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Original poster

Rented house - Fire escape...........

19 replies

swiperfox · 02/05/2005 20:37

We live in a rented house and were discussing the other night that if ,God forbid, there was a fire in our house there isn't a way out.

Is the Landlord legally onbliged to make sure that his properties have fire escapes?

We aren't at all sure where to begin looking into this......

OP posts:

Original poster

swiperfox · 02/05/2005 20:37

onbliged? i meant obliged lol

OP posts:

AngelCakeUmm · 02/05/2005 20:39

I don't have a fire escape i just have my front,back doors and windows......

SaintGeorge · 02/05/2005 20:40

If you mean from the upper floors, only if they are seperate residences.

Hulababy · 02/05/2005 20:41

Not sure what you mean swiperfox? An alternative route to get from upstairs down? Or are you in a shared house/flats type place?

BTW - did you get my CAT/e-mail re the dress?

Original poster

swiperfox · 02/05/2005 20:45

We live in a terraced house, the landlord own every house on our side of the street. All the other houses have sash window but our has big windows with 12 little panels of glass and big bits of wood holding them in (if that makes sense?!?) so basically there isn't a hope in hell of smashing the wood to get out and they only open about 6 inches at the top. We dont have a landing upstairs, you just get to the top of the stairs and theres a bedroom on either side so if there was a fire near the stairs we wouldn't stand a chance!!

OP posts:

AngelCakeUmm · 02/05/2005 20:45

sorry i was ment to ask if you lived in a flat or something?

Hulababy · 02/05/2005 20:49

I would have thought you would have to have access to a fully opening window upstairs TBH.

SaintGeorge · 02/05/2005 20:49

Fire Safety Rental Property

Original poster

swiperfox · 02/05/2005 21:06

Thanks St George - Seems from the second paragraph the landlord should have made sure that there is a way out but doesn't have to provide extinguishers/blankets/alarms etc.

Might have to ask our neighbour next time i see him - he's a fireman ( )

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Tortington · 02/05/2005 21:20

fire service sometimes do free alarms. the only regulationi know about is that youhave to have two doors leading off from the kitchen.

are your windows double glazed- couldn't you smash them in an emergency?

Original poster

swiperfox · 02/05/2005 21:27

we havent got two doors leading from the kitchen - just one. The windows aren't double glazed but they are like - um.... a grid of 12 panes of glass about 8x10" with thick bits of wood as the 'grid' so they are incredibly sturdy and would be very difficult to break - the only part of the window that opens is the top line of the 'grid'

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LIZS · 03/05/2005 07:54

When we rented out our house I don't recall any specific structural fire regulations, and certainly no safety inspection unlike gas and electricity. The only fire regs I recall related to fabric and soft furnishings left by landlord which had to comply to certain fire retardancy standards. However this was a modernish house with fully opening windows. Think there may be a buildings regulation to ensure that any replacement windows open adequately to allow escape (seem to recall that was the case when PIL's had one adjacent to a flat roof replaced), but this probably doesn't apply retrospectively -try the local Council Planning Office and Buildings Inspector as a start.

LIZS · 03/05/2005 10:26

Have a look here .It suggests it comes under remit of Environmental Health.

Tortington · 03/05/2005 19:14

i meant back door coutns as a door.

have you found out any more swiper fox? how are you intending to take this further

Original poster

swiperfox · 04/05/2005 16:10

I haven't found out any more yet - dp is about to ring the landlord and ring me back to see what he said. Our back door isn't in the kitchen either - it's a sreange house lol!! Basicall you can see from the front door right down to the back door - you walk into the front room (no hall) then into the next room where the stairs are. No landing at the top, just a bedroom on either side. From that room you walk along and the kitchen is on the left (no doors - just doorways) walk a bit further and the bathroom is at the end on the left and the backdoor is in front of you - hope that made sense!! So basically if there was a fire downstairs and we couldn't get down the stairs we'd be buggered (for want of a better word!!) If the fire was in the kitchen we could get out the front door hopefully. If the fire started in either of the front rooms we'd have to be bloody quick top get out the front or back doors.
I should see the fireman from over the road at school tomorrow so i might ask him what he knows. (if i can talk to him without going all red and girly!!!!)

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lunavix · 04/05/2005 16:13

We live in a rented house - our landlord has stuck 'fire escape' stickers on two windows upstairs

I'm thinking of getting the fire escape ladders, I saw them in one of the baby catalogues (blooming marvellous perhaps?) where it stores under your bed. Quite expensive but good for peace of mind.

Original poster

swiperfox · 04/05/2005 16:19

your landlord seriously did that??? lol I'm going to get some of those ladders - i think they're brill asnd you can get a bit with them so you can attatch a child to your waist while you climb down.

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Original poster

swiperfox · 04/05/2005 21:10

Apparently the landlord is coming round to look at the windows on Friday (typical dp will be at work and the landlord is a twat lol)

He reckons he didn't know that the windows weren't sash windows - even though they look completely different to the other 14 houses on the row which all have sash lol

Still at least he's coming.

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Original poster

swiperfox · 06/05/2005 19:44

dp came to school with me and spoke to the lovely fireman - he said he will get the number from work for someone to come and do a fire safety inspection on the house. Estate agent man came round today and said he didn't realise our house had different windows to the rest of the street(??) but said that he will get all the bedroom windows changed to ones that we can get out of

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