Balcony fire safety
Balcony fires are a serious issue for Fire & Rescue Services across the country, and in the last three years to 2020, there have been more than 550 balcony fires in London alone.
If a fire breaks out on your balcony, it could spread much faster than a fire inside your building. Flaming embers can fall onto other balconies below and the heat and flames from a fire can ignite items on balconies above, which can spread the fire to wider areas of the building much quicker.
For these reasons, it is essential that we all do everything we can to reduce the risk of fires on balconies. You can help to keep you, your families, and your neighbours safe by following these tips.
- Don’t store any combustible items on your balcony. These include sheds or storage boxes, wooden furniture, screening or matting of any description, rubbish or recycling, fuel, gas cylinders or flammable liquids.
- Always make sure cigarettes or any other smoking materials are completely extinguished using a proper ashtray and not a plastic cup. Never drop cigarettes over the side of your balcony as the wind can take these to other balconies or the dry grass below or even on to other buildings.
- Don’t use barbecues on your balcony. They pose a serious fire risk and falling embers could set light to balconies below you or even injure people below.
If you store any combustible or flammable materials on your balcony, please remove them as soon as possible. As a responsible landlord, we are committed to reducing fire safety risk in our flat blocks and therefore we will not hesitate to undertake any necessary action to address the risk posed by combustible storage to protect all residents.
If you need any assistance with removing anything, please let us know by calling 0300 123 9966 or emailing ask@onehousing.co.uk.