Fire safety advice

Prevention

To keep you and your family safe:

• Fit smoke alarms on each floor of your home.
• Check your smoke alarm every month.
• Don’t overload electric sockets.
• Keep escape routes clear and don’t prop open fire doors.
• Contact your Suffolk Fire and Rescue for further advice.

What to do if there is a fire

• Get out as quickly as possible. (unless you live in block of flats where other advice has been given.
• Close windows and doors behind you to slow the fire spreading; don’t use a lift.
• Call 999 even if you think you can get a fire under control yourself. The quicker the fire service arrives the more likely they will be able to help.

Rented properties

• Private landlords must fit a working smoke alarm on each floor of your home at the start of your tenancy. These can be battery operated alarms or linked into the mains electricity.
• Battery powered alarms will ‘bleep’ when the battery charge is low alerting you to fit new batteries or replace the alarm. Your landlord should fit a new one.

All landlords must also make sure that:

• Electrical wiring and any appliances they provide are safe. Tell your landlord if you are worried about the electrics in your home. For example if you see burn marks around a plug. Your landlord has a duty to fix faulty electrics.
• The gas supply and gas fires, boilers and other appliances are safe and are checked every year.
• All furniture they provide is fire resistant.

Shared houses

If you live in a ‘house in multiple occupation’ (HMO), your landlord must also:

• Assess the fire risks in the property.
• Provide and maintain all smoke alarms in the property.
• Make sure all escape routes are kept clear.
• Check regularly that fire precautions remain in place.
• If your HMO is licensed by the council, your landlord may also have to provide a fire extinguisher and fire blankets.

There must be notices pointing out fire exits if the HMO has five or more occupants.

Blocks of flats or maisonettes

If you live in a block of flats or maisonettes there must be a fire evacuation plan. Ask your landlord if you don’t know where to find this. Your plan will either advise you to ‘stay put’ or get out if there is a fire in your block that doesn’t start in your own home.

All front doors to corridors and staircases must be ‘fire doors’. A fire door can resist fire and will close itself to help stop a fire spreading.

Escape routes should also be built to resist fire. They should be clearly signed and illuminated.

If you are concerned your landlord has not fixed things, contact our Private Sector Housing Team.

If you are homeless after a fire

If a fire leaves you homeless, the council must find you somewhere to stay on an emergency basis. Contact our Housing Needs Team.