Improve fire safety compliance at the touch of a button

Since Grenfell, fire safety in flats has been in the spotlight. The Stay Put policy has been scrutinised and reviewed, fire doors replaced, and the Wake Watch introduced, all with the aim of ensuring that flat buildings are compliant and safe for tenants to live in.

However, fire safety compliance isn’t always easy to coordinate. Especially if you are in control of multiple buildings, which is a highly likely scenario.

Regulations and requirements are often changing and an emphasis has been placed on how important fire safety is. With this refocus, it may seem like there is a lot to keep on top of and checking all buildings efficiently can be more challenging.

This raises the question: what can we do to keep on top of the ever-changing demands of a fire safe and compliant building?

Problem: Door closers are often damaged or stolen

An Inside Housing analysis of Grenfell survivors' statements revealed that out of 81 flats, 46 of them described problems with fire doors - the main theme being missing self-closing devices.

In a recent conversation that Pete Davies, Fireco’s Business Development Manager, had with a local authority in the South East, he found out that out of 6000 flat entrance doors in general-purpose flats, 1700 doors had disengaged or removed closers. In a conversation with another Housing Association customer, they explained that 40% of closers were missing from flat entry doors in general needs accommodation.

The devastating Grenfell fire that killed 72 people happened in 2017 and even now in 2021, 4 years later, there are non-compliant buildings that people are living in.

Problem: Keeping track of all the compliance information for a whole property portfolio

Within Housing Associations there can be 500 to 80,000 properties in one portfolio. Keeping track of all of these properties can take a lot of time and coordination. However, the collation of information is going to become all the more important when considering the implementation of Hackitt’s Golden Thread which emphasises the need for traceability and accountability. Keeping records and data from every architect, supplier, contractor and risk assessor for hundreds or even thousands of properties can end up being a hefty task.
 

The solution:

Fire safety compliance cannot be achieved overnight: there will be regulation updates, maintenance schedules and changes of tenants that will act as variants in whether your building is compliant. However, we can offer a way for you to take control of your property portfolio, keep track of what’s going on in your building and ensure you are maintaining your Golden Thread.

Our Pro Range systems are Category A compliant and can be installed even in high-risk areas (we always recommend a Fire Risk Assessment and site survey). The whole range is radio-controlled via ProHub which is hard-wired into your existing fire safety systems including fire alarm panels, automatic opening vent (AOV) or smoke alarms.

Freedor Pro is a free-swing door closer, that takes the weight out of heavy fire doors, making them feel weightless and improving access. Freedor Pro allows you to place doors open at any angle but will release the door to close upon the activation of your fire systems.

Your Pro Range installations can all be controlled through our cloud-based software, InSite, where you will be able to see an overview of your property portfolio and the status of the installed devices. You can monitor battery levels, signal strength, and check whether the doors are open or closed. You can even input all of your maintenance checks, alarm activation dates, serial numbers or notes on specific doors. InSite allows you to view all of this information remotely, saving travel time and costs and pre-determining when you need to visit certain buildings.

If you need help with fire safety compliance in your buildings, call us on 01273 320650 or visit our website