Hotel Fire Safety Barred Windows?

[Guest Village Vicarage]

Good eveningb

I've just checked into a hotel near Gatwick Airport. It's an old property, which may perrmit it certain variances on safety codes, I don't know.

However, I've been surprised to discover that the only window in the room, comes from the ceiling to about my chin. There is virtually no product in the room which anyone could use to climb out of the window in the event of fire.

But that's not my greatest concern. I've discovered that the when you open the tiny window, there's a heavy steel bar which runs from the top to bottom of the window, thus preventing any escape whatsoever. There are no locks on these bars. They're most certainly permanent.

Additionally, because the room is in a rather unusual area, you must step down from the hallway into the room. When standing in the hallway, my head scrapes along the ceiling. I'm only 5'9", so certainly not of the giant variety. The door leading to the hallway is clearly made of old wood. And whilst there's an door that exits into a very small courtyard, it does not provide exit to any clear space where you could move away from the building in the event of a fire.

I've also checked the bathroom. It too, has the same tiny window at chin height. However, in addition to the bar preventing escape for even the most agile and petite person, when you open the window, the glass presses against a wooden trellis, thus preventing both exit or safety from its possible burning.

There is a sign on the back of the door that says in the event of a fire, go look for a fire alarm. And it admonishes the guest to dial '0' and speak with an operator. Unfortunately, due to limited staffing in this hotel, it's more the norm than the exception that such a call is met with an answerphone, requesting that we leave a message.

I've stayed at this hotel numerous times and absolutely love the place. However, this is the first time I've ever been in this room and I have been quite surprised by what I think is a potential fire safety risk.

My concern is most likely slightly heightened somewhat as approximately 11 years ago I was aboard a cruise ship that caught on fire whilst at sea. We were all evacuated, however, this only occurred after a great deal of trauma to some passengers, especially the elderly, as well as several days of listing at sea without electricity, cooked food, or air conditioning.

So, If I'm being unduly alarmed, I'd be very comfortable for you to tell me so.

Thank you!

Fr B+

[Tom Sutton]

In a hotel it is very unlikely that windows would be considered as a means of escape (MoE), the route to your room would be considered the principle MoE route and most likely there will be an alternative MoE route. You should be able to move away from the building when you get outside and are you sure the courtyard is totally enclosed? There will be fire detectors in the rooms and corridors which will set of the fire alarm, also there will be manual call points. The bedside telephone is just another method of raising the alarm but if this is not the case you should contact the Fire and Rescue Service and report your findings.

[Guest Guest]

Thank you for your kind reply. With the windows barred, the only other exit is via the door. It leads into a hallway which does have an alarm point. The small hallway leads to an exit into a courtyard. As I mentioned in my initial posting, my only concern was in the event there was a fire in the hallway. If that were the case and the hallway was blocked, exiting by any means would be impossible due to the bars on the window.

I had a similar situation in central London a few years ago, where bars were over the 1st floor window. It was an ancient hotel constructed primairly of wood. I contacted the hotel manager who brushed off my concern, saying they had plenty of staff who could assist in an emergency. Unfortunately, I'd heard similar platitudes on board ship. Following my phoning the local fire marshall, the bars were modified within the month, providing an internal release in the event of fire, which would also activate an alarm.

Thank you for your comments.

Fr B+

[Tom Sutton]

When designing a means of escape you do not use windows as a method of escape except in exceptional circumstances and never above two storeys high. You provided a low fire risk protected route to outside the premises usually the normal route used all the time. Also you may be provided an alternative low fire risk protected route again to outside the premises. The routes will have an automatic fire alarm (Smoke) and a manual fire alarm to warn everybody if the route is threatened by fire. The fire alarm will operate as soon as smoke enters the route giving you sufficient time to traverse the route to another section of the route that is smoke free. A great deal of thought goes into ensuring these routes are as sterile as possible but if a fire does occur because of the early warning and access to the alternative route you should be able to walk away from the fire. If you do not have an alternative route the travel distance to a place of comparative and finally ultimate safety will be short.