Only one fire exit for flats

[Guest Darren]

I don't know if you are able to advise us. In the light of a recent news article relating to a fire in SE London where two people where killed due to issues with fire doors. We live in an ex-council block of flats. There is only one door for access and exit from the location and no other due to the way the flats were designed into a slope of a hill. The concern being if this one door was blocked by fire then no one from the 40 flats above could escape! Is there a requirement for fire safety to have more than one exit? Could you point me to the right direction as to someone that would know?

Many thanks for your time,

Darren

[Tom Sutton]

Without knowing the layout of the premises it is impossible to say if the situation is safe but there are many blocks of flats that only have only one door for access and exit and you need a fire risk assessor to check the premises out and give you an expert opinion.  You could contact the local Fire and Rescue Service and get a fire safety inspection or an audit.

Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/uk-fire-rescue-services-details/