Fire safety in a block of flats: what your building must have, and what to do if there's a fire

Fire doors: what the self-closer, smoke seals and intumescent strips do

Your flat's front door and the doors across the corridors and stairs are fire doors, and they are the main thing standing between a fire and the way out. London Fire Brigade says your front door and the doors on hallways and landings should be maintained as self-closing fire doors and must not be propped open, because an open door lets smoke and fire spread quickly. The Home Office's guide for small blocks says a modern fire door resists fire for at least 30 minutes; it is usually marked FD30S, the S meaning it has a smoke seal.

Three parts do the work. The self-closer is the arm or spring that pulls the door shut behind you: a fire door only protects anyone when it is closed. Intumescent strips, set into the edge of the door or the frame, swell up in the heat of a fire to seal the gap around the door. Smoke seals, usually a brush or rubber strip, help stop smoke getting through the gaps; the government's guide says the two are usually combined.

The gaps matter. The government's fire door guidance says a door should close fully into its frame when let go from any angle, the gap around the door should never be more than 4mm (the industry standard it quotes), the gap at the bottom should be as small as practicable, and the strips and seals should be undamaged, touching the door or frame, and not painted over. It also says a modern fire door should show a visible fire resistance rating. Fire door signs help too: the small-blocks guide asks for 'Fire door keep shut' signs on the self-closing fire doors in the common parts.

Smoke vents, emergency lighting, exit signs and assembly points

Smoke vents, often called AOVs (automatic opening vents), are vents or windows in the shared corridors and stairs that open to let smoke out of the escape routes. The small-blocks guide describes vents triggered by smoke detectors in the common parts, or windows and vents the fire service can open. The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service notes that detectors fitted only to open the vents generally work silently, so a vent opening without an alarm sounding is normal.

Emergency lighting comes on by itself in a power cut so you can see the stairs. The small-blocks guide says it isn't needed in a two-floor block with enough daylight through windows, but must be provided where that borrowed light can't be relied on, with a test switch for monthly checks. Fire exit signs are not always required either: the same guide says a small block normally doesn't need them unless there is a second escape route that isn't in everyday use. In high-rise blocks in England, the law requires floor and flat numbers in the stairwells on signs that can be seen in low light or smoke, so firefighters can find each flat.

Many blocks have no fire assembly point, or muster point, and that is not a mistake. In a stay put building most residents are expected to stay in their flats, and the government's sample fire action notice tells anyone who has left to wait for the fire service in a safe place. Check the fire action notice in your entrance hall or lobby: the guide says it should show the route out of the building and how to report a fire.

Green emergency door releases, sprinklers and other equipment

Many entrance doors are held locked by a magnet and opened with a fob. The small-blocks guide says there should be a lever handle or similar on the inside, and that these locks should fail safe, releasing on their own if the power fails. Where a door is electrically locked on an escape route, you will often see a small green box next to it marked as an emergency door release. Breaking or pressing its glass panel breaks the lock's circuit so the door opens; the maker Videx says these units should only be used with fail-safe locks, and some are reset afterwards with a key rather than new glass. Use it only in an emergency, and report it to your managing agent or landlord if it is missing or damaged.

Sprinklers are not in most existing blocks. England's building guidance has called for them in new blocks of flats with a storey more than 11 metres up since November 2020, and the small-blocks guide says it is unusual to find one in a small block. Where a block has them, the small-blocks guide says they need at least annual maintenance by a competent contractor. Fire extinguishers are not normally provided in the corridors of a small block either; the small-blocks guide says they are not required in the common escape routes.

Taller buildings carry more. In England, the law says the equipment checked every month in a high-rise block includes firefighting and evacuation lifts, dry and wet rising mains, smoke control systems, sprinkler and other suppression systems, fire detection and alarm systems in the common parts, evacuation alert systems that let the fire service tell residents to leave, and automatic door release mechanisms linked to fire alarms. A fault that can't be fixed within 24 hours must be reported to the local fire service, and the records of those checks must be made available to residents.

The law in plain words: what the Responsible Person must do

Every block of flats has a Responsible Person for fire safety in the shared parts. GOV.UK says it is usually the person or organisation that owns the building: a freeholder, landlord, housing association, council, residents' management company or Right to Manage company. A managing agent may do the day-to-day work for them, but the legal duty stays with the Responsible Person. The Fire Safety Act 2021, in force in England from 16 May 2022 (and in Wales from 1 October 2021), put beyond doubt that the building's structure, external walls and flat entrance doors are covered by fire safety law where a building has two or more homes.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023. In any block with two or more flats and shared parts, the Responsible Person must give you fire safety instructions (how to report a fire, the building's evacuation strategy and what to do once a fire has started) when you move in, display them in the communal areas, and give them to you again every year and whenever they change. They must also tell you why fire doors matter: keep them shut, don't tamper with the self-closers, and report any damage straight away.

Where a building has a storey more than 11 metres up, they must check the fire doors in the shared parts every three months and use their best endeavours to check each flat's front door once a year, so expect a request for access. In high-rise buildings, which the regulations define as at least 18 metres or at least seven storeys, they must also give the fire service electronic floor plans and details of the external walls, keep a secure information box on site holding the plans and their contact details, check lifts for firefighters and key fire equipment every month, and put up the floor and flat number signs.

High-rise buildings also come under the Building Safety Act 2022. A building of at least 18 metres or seven storeys with at least two homes must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator, and has one or more Accountable Persons and a Principal Accountable Person, who must run a complaints process for building safety risks such as missing or broken fire doors or smoke extraction. If they don't resolve your complaint, you can take it to the Building Safety Regulator.

