How many fire exits do we need?

[Guest Guest123]

hi. my workplace has recently converted store rooms into offices. these are on a second floor. access is via ground floor door and stairs. once upstairs there are 3 offices, toilets and a kitchen, around 25 ppl. there are no windows at all on this floor. the only entrance in and out is downstairs through one door. 

Can you advise if we need two fire exits. I feel we do. but am getting nowhere with my place of work

[Tom Sutton]

What you are seeking is a simple answer to a complex question which does not exist, you need a FRA to get the answer which will have to take into account fire alarms installed, travel distances, plus other factors than need to be considered. Check out https://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-risk-assessment/  and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-offices-and-shops 

[Guest BDO]

Hi,

I am hoping for some advice. We are a new tenant within a multi-occupied 8-storey building. The building is provided with 2 fully fire protected stairwells leading to ultimate safety on ground. most floors will be one tenant who have access to bot fire escape routes. We are located on the 4th floor which is subdivided into 2 separate offices. We can only access the main fire escape stairwell to the front of the building but cannot access the rear escape without accessing another tenants office, which they do not want to happen. We have around 20 employees in a general office building with no high risk fire areas and are under 18m away from the fire protected stairwell lobby. Is this one exit suffice for our needs or do i need to take anything else into account. Any advice greatly appreciated

[AnthonyB]

If it's a finished floor height of 11m plus then you should have access to both exits, which if partitioned after current building regulations came into being shouldn't go through another tenants space (it did used to be accepted)

[Guest Advice needed]

Hello,

I am in the process of moving into a barn which is being converted into an industrial unit.  It is 32m long x 9m wide approx and there is a large industrial sliding door at the front of the unit.  

I believe due to the length of the unit I would need a fire escape at the back of the unit? It is being used for powder coating and fabricating, 5 employees.

The walls are solid concrete and quite thick - so a fire escape door is going to cost £1000 to put in. 

My question is - would I be liable to the cost of putting in the fire escape door or would that cost fall on the landlord or would it be a shared cost?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Tom Sutton]

You are the Responsible Person (RP) under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and subject to articles 8 t0 22 but it is not totally a fire safety matter it is a legal matter and would depend on the contents of your tenants agreement you should check it out with your solicitor to find out what the landlord is responsible for. 

[Guest Need Advice]

Hello

We work in an office inside a warehouse 

I work in office with 2  x 43" monitors and 16 monitors and 6 PC's , usually there are 5 people in the room , at worst they can be 5 working and upto 8 other people standing , if there are work issues 

We have 1 fire door and 12 glass windows , that cannot open , the fire door lead to a small corridor , there they are 3 sets of more fire doors , and also the fire alarm button and the fire extinguishers , there are also electrical outlets 

If there was a fire door in the corridor , we have no means of escape , no way to reach the fire extinguishers and no way to press the fire alarm button 

Is this allowed 

Thank you

[Tom Sutton]

I cannot be definitive without surveying the situation, but appears the corridor you speak of, is a means of escape route of comparative safety, that eventually will lead to ultimate safety and consequently will be a very low fire risk. Assuming this is correct and the travel distance is within the required limits, then it should be satisfactory.  

[Guest Guest Karen]

Karen,

Is it legal to have only one exit to a flat if that exit is through the kitchen

[Tom Sutton]

If the kitchen is an enclosed habitable room in most cases the answer would be, it is not acceptable but to give a definitive rely you would need to give more information including a layout, preferably have it surveyed by a fire risk assessor.

[Guest Guest Stephen]

Tom

Firstly thank you for hosting and answering - this has been an incredibly useful reference.

I wanted to ask about disabled access and egress in a restaurant premises. There is only one level entry (the main doors). There are two other fire exits but neither is level amd would require step navigation. Does a restaurant need to allow for more than one for one accessible  fire  exit. Building dimensions are 20m x 10m. Capacity upto 100 covers. 

Grateful for advice and thanks!

[Tom Sutton]

What is the direction of opening of the doors and the widths?

Check out the appropriate guides including for disabled persons in https://www.firesafe.org.uk/regulatory-reform-fire-safety-order-2005/ .

[Guest Protect UK]

I am a lone worker in a very small L shape office. We have one entrance but no fire exit. The building has cladding, my work desk is close to the entrance, but further down is the kitchen and toilet. If I was in the kitchen or toilet and a fire broke out at my desk I would be stuck as there’s no fire exit.

is there a legal requirement for my employer to have this corrected?

[green-foam]

Guest Protect UK has made a duplicate post which you can see/reply to if you Click here