· Property Assessments for Landlords Services Ltd (PALS)
When most people think about fire safety, they picture alarms, extinguishers and fire doors. But one of the most significant factors affecting life safety is the layout of the building itself.
A recent example
We recently carried out a fire risk assessment at a beautifully renovated holiday cottage. The first floor comprised a living room at the top of the stairs with two bedrooms leading from it. At ground floor level, the staircase discharged directly into an open-plan kitchen/living area. This arrangement created an inner-inner room scenario for the bedrooms. In the event of a fire starting in either the first-floor living room or the ground-floor open-plan kitchen/living room, occupants sleeping in the bedrooms could have their only escape route compromised, leaving them at risk of becoming trapped.
This illustrates why the use of the building is so important. While certain layouts may be capable of being justified in some forms of residential accommodation when appropriate safeguards are present, holiday accommodation presents different risks. Guests are unfamiliar with the building, are likely to be asleep when a fire starts, and cannot reasonably be expected to rely on escape windows or instinctively find alternative escape routes. A competent fire risk assessor must recognise these differences and recommend practical, proportionate measures to achieve a satisfactory standard of fire safety.
Why competence matters
Poor layout can lead to occupants becoming trapped, increased risk of injury or loss of life, enforcement action, prosecution, insurance difficulties and civil liability. Competent assessors identify these hidden risks and recommend practical, proportionate solutions based on the building, its occupants and its use.
About PALS
Property Assessments for Landlords Services Ltd (PALS) provides fire risk assessments throughout Cornwall, including Callington, Camelford, Camborne, Fowey, Helston, Launceston, Liskeard, Looe, Newquay, Par, Penzance, Redruth, St Austell and Truro. Our assessors are Third-Party Accredited Intermediate Fire Risk Assessors registered with the National Fire Risk Assessors Register (NFRAR).