Disabled tenant & PEEP – Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan – Help!

I have no experience or knowledge of this but came across this information which may be of help.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-means-of-escape-for-disabled-people

Also, it might be worth dropping an e-mail to this charity:
https://wheelchair-alliance.co.uk/

Without wishing to be insensitive, if the lift failed, would your tenant be physically able to get out of the building without help? If not, is there anything practical that could be done by you or the Freeholder to alter the building to make solo escape possible?

What is the existing fire procedure? Some buildings have advice to 'stay in place'.

Have you tried contacting the fire service.
It may be as simple as recording your tenants disability with them, so that in the event of a fire the fire service will arrange the tenants safe evacuation.
In large office blocks the wheelchair users wait at the top of the stairs and are carried down by the fire service- a suitable foldaway emergency chair may be needed to be stored at the top of the stairs

It's not a question of IF the lift fails, it cannot be used in the event of fire. Flats count as workplaces under fire rules and I think the responsible person is the management company. However you can help, maybe ask Citizens Advice or the fire service as suggested above an evacuation chair could be provided. There may be circumstances when stay put is not an option

Reply to the comment left by Darren Peters at 04/01/2024 - 11:25
Darren

Thanks for the links. The wheelchair alliance seems to be mainly concerned in providing suitable wheelchairs, I will contact them but don't see anything on their site regarding PEEPs.
I had high hopes on the gov.uk link - but that seems to be for public buildings and workplaces rather than domestic homes.

On a practical level our tenant has previously stated that in an emergency she would be able to get out of her wheelchair and 'bum shuffle' down the stairs. so she is not overly concerned.
The issue is that the Management Company is pushing me to produce a PEEPs - but legally who should produce it? And where is that legislation?

Reply to the comment left by Chris Bradley at 04/01/2024 - 16:02
Chris

Thanks for your comments. I completely agree with the practical approach - however the Management company is pressing me to produce the PEEPs - something I am not trained to do.
Everything I have found online relates to office buildings rather than homes.
I am really trying to find the legal position on this one - who legally should produce the PEEPs and where do I find that piece of legislation?

Reply to the comment left by Crossed_Swords at 05/01/2024 - 07:02
Crossed Swords

I also think it is the Management Companies place to produce the PEEPs in conjunction with the fire risk assessment. However they say it is my responsibility and I am not trained to do it.

I need to find the legislation stating who is responsible for providing the PEEPs for a self contained flat in a small block.

Hi sue,
You have no responsibility to provide a PEEP.
The legislation this falls under is the Fire Safety Act 2005 and does not apply to residential dwellings.
The management company would have completed a Fire Risk Assessment for the common areas as this would be covered by the legislation in England and Wales, and they probably have missed the bit to whom the legislation applies to.
I know this as I’m a fire safety enforcement officer for the fire service.
But feel free to look up the Act

I am a block manager, and as landlord X says above, it is the building managers who need to provide the PEEP.

It is likely that your building has a stay put policy (ask the building manager for a copy of the FRA and the Fire information for building users - by law you are entitled to both and the latter should be displayed in the building.

In our (much bigger) building, we have an evacuation point on each level in a protected Stair well and there is information in the fire box to advise the fire service of any residents we know about who may need assistance to evacuate.

You could also ask the management company to confirm they are in full compliance with the Building Safety Act

I produce a fire risk assessment for every rental property which includes what to do in the event of a fire.

Your Freehold/Block management company are doing the right thing asking for this.

In the event of a fire in the building which requires everyone to evaluate and NOT use the lift in your risk assessment. and action plan for your flat detail how your disabled tenant will navigate the stairs AND get to the assembly point.

All blocks must have evacuation instructions on each landing and main entrance hallway.

Stay Where You Are policies are imho leathal. It’s what the Fire Brigade told the residents of Grenfall Tower to do. If they had evacuated instead there would not have been such a loss of lives

Judith,
Stay Where You Are policies are imho leathal. It’s what the Fire Brigade told the residents of Grenfall Tower to do.
This is dangerous advice, and the deaths were not caused by the stay put policy but because the building was unsafe due to building and management failings.
If I was in a building which was on fire and I could leave safely, I would fo so, but people are just as likely to be killed by a mass evacuation in dangerous circumstances.
A residential building should have compartmentation of at least 60 minutes which will give the fire brigade plenty of time to arrange an evacuation if required.
You say you produce a fire risk assessment for each property, it is great that you are considering fire safety, but I would be interested to know how you do that and what it includes.
A quick question... Do your properties have a fire extinguisher and/or fire blanket?