Tower Hamlets holds one of the densest concentrations of tall residential buildings in the country, across social housing estates, private blocks and the towers around the Isle of Dogs. The fire safety order applies to the common parts of every one of them, and where a building is above the height thresholds a second, more prescriptive set of duties applies as well.
The general duty in a block of flats
The assessment covers the common parts: the escape routes, the lobbies and stairs, the flat entrance doors as they affect the common parts, the risers and the plant. It has to state the evacuation strategy the building is operated on and confirm that the building still supports it, because a stay put strategy depends on compartmentation holding and on flat entrance doors performing.
What the height thresholds add
Above eleven metres, fire doors in common parts and flat entrance doors come under a regular check regime with stated frequencies. Above eighteen metres or seven storeys, the heaviest set applies: building plans and external wall information to the fire and rescue service, a secure information box on site, monthly checks of lifts and firefighting equipment, and wayfinding signage in the stairwells. These are dated obligations with named outputs rather than matters of judgement.
External walls
Where the external wall construction is uncertain, a specialist appraisal of it feeds into the assessment. That is a separate commission from the fire risk assessment itself and needs a different competence, and in a borough with a great deal of construction from the last three decades it is a common requirement rather than an exceptional one.
Residents and information
Buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises owe residents fire safety instructions and information about fire doors, repeated periodically and given to new residents. In a borough with high tenant turnover and many languages, discharging that duty properly is a real piece of work rather than a notice in a lobby.
Questions people ask about fire risk assessments tower hamlets
Does the fire risk assessment cover inside the flats?
Generally it covers the common parts and the flat entrance doors. What happens inside a private dwelling is outside the order, though the building's strategy depends on those doors and on the compartmentation around them.
Who is the responsible person for a block?
Whoever has control of the common parts, which is normally the freeholder, the landlord or the managing agent. Where several parties have control, each has duties in respect of what it controls and they have to cooperate.
What is the secure information box for?
It holds information the fire and rescue service needs on arrival at a high rise residential building, and it is one of the duties that applies above the higher threshold.