Landlords and tenants reminded of their fire safety responsibility

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is stepping up efforts to remind landlords and tenants to review their fire safety responsibility, as part of this year’s Living Alone campaign.

Recent statistics revealed that a massive 59 per cent of fires involving people who lived alone occurred in rental properties. This statistic increased further to 61 per cent when looking at those incidents where people were seriously injured or killed.

“Vitally, when it comes to rentals, the responsibility for fire safety lies with both parties,” says Matthew White, Technical Fire Safety Lead at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

“We encourage tenants to discuss fire safety concerns directly with their landlord. It is within your rights as a tenant to have the sufficient prevention devices installed across the property and access to support should you need it.”

Landlords are bound-by-law to provide a working smoke alarm on each storey of a property they are leasing to a tenant. Every room should come equipped with a carbon monoxide alarm where a fuel burning appliance is present – such as a coal fire or wood-burning stove.

Matthew said: “At the start of tenancy, landlords should ensure the tenants have access to escape routes in the event of a fire and ensure that the furniture is fire safe.

“Equally, tenants have a responsibility to regularly test smoke alarms across the house – recommended to be done once a week.”

For further information on the responsibility of landlords, visit: Information for landlords and tenants (staffordshirefire.gov.uk)

For more information on the Living Alone campaign, visit: Living Alone (staffordshirefire.gov.uk)