Fire safety is extremely important in apartments, and it is essential to be aware of everyday fire hazards and the best way to prevent disaster.
This guide will help you do just that, explaining some of the common causes of apartment building fires and some of the best things that you can do to protect your home, loved ones, and neighbours.
7 key fire safety tips
There are a wide variety of different reasons for fires starting, each of which has the potential for devastating consequences.
Don’t panic, however, as there are plenty of things that you can do to fire-proof your apartment and significantly reduce the risk of a fire outbreak.
Here are 8 of the most important fire safety tips that will help to ensure the safety of all those in your apartment building:
1. Install working smoke detectors
The very first line of defence in the case of a fire is a working smoke alarm system in your apartment.
A smoke alarm will alert everyone in your home the moment that a hint of smoke is detected in your home, allowing for a rapid response, either extinguishing a small fire if it has just started, or making sure that everyone is able to evacuate as quickly as possible.
Make sure to test your smoke alarms every single month to ensure their continued operation and replace the batteries on a regular basis.
2. Take care when cooking
Cooking fires are some of the most common in the UK, so take particular care when hard at work in your apartment’s kitchen.
Never leave a stove unattended as all it takes is for a pan to bubble over or a small spillage to occur and a fire could easily start.
3. Don’t run cords under rugs
Damaged electrical cords are a major fire hazard, and it is important that you keep an eye out for exposed wires and replace cords at the first sign of wearing.
If your cords are hidden underneath carpets or rugs, there is no way to ensure that the protective plastic coating is still in place, not to mention that these flammable materials will cause any potential fire to spread extremely quickly.
4. Avoid naked flames
For obvious reasons, naked flames pose a serious fire safety hazard and great care should be taken when using them in an apartment.
Consider using electric candles instead of lit ones, as these offer all the same atmospheric benefits as real candles but without the same risk of fire.
5. Use Surge Protectors
Electronic devices are a huge part of everyday life, but the power required to run all the appliances in your home is significant.
If outlets get overloaded due to excessive use, electrical surges can occur.
To avoid these surges creating a major fire safety risk, fit surge protectors if you have a lot of electronics plugged into your home electricity system.
6. Keep sockets clear
If an electrical surge does occur in your home, keeping excessive clutter away from your plug sockets will significantly reduce the chance of a fire starting.
7. Be aware of your buildings fire safety regulations
Apartment building management companies are legally required to put safety precautions in place to best protect tenants in their building.
A part of this is conducting a full fire risk assessment of the building which will detail evacuation policy and the fire risks associated with common areas.
By making yourself aware of the building’s fire safety policy, as well as the locations of fire extinguishers, fire escapes, and smoke alarms in the building, you will be well prepared to keep your family safe should a fire alarm be triggered.
If a risk assessment is not available or you are concerned that the fire safety in your building is not being taken seriously enough by management, contact your local fire safety authority.
Waking Watch
After the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower Fire in 2017, many high rise buildings were identified as having dangerous flammable materials within the exterior wall.
If your building is one of these, fire safety advice is that a simultaneous evacuation policy be put in place until the issue is resolved, replacing the existing stay put policy recommended by the fire service.
Waking watch is one of the ways to do this, with fire marshals patrolling the building 24/7 in the search for fire.
Waking watch officer responsibilities include:
- Continually patrolling the building looking for fire hazards and signs of fire.
- Alerting residents in the event of a fire
- Overseeing the evacuation of the building
- Contacting the emergency services
- Liaising with the fire service once they arrive
Waking watch is only a temporary solution however, as it can prove costly for tenants, and replacing the role with a common fire alarm such as our industry leading V-fire system could save residents as much as 80% in comparison.
Here at V360, we take apartment fire safety extremely seriously, and offer both temporary highly trained waking watch officers, and an industry leading V-Fire common alarm system.
