Fire safety letter consultation

A law introduced in 2023 requires us to write, every year, to everyone living in a flat where we conduct the a fire risk assessment. The letters remind people of the importance of the fire doors in their building and provide some key fire safety information.

We first wrote to residents in December 2023 and are preparing to write to everyone again this summer. It’s important that the letters provide all the information the law requires and that they’re easy to understand.

We’re keen to check how easy these letters are to read and understand and to see if you think we’ve missed anything it would be worth mentioning to residents about fire safety.

What type of building do you live in? *

(if you're not sure please choose any letter to review)

A building of less than 11m (four storeys or less) A mid-rise building of between 11m and 18m (five or six storeys) A high-rise building of more than 18m (seven storeys or more)

Letter for a building of less than 11m (four storeys or less)

Dear [FirstName] [Surname]

Your safety, and that of your household, neighbours and visitors, is our priority. Every year we’ll contact you to remind you of some of the safety features in your building. Please make sure you share this information with everyone living in your flat. This letter supplements the fire action notice displayed in your building.

If smoke or fire is detected anywhere in your building an alarm will sound and everyone in the building must leave. If a fire starts in your home, or you hear the alarm, leave immediately and make sure everyone in your home leaves with you. Make sure your front door closes behind you and, once outside the building, call the fire brigade on 999. The fire brigade will ask you for your address, so make sure you know the full address and postcode to avoid any delay in the fire brigade attending.

You mustn’t use the lift (if there is one) to leave the building. If you feel you or anyone living with you is unable to leave the building safely without support, please speak to your local officer.

Once you are out of the building wait a safe distance away, at the designated place if one is detailed on the fire action notice in your building.

You can help us keep the building as safe as possible by following these simple steps:

Don’t keep anything in the corridor. Items left in the communal areas can be a hazard to you if you need to leave in an emergency and a hazard to the fire brigade if they need to fight a fire. Our staff regularly check the communal areas and will remove items that shouldn’t be there.
Communal fire doors and your flat front door should be shut when not in use.
The self-closing devices on fire doors mustn’t be tampered with.
You must report any fault with, or damage to, fire doors immediately to your local officer.

These issues and more are covered on our website, go to www.nhg.org.uk and search ‘fire safety’.

Your local fire brigade can provide specialist advice and equipment based on your individual needs. For example, they can assess if specialist alarms might be appropriate like strobe light and vibrating pad alarms for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. If you think you would benefit from specialist advice and/or equipment you can request a home fire safety visit from your local fire brigade. Just search online for ‘home fire safety visit’ and click on the link for your local fire brigade.

If you have any questions or concerns about safety in your building, please get in touch with your local officer.

Kind regards

Letter for a mid-rise building of between 11m and 18m (five or six storeys)

Dear [FirstName] [Surname]

If smoke or fire is detected in a flat in your building an alarm will sound in that flat. Everyone in the flat must leave. If a fire starts in your home, or you hear the alarm sounding in your home, leave immediately and make sure everyone in your home leaves with you. Make sure your front door closes behind you and once outside the building call the fire brigade on 999. The fire brigade will ask you for your address, make sure you know the full address and postcode to avoid any delay in the fire brigade attending.

Once you are out of the building wait a safe distance away, at the designated place if one is detailed on the fire action notice in your building.

If smoke or fire is detected in someone else’s flat your alarm won’t sound. This is because it’s usually safest for you to stay in your home while the fire brigade deals with the fire. You should leave if you feel you are being directly affected by heat or smoke or if the fire brigade tells you to leave.

All the communal fire doors in your building are checked four times a year and your flat front door will be checked once a year. If you’re contacted by an inspector asking to check your flat front door, please let them carry out this safety check.

You can help us keep the building as safe as possible by following these simple steps:

Don’t keep anything in the corridor. Items left in the communal areas can be a hazard to you if you need to leave in an emergency and a hazard to the fire brigade if they need to fight a fire. Our staff regularly check the communal areas and will remove items that shouldn’t be there.
Communal fire doors and your flat front door should be shut when not in use.
The self-closing devices on fire doors mustn’t be tampered with.
You must report any fault with, or damage to, fire doors immediately to your local officer.

These issues and more are covered on our website, go to www.nhg.org.uk and search ‘fire safety’.

If you have any questions or concerns about safety in your building, please get in touch with your local officer.

Kind regards

Letter for a high-rise building of more than 18m (seven storeys or more)

Dear [FirstName] [Surname]

If smoke or fire is detected in a flat in your building an alarm will sound in that flat. Everyone in the flat must leave. If a fire starts in your home, or you hear the alarm sounding in your home, leave immediately and make sure everyone in your home leaves with you. Make sure your front door closes behind you and once outside the building call the fire brigade on 999. The fire brigade will ask you for your address, so make sure you know the full address and postcode to avoid any delay in the fire brigade attending.

Once you are out of the building wait a safe distance away, at the designated place if one is detailed on the fire action notice in your building.

You can help us keep the building as safe as possible by following these simple steps:

Don’t keep anything in the corridor. Items left in the communal areas can be a hazard to you if you need to leave in an emergency and a hazard to the fire brigade if they need to fight a fire. Our staff regularly check the communal areas and will remove items that shouldn’t be there.
Communal fire doors and your flat front door should be shut when not in use.
The self-closing devices on fire doors mustn’t be tampered with.
You must report any fault with, or damage to, fire doors immediately to your local officer.

These issues and more are covered on our website, go to www.nhg.org.uk and search ‘fire safety’.

As you live in a taller building, we have registered it with the Building Safety Regulator. The registration number for your building is [BuildingSafetyRegulatorRegistrationNumber]. You can find out more about the Building Safety Regulator by visiting . If you have any questions or concerns about safety in your building, please contact me. Your local officer remains your main contact for any other questions or queries you might have.

Kind regards

Review of the letter

Reviewing the letter above - to what extent to you agree these letters are easy to read and understand? *

Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

Please explain for answer to the above: *

Is there any extra information missing that you think might be helpful to include here for residents.

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Fire safety letter consultation

Residents

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