Escape through kitchen window

[Guest Louise]

My daughter has moved into a student house with four bedrooms.  Her ground floor room is accessed through the kitchen and she has a door to the garden, but it will not open.  The landlord is not willing to repair the door and says her escape route in case of a fire in the kitchen is through the window in her bedroom.  Is this an acceptable fire escape or can she insist that the door is repaired?

[Eddie]

Doesn't sound acceptable. She shouldn't have to escape through a high risk room, unless she can enter a protected corridor/area to avoid the kitchen and make her way to an alternative exit (which has to be within the recommended travel distance of 18m /35m depending on numbers of exits).

Her window would merely facilitate escape in the event of fire blocking her escape via the door to the garden.

[Tom Sutton]

This does conform to ADB vol 1, but assumes you have either a door or an escape window, because in theory it meets the requirement it could be considered satisfactory but I would dispute it and contact an enforcement office of the local fire and rescue service and get his opinion. 

Check out Approved Document B (Fire Safety) Vol 1