Fire
safety
Learn how we keep your home fire
safe and what you can do to help
How to help us prevent a fire in your home
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1.
Regularly test your smoke detectors to make sure they are working.
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2.
Don’t overload your electrical sockets (13amps maximum per socket).
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3.
Never leave candles or cooking unattended.
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4.
Keep all corridors and communal areas clear of your personal items.
Fire safety checks
Your local fire and rescue service provide free fire safety checks to your home. These are important as they can identify potential hazards and help keep your home safe from the risk of fire.
What happens during a fire safety check?
A representative of your local fire and rescue service will visit your home and:
- Ask some fire risk assessment questions
- Identify any potential hazards in each room of your home
- Check that your smoke alarms are working and where appropriate, fit free ten-year smoke alarms
- Show you how to test your smoke alarms
- Help you create an escape plan for you and your family
- Provide advice, or signpost you to agencies that provide support for health and wellbeing needs.
Who helps us conduct fire safety checks
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Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service
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Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service
Lithium-ion batteries
Lithium-ion batteries are a type of rechargeable battery that power most mobile phones, electric scooters, electric bikes and more.
As they store a large amount of energy in a small amount of space, they can cause fires that spread quickly if unattended.
Fire risk assessments
We regularly carry out checks and improvements in all of our homes and blocks of flats to ensure they comply with legislation and modern safety standards.
We have instructed a third-party contractor, Frankhams, to carry out fire risk assessments up until March 2022. Frankhams will need access to a few homes to carry out a full assessment. They will be contacting customers directly to arrange access, and we would greatly appreciate your cooperation with this.
To find out when they will be carrying out checks in your area please click the button below.
What to do in the event of a fire
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Evacuate the building, or follow the instructions on the fire action notices that are in the communal areas of your block.
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Call 999 and ask for the fire brigade.
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Tell us about the fire, but only once you are safe.
Emergency evacuations
The safety of our customers is of utmost importance. We assess the fire risk of vulnerable customers and determine their ability to respond and evacuate in an emergency. This allows us to identify areas of concern or vulnerabilities specific to your situation.
We can then discuss personal circumstances with you to agree on the measures and safeguards we can put in place to reduce the risks.
We regularly review and update our person-centred fire risk assessments to ensure that any changes in circumstances, or needs, are taken into consideration and that safety measures remain effective.
The person-centred fire risk assessment is a comprehensive evaluation which will involve:
- A discussion about managing personal fire risks
- Sharing information about mobility and sensory impairment
- Information about personal fire safety
A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) can then be documented with the required actions in the case of an emergency. If relevant, this plan will be shared with the Fire & Rescue Service and others who may be necessary to put this plan into action.
This process is discussed with new customers as part of the onboarding process, but as personal circumstances change, we send out annual reminders to customers in the high-rise blocks and our independent living schemes.
These are also available upon request, at any time. To request a PEEP, click the button below, or call us on 01344 382 800.
Fire safety doors
Fire doors are designed to resist the spread of fire for a period of time, normally a minimum of 30 minutes.
This allows time for people to leave the building via an escape route if other routes are compromised in the event of a fire.
Fire doors should be kept shut when not in use.
Taking care of fire doors
Customers should never tamper with the self-closing devices on fire doors and should report any faults or damages to doors to us immediately on 01344 382 800.
We will check all fire doors at the entrances of individual flats in all buildings above 11 metres in height at least every 12 months.
We will also check fire doors in communal areas at buildings above 11 metres in height at least every 3 months.