Q I OWN AN apartment and after the news about problems at Priory Hall, I’m concerned as to whether the fire safety equipment is in order and has been inspected. What should I do?
A There are two aspects to this: fire safety within your apartment, and the fire safety of the common areas of the development. In relation to your own apartment, the biggest issue is whether you have a suitable, functioning fire alarm system, and whether the apartment is adequately fire separated from the rest of the development.
Sometimes, particularly in older apartments, there can be ducts or services running vertically in a block, which in the event of a fire would allow smoke to travel through the development. Fire separation in roof spaces (where the development has a pitched roof) can also be inadequate, potentially allowing smoke to travel to other units.
In relation to the common areas, there are a number of aspects of fire safety that may need review. These include the fire alarm system for the development, emergency lighting (which operates in the event of a power failure/fire activation), illuminated fire exit signage, whether there are adequate fire doors, whether means of escape (staircases and corridors) are adequately separated from apartments and lifts, and whether any breaches of compartment walls and floors have taken place. In both cases, I would recommend an inspection by a suitably qualified professional (chartered building surveyor or other suitably qualified fire safety consultant/engineer). The inspection within your apartment will probably need to be commissioned and paid for by yourself. The inspection and report on the common areas should be commissioned by the Owners Management Company for the development on behalf of all of the owners.
Sometimes, the Management Company will extend the remit of a survey to include individual apartments.
Krystyna Rawicz is a chartered building surveyor and member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, scsi.ie
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This column is a readers’ service. Advice given is general and individual advice should always be sought
