Student accommodation fire safety
Keeping students safe across a range of accommodation types is of paramount importance, particularly in safeguarding their lives and property in the event of a fire.
We have years of experience in ensuring that student properties, from houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) to purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) schemes, are fully compliant with fire stopping safety regulations.
Our detailed surveys, inspections and pre-planned maintenance solutions give property managers peace of mind that all fire safety elements such as doors and dampers work properly to prevent fires from spreading and giving valuable evacuation time. We ensure these features conform to the manufacturers’ guidelines – and that compartmentation elements have undergone rigorous assessments.
Call us today to find out how our experts can help ensure your student accommodation is fire safety compliant.
Our student accommodation fire safety services:
It is crucial that the building’s owners and the designated ‘responsible person’ arrange regular inspections by qualified, competent professionals to ensure features such as fire doors and dampers are fully compliant with fire safety regulations.
We offer a complete range of services and solutions, including:
- Compartmentation surveys – by far the largest number of requests we receive in the student sector. We can ascertain the compliance with the building regulations’ Approved Document B and that the fire stopping is compliant with the chosen manufacturers’ installation details.
- Fire door surveys – all fire doors have a lifecycle; our specialists use a data-driven approach to assessing and monitoring each fire door’s compliance. They can make the necessary recommendations to prolong its lifespan, and complete the work, to ensure its safe operation. Clusters containing multiple bedrooms and the kitchen will be contained in a 60-minute box; there are 30-minute boxes between the bedrooms and the kitchen
- Fire damper testing services – these vital safety devices play a crucial role in creating a barrier to contain a fire in a room and prevent it from spreading. They must be properly maintained and tested annually to ensure they work in an emergency
Fire safety challenges in student accommodation
Unlike 10 or 15 years ago, when students were in halls of residence and later in rented houses, now the proliferation of high-rise student flats means they are more likely to be living in these types of properties.
We understand the importance of looking after our young people, who might be living away from home for the first time. They are our future, and their parents want to be reassured they are living in a safe place.
There are unique issues in ensuring high levels of fire safety in student accommodation, such as:
- The need for improved use of passive fire protection (PFP) products and materials. Usually, penetrations that run through floors in risers, plant rooms, corridors, and into areas above flat entrance doors have weak PFP, meaning a fire in one part of the building could quickly spread. Our experts assess whether it has been installed compliantly to an adequate level of protection
- Wear and tear: With many students coming and going, fire doors in these apartment blocks can inevitably suffer damage that can compromise their safe functioning
- Shared kitchens: These can be high-risk areas as they are used by several people at different times of day and night – a high level of scrutiny is required
- Working around students’ timetables: We always try to complete our work when students are out of the apartment, to keep disruptions to a minimum. It’s important that they are well-informed in advance about work taking place in their private spaces – and also if they are happy for our staff to be on the premises, or to request a female surveyor if necessary
Legal requirements for student accommodation?
Approved Document Part B – a key part of the building regulations in England and Wales – is the statutory guidance on the design and construction of buildings. It contains guidance on fire safety, including means of escape, fire spread, structural fire protection such as proper compartmentation to prevent the spread of fire, and fire service access.
It is a legal requirement for fire dampers to be tested and cleaned every year and is just as important as the regular testing of fire alarms and fire door inspections in a property.
Frequently asked questions
How often do you inspect the fire stopping in student flats?
Depending on the height of the building, we would carry out inspections monthly or every three or six months. Flat entrance doors should be inspected a minimum of every year. A risk assessment would determine whether high-traffic doors, corridors and communal areas are inspected every month to six months. Our experts carry out checks on thousands of fire doors every month.
Why choose us for your student accommodation fire safety requirements?
FCS has worked on several large student accommodation schemes and can offer fire safety advice right from the design stage, to ensure correct installations and that the building is fully compliant as the development continues.
Our data-driven approach ensures that detailed photographic reports are available to each client to confirm their fire strategies are compliant. We are constantly reviewing technological and software advances to make our fire door inspections even more efficient and user-friendly.
We record our work on PlanRadar, the construction and real estate management software that creates streamlined digital checklists. The resulting site drawings pinpoint the exact locations of fire doors, adding the information and photographs before generating a report after we have assessed their condition.
That allows the client to pass our reports to an installing contractor to provide costs. FCS strongly believes that having an independent inspection process that is separate from an installing contractor ensures that the survey is fair and correct.
Our accreditations
Affiliation Of Fire Door Inspectors:
Fire Consultancy Specialists is also a proud member of the AFDI, a not-for-profit organisation that exists to promote best practices among professional fire door inspectors. Constructionline Gold / CHAS & SafeContractor highlights FCS’s dedication to H&S.
BM Trada fire door maintenance and installations:
Fire Consultancy Specialists is approved under the BM Trada Q Mark scheme which is UKAS 3rd party accredited to complete fire door condition surveys under the BM Trada certification scheme. This involves an assessment of the company’s processes and procedures, as well as the skills and qualifications of its personnel. The assessment covers areas such as fire door inspections, repair and maintenance, installations and documentation and record-keeping.
Contact us today to discuss our student accommodation fire safety services:
We strive to be in constant communication with our clients. To discuss, just drop us a line. We look forward to working with your business.