Our fire safety responsibilities
Grenfell Tower final report is published
The Grenfell Tower fire was a devastating tragedy for the residents, their loved ones, and the local community. Its impact continues to be felt across the country and throughout the social housing sector.
This report contains important lessons for all owners of tall buildings, and while our own building safety remediation programme is well advanced, we will carefully consider the recommendations to see what other actions we can take to make our customers and their homes safer.
The safety of residents is a top priority for us and we undertake timely/regular communication with them about fire safety and their responsibilities.
We are committed to going above and beyond when it comes to fire safety in our buildings.
- For our tenants this includes providing smoke alarms as well as checking and servicing gas, oil and solid fuel appliances in annual safety checks and completing regular inspections of electrical systems.
- Home owners and leaseholders are responsible for gas, oil and solid fuel appliance and electrical tests within their own home but we’re responsible for communal installations.
- In our blocks of flats and similar sites, we display Fire Action Notices in the communal areas. These give the fire safety procedures to follow in the unlikely event of a fire, so please read these and contact us if you're not sure.
- We regularly review any fire risks and the procedures for preventing and reporting fires. This includes making sure that fire risk assessments (FRAs) are up-to-date and that there are appropriate smoke detectors and fire alarms, fire doors and other fire safety measures.
Request the fire risk assessment for your building
We are also part of the national Primary Authority scheme. This means we have a legal partnership with one fire authority (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service) to give us advice we can apply to how we manage fire safety for all our homes.
We also work closely with other local fire authorities (particularly where we have taller blocks, schemes for older people or supported housing) so they’re aware of our fire safety arrangements for the buildings in their area.
Person Centred Risk Assessment (PCRA) or Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP)
If you are unable to evacuate your home in the event of a fire - due to either a permanent or temporary disability, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can carry out either a ‘Person Centred Risk Assessment’ (PCRA) or ‘Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan’ (PEEP) with you.
Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs)
The Building Safety Act defines a higher-risk building (HRB) as one that is at least 18 metres high or has at least seven storeys. Managing the fire safety for these buildings is obviously a key focus for us and our Building Safety Managers have particular responsibility for these, including engaging with customers.
We’ve carried out detailed surveys of all HRBs that we own and none have High Pressurised Laminate (HPL) or Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding.
HRBs where SNG is responsible for the FRA
Please note: you can request the fire safety assessment for your building using the links below.
- Beech Court, Leicester
- Briarswood Court, Liden
- Cedar Court, Leicester
- Cromer Court, Liden
- Douglas Court, Leicester
- Elm Court, Leicester
- Grange Court, Leicester
- Hawthorn Court, Leicester
- Nile Court, Poole
- Oyster Bay Apartments, Poole
- Penrose House, Plymouth
- Quay Point, Bristol
- Sheringham Court, Liden
- Westbourne Heights, Bournemouth
HRBs where a management company is responsible for the FRA
Please note: you can request the fire safety assessment for your building via the links below.
- Keppel Rise, Southampton
- Latitude 52, Plymouth
- Skyline Plaza, Basingstoke
- The Robinson Building, Bristol
- Augustus House, Exeter
- Marcus House, Exeter
Fire doors
Since January 2023, new regulations mean that we carry out quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common areas of residential blocks over 11m high, as these play an important part in containing any fire.
We’ve also started annual checks of entrance doors to flats which lead on to the common areas of a block as these also count as fire doors.
However tall your building is, please:
- keep fire doors closed - don't prop them open as they're there to stop the spread of fire
- don’t tamper with doors and self-closing devices
- report any faults or damage to fire doors or self-closer door fixings immediately on 0300 5000 926, so that we can fix them.
External wall systems
We have undertaken a thorough review of all our blocks to determine which ones fall into scope of needing an EWS1 form in line with the current Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) guidance. See answers to frequently asked questions about EWS1 here.
We also make sure all blocks are assessed within the Fire Risk Assessment and, where deemed necessary, have a risk-based programme to carry out enhanced safety checks/inspections or remediation.