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Social Housing and Fire Safety

3rd Oct 2012

Gary Lund – Sheffield Homes

Quality Homes in Quality Neighbourhoods

Sheffield’s Housing Stock

• Sheffield Homes manages a housing stock of 42000 properties consisting of:

• 24 Tower Blocks

• 33 Older Person Independent Living Schemes

• 2300 Low Rise Blocks of Flats and Maisonettes • The Rest Of The Stock is Houses


FIRE STRATEGY (EVACUATE OR STAY PUT?)


What did we do?

• Reviewed our 3rd party Fire Risk Assessments, Beyond the RRFSO to include the HHSRS and Housing Act

• Liaised closely with South Yorkshire Fire Service

• Commissioned executive summaries addressing issues around our Stay Put Policy • Identified areas for improvement • Developed the following actions


What did we do? Resident • Occupancy profiling • Fire safety behaviour


What did we do? •Staff Training •Tradesman up to Supervisor Level •Neighborhood teams •In house competence to NEBOSH standard •Work shadowing and testing from Fire Consultant to achieve competency (Took 12 months to achieve) •Health and safety champions have been on a 2 day fire risk assessment awareness course (30 staff in total) •Training for Estate Officers – making sure blocks to communal areas are clean and free of ‘clutter’. These form part of the 13 week health and safety inspection.


What did we do?

• We Installed A Sprinkler System in our Older Persons Independent Living Scheme Tower Block (Callow Mount)

• Callow Mount is a 13 Storey Tower Block

• Communal Rooms on Ground Floor, 4 Flats per Floor Above Ground Floor, 2 Staircases • Sprinklers Cover all Communal Areas and Flats • We Have Now Put a £800K Contract For Sprinkler Installation into Low Rise Flats out to Tender

•We Also Have Put a £4.2m Contract For Passive Fire Protection out to Tender


BEST PRACTICES


Partnerships


Exercise Shaftsbury/Chantry


What did we do? Consultation • Board, TARAs, Councillors, Residents


What did we do? Improvements Viable, sustainable


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What did we do? We have carried out Fire Risk Assessments on our Tower Blocks, Older Person Independent Living Schemes, Flats and maisonettes

We have a programme in place for re-inspections to all our multi occupancy blocks

Stock what we inspect are Tower Blocks, Older Person Independent Living Accommodation, Low Rise Flats and Maisonettes, Office premises, Community Rooms, Gypsy and Travellers sites,

We carryout 13 week health and safety block inspections

We have created a Fire Risk pattern book on all our multi occupancy blocks


Archetype Survey


Description This archetype is found in the North of the city and was constructed between 1965 and 1969. The standard design of the blocks is unsatisfactory by current regulations due to problems highlighted below regarding the lack of FR entrance doors. This is caused by there only being only one staircase for

access and egress and this means the escape route for most flats is past other flats. The bedrooms on the second floor do not comply with current guidance as tenants have been informed that a ‘kick panel between the windows is an alternative means of escape. A window at this height cannot be

used as a means of escape. Solutions Check service risers to validate fire stopping. Neither the original flat entrance doors nor the replacement doors appear to be FR. These should be

replaced with FR doors, or upgraded with intumescent

paints or varnish as part of a future programme. Upgrade battery smokes to mains as part of a future programme. Bins and rubbish should not be stored under the staircase. The open vents to the flats below 1.1m should be

replaced with intumescent vents.

Evidence


Older Persons Independent Living Schemes

Sheffield Homes Manages 33 Older Persons Independent Living Schemes

We Carried Out Extensive Passive Fire Safety Works Within All Our Schemes

We Are In The Process of Silencing The Fire Alarm Systems Within Our Schemes, This Reduces The Disruption For Tenants During False Alarms

We Have Created Compartmented Scooter Charging Rooms

We Carry Our Risk Assessments to Individual Tenants and Create Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans We Have Monthly Scheme Meetings With Tenants Educating and Reiterating About Fire Safety and Our Stay Put Policy. We Carry Out Annual Fire Risk Assessment and Regular Maintenance Inspections on All Our Schemes


Today

• High Rise and Older Person Independent Living Schemes improvements completed

• Best practice acknowledgement received from SYFRS • FRA properties identified and archetyping commenced and completed • FRA programme planned

• Integrated asset management system


Our commitments

Full compliance to the FSO Strengthened partnership working Further fire service high rise exercises and re-inspection programme in place

Sheltered scheme fire service exercise and re-inspection programme in place QA Process in place Stay Put Policy in place across our stock


Thank you

Any questions?


social housing and fire safety - merseyfire.gov.uk housing... · social housing and fire safety 3rd...

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