Help us to ensure you’re protected from fire | Tenant news

Your safety is important to us, and we're committed to ensuring you have a home that meets all building safety, legal and regulatory requirements by improving the fire safety of all our homes.

If you live in a scheme with two or more homes and with communal areas, we carry out independent fire risk assessments on the property. We also carry out any works or actions recommended in these fire risk assessments to improve the safety of your scheme.

To keep you safe, we also:

• Fit a self-closing device on the communal side of your front door when needed, which is critical to preventing the spread of fire and smoke;
• Maintain and test emergency lights and fire alarm systems;
• Regularly check schemes to ensure fire doors are working, communal areas are clear and fire safety instructions are in place;
• Work in partnership with the fire and rescue service to ensure our buildings are safe and meet strict fire safety regulations;
• Carry out person-centred fire risk assessments for vulnerable Habinteg tenants.

Safety around flammable items

If you need oxygen therapy (oxygen cylinders and portable units) or use emollient creams, always store them away from anything that could start a fire, including matches, lighters, e-cigarettes, cookers, halogen heaters and lit cigarettes.

Also, please keep us informed if your health situation changes and you need to use oxygen bottles or emollient creams at any point. 

Test your smoke alarm

All Habinteg homes have hard-wired smoke alarms and (if you have a gas supply) carbon dioxide alarms with a battery backup in your home.

You should test your smoke alarm in your home every month. Simply press the small button which is either red or marked 'test'.

If it's working correctly, the alarm will sound for a short period of time and then stop. If it does not work, let us know immediately by calling our Customer Services Team at Habinteg Direct on 0300 365 3100.

Staying fire safe

Here’s a few things you can do to stay fire safe:

• Unplug any rechargeable battery items, such as e-cigarettes, mobility scooters, mobile phones, and hoists, overnight;
• Switch off appliances at the plug socket when you’re not using them this also helps to save electricity - and always use appliances with the ‘CE’ safety mark;
• Turn off the heat under saucepans on your hob if you’re not in the kitchen;
• Check all ashtrays before you go to bed and ensure all cigarettes are put out.

While your building has been designed and built with fire safety in mind, there are other steps you can take to protect yourself in your home:

• Always replace the batteries in your smoke alarm as soon as you remove old batteries, and always follow the manufacturer's advice for replacing batteries;
• Never install anything that restricts the fire doors in your home from opening fully or closing fully;
• Never paint or damage the fire door to your flat or in your home;
• Call us if you see anything that might be a potential fire hazard in your building or flat, i.e., abandoned combustible furniture or fuel;
• Don't cause an obstruction by leaving furniture, bikes, prams and mobility scooters in communal areas;
• Place bulk waste items in permitted areas as close to the collection time as possible;
• Report any damage to fire equipment such as fire alarms or detectors, and emergency lighting. A red or green power supply light will usually be displayed on fire alarms or detectors when they’re working correctly;
• Don't use the lift when evacuating the building as fire can cause a power failure;
• Never block emergency exits to your building. Make sure you know where your nearest escape route is to safely exit the building in the event of an emergency;
• Your flat entrance door and other fire doors in the communal areas must always be kept shut when not in use;

Always allow Habinteg staff and contractors to access your home to carry out safety inspections, including fire door inspections.

If you have any concerns about the fire safety of your home or scheme, please call Habinteg Direct on 0300 365 3100.