Would this worry you? Fire risk in tenement flat.

[Ineedcoffeenow]

I could use perspective on this issue. DD is a student looking to rent a 2nd and 3rd floor flat in a tenement in Edinburgh with her flatmates from halls. For those who know the city, it’s on George IV Bridge (so very central, a 5 minute walk to Princes Street and also very busy with bars and restaurants). There are business on the ground floor—a vape shop, kebab place and restaurant.

I’m concerned about fire, especially the vape shop—the big fire in Glasgow a little while ago started in a vape shop. The only exit is the main door. There’s one window that they could be rescued/escape from. It’s difficult to explain—the flat sits on top of the bridge so on the side of the building it drops down so they would actually be on the 4th floor and 5th floor. The windows from the back can’t be accessed by a fire engine as they back onto another building.

I don’t really want her to take it, but they love the place and they’re late on sorting something out. AIBU to try to put her off? Or just don’t get involved? There’s virtually nothing else right now. Just a tenement flat that’s in a dodgy looking side road and is expensive/doesn’t look particularly safe.

You aren’t being unreasonable = try to put her off
You are being unreasonable = don’t interfere. She’s an adult.

Bump!

Could you get her a fire escape ladder like this that they could use from the back window if needed?

https://amzn.eu/d/09ekUpzl

Yeah, good call! The only problem is that it could only be used out of one window in the living room. The rest look either over the bridge (so the building drops away and is too high for a ladder) or back directly onto another building.

Tenement buildings are meant to be designed and built so that each flat is fire secure to minimise the risk of spread and the individual front doors should have a one hour fire proof rating.

The vape shop in Glasgow does not appear to have been licensed and there are clearly specific safety issues related to having lithium batteries and explosions. I would try to keep this one incident, where there were no injuries, in perspective.

We have one of those, but the reality of it is it’s in a box it’s folded up. It might have zip ties on it. I don’t know. I’ve never looked.
It’s one of those things you aren’t gonna get it out until the day your house is actually on fire and then you’ll be sat there reading the instructions whilst Everything Burns
And I know everybody’s gonna say go and read it now, but we’re not going to neither would anybody else

Thank you for that information about Glasgow. I didn’t realise it wasn’t licensed.

DH would. He’s a health and safety manager and is the one that first raised the fire risk. I’m pretty sure he will make all of them sit and listen. Whether it goes in is a different issue.

I can understand you feeling concerned, but in reality she will have to make up her own mind, and she probably won't thank you if you try to spoil her plans with friends! You could express your concerns and see if they rethink, but if they are set on it, they probably won't. The chances of anything going wrong in the 9 months or so they are there is really small, so I would just let them get on with it.

I know the location well, lived in various Edinburgh tenements back in the day, and understand what you mean about the height. I stood and watched the fire of 2002 from that very bridge I completely understand your fear.

That said, rentals should be strictly checked for fire safety these days, you could buy them extra extinguishers, blankets and alarms. That ladder thing too. It’s so hard to get decent accommodation now. It’s a great location for students, if pretty noisy. She is old enough to decide but just make sure she and her flatmates are fully aware of fire safety in an old building. Perhaps do a check of the vape shop’s license too.

most tenement blocks are of the same design you’re describing, and very many sit above all manner of commercial premises so it’s not an unusual situation. I’d not be worried about it overly, but would encourage my daughter in that situation to check the stair is kept clear and that the flat has all the stuff you’d expect in a HMO rental. All flats in Edinburgh are massively expensive (eye wateringly as you’ll know!) and no one place is much worse than another, IMO. Being right in the middle of the city will be fun for a year.

Regulations mean there will be integrated smoke alarms in the flat. Also there must be access to the roof from the tenement so you could make sure they have a set of ladders. Is it classed as an HMO?

it’s a very busy area, so if there was a fire in the ground floor the fire brigade would be alerted very quickly. There are 2 fire stations within 10 mins drive of that location. MacDonald Rd and Tollcross. It’s a great location for a young person.

Many thanks for the messages. I did check Edinburgh council’s HMO information so have seen they have fire doors on bedrooms. Would it be daft to check the landlord’s got a HMO license (I’m guessing that’s what they need?) it’s been rented through a big estate agent so I think they’d be strict about such a thing.

It’s a lovely flat and good value at £150 per week, which I think is partly because it’s over a nightclub, but they’re 2 floors up. The nightclub is below the bridge. DD has only just told me that.

I think it will be noisy with all the pubs, restaurants and traffic, but that’s the deal when you’re in such a central apace.

This is your second thread with a different anxiety about this tenement flat that your DD is renting, IIRC? I think you need to take a deep breath and stop worrying so much. Your brain is throwing up worst case scenarios because you're worried about your DD going it alone, but flying the nest is something all young people need to do. Of course there will be ups and downs and you need to take those as they come. But don't let this consume you.

I’m not an expert but the vape shop wouldn’t be my biggest concern as the one in Glasgow took quite some time to really take hold and therefore leaving plenty of time for everyone to get out safely.

Apologies but I absolutely would be reading it. Right now.

I think you have to get this in context. There are a gazillion vape shops in this country. 99.99999999999% have not burnt down. There are even more takeaways & restaurants - again they rarely burn down. She's probably more likely to have an accident in a car than her flat burning down. She's an adult, it's hard letting go but I think you have to let her make her own decisions.

Well I would. I'd keep it by the window if I had one. Not much point otherwise.

I came on to say this.

How many threads are you going to start asking questions about Edinburgh tenements/locations?!
You need to take a big step back and leave your DD and her pals to make their own flat hunting decisions.