3 storey house & Fire regs

Busyliz

Hi

Considering buying a 3 storey house in a rural area it has only 2 bedrooms the main bedroom is on the top floor and looks like it was originaly an attic (definately not a lof conversion as its a terraced row and all the houses are the same with a normal window in the room with the roof starting above the window as in a two storey house) the reason its only 2 beds is that the 2nd room on the first floor is now the bathroom. The current owner has lived there 10 years and the house was like it when they brought it.

The question is can the fire regs apply retrospectively as the stair case is not boxed in and the doors are the original wooden doors.

We are planning to have a rolled ladder available on the 3rd floor just in case we need to get out of the room

martinthebandit

Busyliz wrote: »

We are planning to have a rolled ladder available on the 3rd floor just in case we need to get out of the room

Really? And what are you going to use it for, because as sure as eggs is eggs you will never use it as a fire escape.

I can imagine the scene now, its the middle of the night and blowing a gale outside which is driving the rain hard against your windows. Your smoke detector goes off, are you really going to unroll your ladder out of the window and climb down from the third floor? Bearing in mind that it has not been tested in the 15 years since you bought it.

Nope, you are going to think I really wish I had invested in some sensible fire precautions, like decent smoke alarms and a well thought out fire escape plan.

Annisele

Get a survey, and listen both to what your surveyor says and to what he means.

"Does not comply with current building regs" can mean anything from "the house is about to fall down" to "that pipe there is perfectly safe, but ought to be 1mm further to the left". Surveys are full of caveats, but it's generally pretty clear whether the surveyor thinks he's found a serious issue or whether he's just covering his back.

If the house isn't actually safe, then I'd say it doesn't matter whether the council can force the owner to make changes - they ought to make those changes anyway.

G_M

The question is can the fire regs apply retrospectively as the stair case is not boxed in and the doors are the original wooden doors.

If the work was done to the appropriate Building Regs standards i force at the time, and was signed off, then the fact that standards have changed since is irrelevant. Standards change all the time but you don't see 46 million home owners upgrading their properties each time!

abankerbutnotafatcat

We have recently bought a purpose built 3 storey Victorian town house. It complies with building regulations and is only the same as being on the 2nd floor of a flat I suppose but I've put a rope in the top floor bedroom as a precaution in the event of a fire - better safe than sorry!!

martinthebandit

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote:

but I've put a rope in the top floor bedroom as a precaution in the event of a fire - better safe than sorry!!

Good at climbing down ropes are we?

Because unless you are then you are making a potentially bad situation much worse.
Of course if you really are capable of easily climbing down a rope in any weather condition then thats fine.


But there are much better ways of protecting yourself and your family in case of fire. Please feel free to ignore me though I only spent 30 years in the fire service.

abankerbutnotafatcat

martinthebandit wrote: »

Good at climbing down ropes are we?

Because unless you are then you are making a potentially bad situation much worse.
Of course if you really are capable of easily climbing down a rope in any weather condition then thats fine.


But there are much better ways of protecting yourself and your family in case of fire. Please feel free to ignore me though I only spent 30 years in the fire service.

Yes, we could just jump out of the window!!

As said, the house meets fire regulations and has a smoke detector and the rope is an added procaution.

Does it make you feel good about yourself you use your work experience to criticise and scare people?? I don't normally rise to people on these forums but unless you can offer constructive advice I'm not sure what you're adding to the discussion.

martinthebandit

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

Yes, we could just jump out of the window!

As said, the house meets fire regulations and has a smoke detector and the rope is an added procaution.

Does it make you feel good about yourself you use your work experience to criticise and scare people?? I don't normally rise to people on these forums but unless you can offer constructive advice I'm not sure what you're adding to the discussion.

Well I think I have given you good advice as the rope is going to do you no good and may potentially cause you serious harm.

Anyone trapped in an upper room of a property would be much better off blocking the gaps around the edges of the door and waiting for the fire brigade to come and rescue them.

With that in mind there are sensible things that you can do before hand like making sure you have sufficient smoke detectors, access to a phone and that there is space below the window to make sure a ladder can be fitted as a minimum.

Lilacblue

Hi OP

I don't think that martinthebandit is trying to criticise you. You should listen to his comments. My ex worked with fire departments around the world and some of the stories he came home with were so awful that eventaully I asked him to stop talking about it. My cousin is in the fire service too, and was involved in a very serious incident where there were fatalities that could have been avoided. As a dad himself he was devastated. Firemen feel very strongly about the preventative advice they give. Fire and smoke is so deadly. You literally have mere seconds in some situations, to get out and ensure your family are out. Don't ever skimp on fire protection, 'proper' exit ways or safety precautions.

So I think that he is just trying to help. Best of luck with everything. Wishing you well x.