Fire safety in your home

Most house fires start in the kitchen. From faulty appliances, to taking your eye off the cooking for just a minute, fires can start and take hold of your kitchen in seconds.

Here are some things you can do to reduce these risks:

1. Regularly check your appliances, if something isn’t working as it should be, stop using it immediately and get it looked at by an expert.
2. Cooking and candles – don’t leave your cooking or candles unattended, these are two of the main causes of home fires and it can only take seconds for a fire to start.

3. E-scooters, e-bikes and electrical charging – The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used by e-scooters and e-bikes can be dangerous and start fires:

   • You are not allowed to charge anything in communal areas – this is a fire hazard and dangerous for you and everyone in your building
   • Chargers and batteries should not be left unattended or charging, including while you sleep
   • Batteries can get warm during use and should be allowed to cool down, before attempting to re-charge
   • They should also be charged away from combustible or flammable materials, and on hard, flat surfaces, to allow heat to dissipate
   • Make sure you have a working smoke alarm near the place you charge your e-scooter or e-bike
   • Only use manufacturer-approved batteries and store them correctly – cheaper or damaged batteries can be dangerous and start fires
   • Follow all guidance from the manufacturer with charging and storing your e-scooter or e-bike
   • In the event of an e-bike, e-scooter or lithium-ion battery fire – don’t attempt to extinguish the fire. Get out, stay out, call 999
4. Make sure your fire alarms are working – this can give you the vital warning you need to keep you and your family safe. Your home should have smoke detection installed, which could either be battery-operated or hard-wired. You should regularly test your detection by pressing its test button, which should sound its alarm to show you it’s operating correctly. If your detection is beeping, this indicates the battery is low. If it’s battery-operated you should replace the battery. If the test button doesn’t work, or the battery isn’t accessible or if you spot any other fault, then report this to us on 0345 60 20 540 and we’ll repair it.
5. Escape – make sure everyone in your home knows how to escape if there’s a fire, and make sure there aren’t things blocking your escape route, every second counts when there’s a fire. The best route is the normal way in and out of your home but you may need to have a second escape route planned in case the first is blocked. If you live in a flat with common areas, you will have a fire door fitted. Make sure it closes properly, keep it closed when not in use and never wedge it open. If your fire door doesn’t close properly, contact the Repairs Hub on 0345 60 20 540 as soon as possible.
6. Check the front door of your flats - To make sure it operates correctly and will protect you in the event of a fire, please complete the below checks:
   • Open the door fully and release it to make sure it closes fully into the latch on its own
   • There should be a closing device fitted to close your door when released
   • Check for signs of damage to your door and frame, and that you have 3 hinges fitted securely on your door
   • Make sure it hasn’t been altered from its original design and fits well into the frame
7. Report a concern – if you spot something that might be a fire risk, report it to us so we can look into it immediately, keeping you, your family and your neighbours safe.

Fire safety checks

All of our properties are fire safety checked before we let them. This includes testing the electrical wiring and ensuring all doors and means of escape are working.

Smoke alarms

A smoke alarm system is provided in all flats in converted blocks and our new build properties are fitted with smoke alarms as per building regulations at the time that they are built. Other properties have smoke alarms installed during upgrades or when they are empty. 

If your smoke alarm is not working or is missing, please report this to us straight away by calling us on 0345 60 20 540.

Fire Risk Assessments

In blocks of flats, we make sure that communal areas and general building facilities are well maintained. A specialist team of Fire Risk Assessors make sure that your building meets fire safety standards and is as safe as possible in the event of a fire.

This is called a Fire Risk Assessment and all Midland Heart blocks of flats with communal areas have one. We are part of the Primary Authority Scheme which gives us assured advice, and our Assessors are all trained and registered with either the IFE or the IFSM.

Other safety measures

The Rangers service also has an important role. They check fire alarms and emergency lighting in communal areas on a regular basis and make sure all fire escape routes are free from obstructions so that you can escape in an emergency.

Our specialist contractors service fire alarms and lifesaving systems regularly too. In individual homes, gas servicing contractors test batteries in smoke and heat detectors as part of the gas service.

We’ve teamed up with West Midlands Fire Service to provide free Safe and Well checks to help you feel safe in your home.  

We’re offering checks to all our existing and new customers living in the West Midlands who we identify as being at higher risk from fire in your home because of your health, vulnerability or lifestyle choices.

From September 2020 trained fire service staff will visit you in your own home to give expert advice tailored to your personal circumstances, lifestyle and the type of property you live in.

This advice will include simple free-of-charge steps you could take to reduce your fire risk and potentially save your own and your family’s lives.

How do I sign up?

If you’re a current customer identified as being at higher risk we’ll send a text to your mobile phone asking if you consent to a Safe and Well visit by the fire service.

If you’re not yet a customer, you’ll be asked to give consent as part of the process of becoming our tenant – if you are identified as being at higher risk from fire in your home.

You may be at higher risk from fire in your home because you have:

• sight or hearing difficulties
• a long-term illness
• a medical condition that requires oxygen at home
• a disability and/or mobility difficulties
• learning difficulties
• sensory disability
• mental health issues
• alcohol or drug dependency

Other factors may also increase your fire risk such as smoking.

As a social housing landlord we aren’t legally required to offer Safe and Well checks but we believe it’s the right thing to do to help protect our more vulnerable customers and make them feel safer in their homes.

Why are fire doors so important?

Fire doors prevent a fire from spreading into other areas of a building.

If there was a fire, a fire door will slow the spread of smoke and fire from getting into the escape routes for a minimum of 30 minutes.

The self-closing device on your fire door plays a really important role in making sure a door is always shut after someone uses it.

If it didn’t shut automatically, fire and smoke could get into escape routes and stop them from being used in an emergency.

How to check your own fire door

You should regularly check your own flat front door. You can do this by;

1. Checking that there is no sign of damage to either side of the door. Check the door, frame, hinges and overhead closing device
2. Opening the door fully and releasing it. Without you shutting the door, the door should shut fully into the doorframe when you let go of the handle.

If you find any issues or think your fire door is damaged, you should report this to us as soon as possible.

If you are a leaseholder and responsible for your own repairs, you should report it to us and then arrange for a repair by a suitable contractor. The contractor you use should be third party accredited and will be able to provide you with proof of this. Common accreditation schemes include BMTrada and Firas.

Remember – You should never alter the door or doorset by installing things like vision panels or cat flaps as this affects its ability to resist fire and smoke.

What do I need to do?

The Fire Safety Act says that residents of individual properties in multi-occupied buildings, have a legal responsibility for keeping fire doors closed, making sure self-closing devices and the door are not tampered with and that any faults or damage to doors are reported immediately.

If you own your own home, you should arrange for a competent contractor to complete those repairs on your behalf.