Why we’re asking if anyone living in your property has a health condition or communication barrier that may prevent them from understanding fire safety procedures, or independently following fire safety procedures as part of our drive to keep contact details updated.
Helping keep residents safe in their homes
Everyone should feel safe in their own homes – this guiding principle is the force behind new building safety legislation. Part of feeling safe comes from understanding the building you live in, and what you should do in cases of emergency. It is important that you feel confident that you are able to, in the worst case scenario, comfortably leave your home or know what to do in an emergency.
Best practice & Building Safety Act 2022
As a South-East based Property Management company, we’re accepting the role of Accountable Person for a number of high-rise residential buildings. We therefore believe it is appropriate to apply best practice for both Resident Engagement and the creation of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEP), enabling fast identification where necessary. Getting this information building-by-building is taking too long, so we’re adopting a blanket approach to ensure that we can scope needs as quickly as possible for a more effective delivery.
If you do not live in a High-Rise Residential Building, it is less essential to provide us with this information. However, it will help us, and you, if we are aware of anything that might complicate a safe evacuation in a fire.
We have provided some answers to questions you may have in relation to inclusive engagement and PEEP creation below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “understand fire safety plans” mean?
This relates to a person’s ability to both read and comprehend written text relating to fire safety procedures. Some examples of a person’s ability to both read and comprehend written text may include:
- A low level of English comprehension
- A health issue such as dementia
What does “safely follow safety policy” mean?
This has two elements:
1: Relating to a person’s behaviour in an emergency:
In cases of emergency, a person must know how to react to the emergency appropriately.
Inappropriate reactions can cause unnecessary harm to ourselves, or to other people such as neighbours or Fire & Rescue Service personnel. In order to safely follow safety policy, a person should be:
-
-
-
- Capable of maintaining emotional control;
- Able to follow instructions;
- Aware of their actions.
-
-
2: Relating to a person’s ability to independently evacuate:
In cases of emergency, use of the elevators or lifts is not permitted.
Anyone with a health issue that affects their ability to safely leave the building in an emergency and without help from a lift must be made known to Fire & Rescue Services ahead of time to ensure that they are accommodated.
I can’t evacuate independently, but someone in my household is responsible for helping me in an emergency. Do I still need to complete this information?
Yes. This information is being collected for the purposes of ensuring the safety of others, as well as for yourself.
What happens when I tell you about my needs?
What happens next depends on the agreement that we have in place with the Management Company of your property, but as standard we will:
- Make the Principal Accountable Person aware;
- Keep a note in our CRM in case of emergencies;
- Ensure that your unit is highlighted within the Resident Profile of the Building Safety Case Report provided to the Building Safety Regulator.
It is then likely that a member of our Operations Team will contact you to find out specific information about your needs. This will primarily be via email, which will include a link to a “PEEP Scoping Questionnaire” – however we will not email those who we know cannot access it.
Once we, or your Management Company, has a better understanding of your needs, they will decide with you whether you require a follow-up to create a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP). This may include touring your building with you to understand your normal exit route, and what helps you to navigate or leave the building (or might hinder your safe exit in an emergency), or arranging the provision of alternative formats for emergency procedure information.
We may make recommendations on internal changes to your property to assist your safety needs. Unfortunately in most cases, you will need to self-fund internal property alternations. Check with your local Fire & Rescue Services for information on the support they are able to provide you.
What helpful resources are there to help me understand more about this?
We have included some resources below.
Resources on Building Safety & Resident Engagement
Distinctively exploit optimal alignments for intuitive bandwidth. Quickly coordinate e-business applications through revolutionary catalysts.
