A fire strategy for the home

Although structural engineers are on the periphery of such things, I have noticed that larger buildings increasingly attract a request for a fire strategy from Building Control. Perhaps that should be a Fire Strategy. I suspect that Grenfell Tower has a great deal to do with this, but there is no proof.

It occurs to me that we should all have a fire strategy for our homes and, where relevant, our workplaces. Now, I say out the outset and will repeat it at the end, I am not advocating a ring binder full of drawings, notices and general twaddle. I am suggesting that a mental review of the situation would not go amiss.

For instance, the current Building Regulations require smoke and heat alarms and that they should be mains operated. Older smoke alarms may not meet these Regulations and, while there is no compulsion to do so, it might be worth having them replaced. It need not be particularly expensive.

The premise of escape in the event of a fire is based on the ability to turn one’s back on the fire and run to what is known as the final exit – the means by which you get out of the building. It might be worth considering whether this is possible in your property.

The escape route in a bungalow, for instance, may take you past the kitchen – the most likely source of a domestic fire, you would think. In which case, you might be better off jumping out of the window. But what if the window concerned is a single pane of double glazing without any opening lights?

Jumping out of a first floor window is considered reasonably risk free, particularly if the ground floor layout is open plan and the stairs take you past the source of the fire. But what do you have under the window? If the barbecue is stored there, or there are planters it might be worth moving them. Is it possible to climb onto the conservatory roof and slide down?

Three storey dwellings are subject to different regulations, involving fire doors and a protected passage to the final exit, but these regulations have been subject to change over the years. It may be that there was no requirement for fire doors when the property was built and it might be worth having them replaced.

And what about the final exit itself? Some doors require a key to both lock and unlock them, rather than a spindle on the inside where is key is not required. It would be difficult searching for keys in a smoke filled building, so perhaps there should be a spare nearby – on a hook, in a bowl – and always kept there, rather than borrowed when someone can’t be bothered to find their own.

The final exit need not be out into the street. It is acceptable to escape into a rear garden providing you can get 10m away from the building. I don’t know about anybody else, but the idea of being trapped near a burning building, albeit outside, doesn’t thrill me, so how easy is it to get out of the garden. Consider how you might climb over a garden wall in your pyjamas.

To repeat, I am not advocating a formal process, complete with training and certificates on the wall. The fact is that the Building Regulations change from time to time and, if your building complies with previous versions it might be worth giving it a little thought from time to time.