News
Fire Safety Assurance - Ambassador House
Monday 19th June 2017
In light of the recent tragedy with the London tower block fire, it seems prudent to send out a reminder to residents at Ambassador House to assure them of the buildings safety and what you as residents should be doing to keep this building safe.
Fire safety is a two pronged process;
1) Prevent the fires from starting
2) Safety in the event of a fire
PREVENTING FIRES:
Accidents will happen and we are unable to prevent every fire but we can all do our best to be responsible and deter the risk of fire.
1) DO NOT store items including your rubbish bags in the common hallways for any length of time. We have already had two fires in the block from exactly this and such items will also cause a hindrance when evacuating the building
2) BE AWARE of electrical safety in your home. Do not overload sockets, unplug any faulty appliances and do not use them, keep sockets switched off when not in use. For more information on this area visit: www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk
3) Keep internal fire doors closed: these doors are there to stop fire from spreading and to contain it to a localised area. These doors give 30 minutes of protection. If left open they offer residents no protection and the fire will spread through the building more quickly.
4) Keep fire escape doors closed: these doors offer security to the block. This external staircase is just one of the three staircases that can be used to exit the building in an event of a fire. Rubbish left on any of this staircases can hinder any escape.
5) DO NOT dump bulky waste in the car park or anywhere on site. These things will fuel a fire. You may recall a mattress burning in the car park and the extent of the damage it caused.
Fire Safety advice is always readily available to download from the ‘Tenant-Health & Safety’ section of our website here
SAFETY IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE:
Stay Put Fire Policy: You will all be aware of the ‘Stay Put’ fire policy that operates at Ambassador House. This means in the event of any fire the safest place for you to be is in your own apartment with the doors shut, wet towels put along the bottom and windows open. In the event that the smoke alarms should go off in your own flat then exit the building using one of the three staircases around the building. Do not use the lifts. Then call the fire brigade.
The building is compartmentalised which means it limits the ability for a fire to spread from one apartment to another.
You should all have a copy of the basics of the ‘Stay Put’ policy in a sticker form to the reverse of your front flat entrance door so that your guests are also aware of the policy. If for any reason your apartment does not have this policy on display, please do contact your Housing Officer to obtain the sign.
The full ‘Stay Put Policy’ is always readily available to download from the ‘Tenant –Health & Safety’ section of our website here and more advice on this type of policy is currently viewable via a statement from the Chief Fire Officer of Bucks Fire Rescue here
Smoke/Fire Detection: The building does not have common area fire detection in place. This was removed just six months after the build at the demand of the fire department due to repeat false alarms. Instead, each apartment has its own fire detection by way of a mains wired smoke alarm and a heat detector in the kitchen. It is YOUR responsibility to check that these are in working order on a fortnightly basis and change the back-up batteries when they wear out. If you disconnect your smoke alarms you are leaving yourself at HIGH risk as no other alarm will sound in the building other than your own. DO NOT DISCONNECT SMOKE ALARMS
Escape Routes: Unlike the fire in London, Ambassador House is only a 5 storey building and has THREE staircases, including one external, all which can be used in the event of a fire. Ensure you familiarise yourself with where all three are. Do not use the lift.
Cladding to the Building: As a big focus is now the materials in which were used to clad the London tower block, we felt it appropriate to obtain confirmation from the original builders as to which material was used. I am pleased to advise that Ambassador House is not clad in the same material, it is in fact clad with an A2 rated Marley Eternit Weatherboard which is classed as non-combustible and low risk.
Car Park: As we are unable to keep the bins only accessible to the residents of the block (due to the ever vandalised garage door) and due to a previous fire in this area, a silent heat sensor alarm has been installed above the bins. Once connected up (awaiting BT) this will dial straight through to the fire brigade in the event of a fire around the bins, but will not sound an alarm in the building. This is mainly for any fires that should occur at unsocial hours when no one is around to dial the fire brigade. The ‘Stay Put’ policy, as explained above, is in place and evacuation will only be required IF your own smoke detection goes off or the fire officer ask you to.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! to ensure Ambassador House stays safe. Report any suspicious activity or people loitering around the building that do not live there to the Police (this can be anonymous) and ensure you are following all of the fire safety guidelines.