Fire door inspection in Gerrards Cross
If your block is over 11 metres, the checks have dates. Here is how to plan around them.
Get a priceStart with a measuring tape, or the building plans.
The 11 metre rule decides most of what you have to do. It is measured from the lowest ground level to the floor of the top storey. If the building is over that and has two or more homes, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 put dates on your checks.
If you manage a block here, find that number first.
What the dates are
Communal fire doors every three months. Flat entrance doors every twelve months, on a best endeavours basis.
You also have to pass information about fire doors to residents, and the regulations say what that includes. We will not try to cover all of it here. Read the regulations on legislation.gov.uk or ask your fire risk assessor.
How we plan a block
We begin with a floor-by-floor list of communal doors. Stair doors, corridor doors, lift lobby doors, riser and plant room doors.
On the first visit we inspect all of them in full and photograph each one. After that, the quarterly visits are shorter and aimed at the things that change between visits.
Once a year we do the flat entrance doors. That is where most of the work and the letters are.
The letters
Residents need warning before we knock. We draft a notice with the date, the time window and who we are. Your agent sends it.
Then a second letter to the flats that did not answer. If we still cannot get in, we log the attempt.
What goes in the log
Each flat: inspected, no answer, refused. Each communal door: pass or fail, with a photo.
The log is yours. It is the evidence that you used best endeavours.
Fire safety here
Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service is the enforcing authority for fire safety. Buckinghamshire Council deals with rented housing standards.
How we get there
We come from Luton and join the M40 for High Wycombe. Gerrards Cross is on the way, so a block here fits neatly into a day with others.
Questions we get asked
What if we are just under 11 metres?
Then the timetable does not apply, but the duty to keep doors working does. Many managing agents choose to follow it anyway.
Does the quarterly check include flat doors?
No. Flat entrance doors are checked yearly. Quarterly is for shared doors only.
Send the postcode and a rough door count. We will come back with a price today.
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