to the linking balcony or the pass doors might still be retained for use as a last resort.

[Guest Baffled]

Thank you both for your replies. I wonder whether those responsible for fire regulations have published any official documents on these linked balconies. If so I would like to take up any issues with our management company, particularly with the issue of the balconies being totally enclosed as part of each flat, so there is no way of knowing which direction the fire is coming from until you actually open the balcony door (and thus enable the spread of the fire and dispersal of smoke?), 

I am also very concerned about security. If the only way to use these balconies is to access a neighbouring property then this would mean all residents should leave the entry to their flat via the balcony unlocked permanently. Additionally as most residents use the mortice lock on their front door they would have to install a spare key next to the door in case they are not in when the fire occurs. At the moment we have no guidance about these issues. I'm sure there must be rules about these - even if it is to close the balcony doors permanently so residents are very clear what to do. Incidentally. other flats in the complex don't have these balconies so must exit using their front doors, so it would seem more logical if this were the case for us all. However, I do want to be clear on the legal aspect. Thank you for your help.