Mrs

[Guest heaton]

Hi, 

 

I am after some help and advice please. My Mum lives in sheltered accommodation with a warden and intercom system. In May she had a fire in her flat. It started in the kitchen. 

A neighbour saw smoke coming from underneath her front door and alerted the fire brigade through the communal intercom. I have a copy of the call log. 

When I raised a complaint with the housing group they said an alarm did go off and alerted the fire brigade. 

The alarm is one heat detector in the hall way above his front door. This alerted the alarm in the communal hallway. 

Am I right in thinking that she should of had hard wired smoke alarms fitted in the living areas and they should of been linked to the intercom? The alarms would of detected smoke and someone would have spoke to her through the intercom and asked her if she needed the fire brigade? 

 

The housing are not having it and said this isn't what happens. I have read that hard wired smoke alarms are now required by law. Any advice appreciated. Thank you 

 

The only information they fire brigade called log had was that a neighbour has alerted the FB after seeing smoke coming from under door. Nothing about the communal fire alarm system. 

 

Thanks 

[AnthonyB]

Each flat in a sheltered housing block should have it's own self contained smoke & heat alarm system with a link to the flats telecare system to alert the remote warden service.

It should be a Grade D1 LD1 system with smoke alarms to hallways, rooms other than bathrooms and a heat alarm to the kitchen. Older sites may have less provision but must by law have the smoke detector to the hallway as per the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015. These Regulations didn't apply to social housing providers originally, but as they have been found in recent years to be as bad as the worst private slum landlord they amended the law in 2022 via the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 to include those as well.

The common alarm is not there to save the life of the flat occupier - it is there purely to alert the building and remote monitoring in case no one from the flat raises the alarm. A heat detector would activate after a room occupier had died and is used to prevent false alarms to the whole building and must be supplemented by a local system of smoke alarms.

Links:
Fire safety guide for sheltered housing: https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/NFCC Guidance publications/NFCC_Specialised_Housing_Guidance_-_Copy.pdf
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-explanatory-booklet-for-landlords/the-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarm-england-regulations-2015-qa-booklet-for-the-private-rented-sector-landlords-and-tenants