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Fire safety in council flats
Find out how we make our blocks of flats resistant to fire, and what to do if there's a fire in your building
What to do if there's a fire
If the fire is in your flat you should get out, stay out and phone the fire service on 999.
If there is a fire elsewhere in the building, the structure of your flat – walls, floors and doors – are designed to give appropriate protection.
If that case, you are usually safer to stay in your flat with the doors and windows closed, unless the heat or smoke from the fire is affecting you. However, if you feel threatened by the fire and wish to evacuate, please do so.
The fire service will tell you if you need to leave the building.
If you ‘remain in place’ you should still immediately call 999 for advice and to ensure that the fire and rescue service along with attending emergency crews have been notified.
The most effective way to get an early warning of a fire in your home is to have an operational smoke alarm installed in the correct location and to test it regularly, renewing the battery when necessary.
We all need to consider how we would respond and escape if there's a fire in the home.
Your escape would be through your flat entrance door and out of the block’s main entrance door.
The Housing Repairs and Maintenance Service has a programme of work to fit smoke alarms that are wired into the electric so will not need a battery. It will take some time to cover all our properties. We'll be in contact with you when your block is being fitted.
Individual flat smoke detectors will only notify the resident in their flat when smoke is within that area, and these are not linked to other properties.
Free home safety visits
East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (ESFRS) offer free home safety visits. They can give you a range of advice to help you keep safer in the home and reduce the risk of fire. They can also check and fit smoke alarms as appropriate.
If you do need to leave your flat in case of a fire, it's very important that your hallway is clear of obstructions, especially things which burn easily or could present a trip hazard.
All communal corridors and lobbies must be kept clear of obstructions and stored items so you can quickly and safely escape the building if necessary and allow the fire service clear access.
If there's a fire
If a fire breaks out in your home:
Do not try to put out the fire unless you're sure you can do so safely.
Immediately leave the room where the fire is and close the door behind you.
Tell everyone in your flat there's a fire and instruct them to leave the flat with you.
Close the front door behind you and leave the block immediately. Use the stairs and not the lift.
Phone the fire service on 999, giving the operator your telephone number and asking for the fire service. When the fire service answers, say clearly – ‘Fire at (give your name and address including the postcode)’.
Wait for the fire service to repeat the address before replacing the receiver.
We complete annual fire risk assessments for all our high-rise and low-rise buildings. This tells us what the safest action is in the event of a fire. If there's a fire somewhere else in your building, you will be safe to remain in your home.
Staying in your home will enable the fire service to come into your building and tackle the fire quickly. If the fire service thinks it’s necessary to evacuate you or the whole building, they will let you know.
In the event of a fire, the advice is to stay in your flat and await their instructions unless you're told to leave or heat, flames or smoke enter your home.
However, if you feel threatened by the fire and wish to evacuate, please do so.
Fire-resisting self-closing doors
Your flat entrance door and doors to stairways, communal landings and corridors in your block are fire doors. Do not wedge these doors open.
In the event of a fire, these doors are designed to slow the spread of fire and smoke. This helps you to leave the building safely if you need to.
If fire doors are jammed or propped open it stops them from working properly and that becomes a danger to everyone in the building.
If you notice a defect in these doors, report it to our repairs team as soon as possible by:
Our purpose-built blocks do not have a communal full-building fire alarm system. We only have alarms covering storage cupboard areas or bin rooms.
The fire service would attend to any reported fire in a high-rise flat.
We have never had fire alarms linked to the lifts, but we have signage stating that lifts should not be used as a means of fire escape. There's also signage around buildings giving advice on what to do in the event of a fire.