The fire risk assessment for your block: who does it, how often, and how to see it

The Responsible Person must carry out a fire risk assessment of the shared parts, and since 1 October 2023 (under section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022) must record it in full, including all the findings. They can bring in a fire risk assessor, but the duty stays with them, and the government recommends they make sure whoever does it is competent. GOV.UK says the assessment must be reviewed regularly and after significant events such as major building work or a fire. The law doesn't set a fixed interval, so ask the Responsible Person when yours was last done and when the next review is due.

You are entitled to the key findings. Residents must be told the risks the assessment found, the fire safety measures in place, the name and UK address of the Responsible Person, and who carried out or helped with the assessment. GOV.UK's guide for residents says you can ask your building owner, managing agent or landlord whether any fire safety risks have been found, for a copy of the fire risk assessment, and what is being done about the risks.

If you get no answer, or you are still worried, GOV.UK says to contact your local fire and rescue service or your council. Leaseholders can get free advice from the Leasehold Advisory Service, and anyone can ask Citizens Advice.

Stay put or leave: find out your building's evacuation strategy now

Most purpose-built blocks are designed for 'stay put'. London Fire Brigade explains that the walls, floors and doors will hold back flames and smoke for a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes, so if a fire starts somewhere else in the block and you are not affected by heat or smoke, you are usually safer staying in your flat with the windows and doors shut and calling 999. If fire, smoke or heat does reach you, alert everyone, leave and call 999.

Some buildings instead have a simultaneous evacuation strategy, where everyone leaves as soon as the alarm sounds; London Fire Brigade also calls it a full or temporary simultaneous evacuation. The National Fire Chiefs Council's guidance says this is used in buildings that can no longer support stay put, after a risk assessment by a competent person, and that in a building designed for stay put it should be temporary until the problem is fixed. Some of these buildings have a waking watch or a new communal fire alarm in the meantime.

Your building's strategy should be on the fire action notice in the entrance or lobby, and in the instructions the Responsible Person has to give you each year. If you can't find it, ask your landlord, housing provider or managing agent; London Fire Brigade says they need to tell you about the fire safety arrangements.

In case of fire: what to do if it's in your flat, or elsewhere in the block

If the fire is in your flat, get everyone out, close the doors behind you and call 999 once you are safe; the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service says that if your own alarm sounds and you find a fire, leave immediately and call 999. Before opening a door, check it with the back of your hand, and if it is warm don't open it, London Fire Brigade advises. Use the stairs, never the lift, don't stop to investigate or pick up valuables, and don't assume someone else has called 999.

If you can't get out because the fire or smoke is between you and the door, London Fire Brigade says you may be safer to stay in your flat until the fire brigade arrives: go to a room as far as possible from the fire, with a window if possible, close the door and use soft materials to block any gaps to stop the smoke, go to the window, shout 'HELP, FIRE' and call 999. Tell the 999 operator where you are and the quickest way for firefighters to reach you, stay on the line and follow their advice.

If the fire is somewhere else in a stay put building and you are not affected, stay in your flat, close the windows and doors, call 999 and tell them where you are in the building. Be ready to follow the firefighters' instructions when they arrive, including if they tell you to leave. In a simultaneous evacuation building, leave as soon as the alarm sounds, closing the doors behind you and using the stairs.

If you would need help to get out: Residential PEEPs

Since 6 April 2026, the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 have applied to blocks of at least 18 metres or seven storeys, and to blocks over 11 metres that have a simultaneous evacuation strategy. If it is your only or main home and you could not get out without help because of a physical or cognitive impairment or condition, the Responsible Person must take reasonable steps to find you and offer you a person-centred fire risk assessment.

From that, they must put in place reasonable and proportionate measures to help you get out, subject to conditions on cost, try to agree a written evacuation statement and give you a copy, and review it within 12 months and then every year, or sooner if you reasonably ask. With your explicit agreement, they share your flat number, floor and the help you would need with the fire service. Taking part is your choice: the government's factsheet says residents cannot be compelled, and you can turn down measures you would have to pay for.

If you think you qualify and haven't been asked, contact your landlord, housing officer or managing agent and ask for a Residential PEEP. London Fire Brigade suggests the same.

How to report a faulty fire door, and keeping your own flat safe

Report a fire door that doesn't close by itself, has a broken self-closer, big gaps, damaged seals or strips, or is wedged open, to the Responsible Person straight away: the government's guidance asks residents to report any fault or damage immediately. Put it in writing (an email is fine) with the location and a photo, and keep a copy. Don't change or replace your flat's front door without the Responsible Person's knowledge and agreement; whether the door is your responsibility to repair depends on your lease or tenancy.

If nothing happens, in a high-rise building use the Principal Accountable Person's complaints process and then the Building Safety Regulator; in any building you can contact your local fire and rescue service or council. Keep corridors and stairs clear: London Fire Brigade says communal corridors and stairs must be kept free of clutter such as pushchairs and e-bikes, because it can block your escape route, add fuel to a fire and delay firefighting.

Inside your own flat, the same home safety basics apply as anywhere else, starting with working smoke alarms: as the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service explains, purpose-built blocks are not normally given a communal fire alarm, and each flat has its own.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The 2022 regulations and the 2025 evacuation plan rules above apply in England only. In Wales, the Fire Safety Order also covers the shared parts of blocks of flats, and the Welsh Government publishes its own guidance for them. Scotland has its own fire safety law: the Scottish Government's guidance for existing high-rise blocks says fire safety law doesn't generally apply inside individual flats, and that it is normally safe to stay in your flat if you are unaffected by fire or smoke. In Northern Ireland, the Fire & Rescue Service says a block's strategy will normally be either stay put or immediate evacuation, and that you can check with your building's manager which one applies.