“Contingency” hotel crisis tightens focus on fire risk

WOBO thanks IFSEC GLOBAL for the link to the article by Hunter Seymour.

“Contingency” hotel crisis tightens focus on fire risk

“Contingency” hotel crisis tightens focus on fire risk

Several reports of fires in hotels have made headlines in recent months, including an incident in Scotland where three people lost their lives in January. The challenges of ensuring fire safe procedures are only growing, though. Hotels being used as ‘contingency’ housing measures by the Home Office for asylum seekers are creating new, unpredictable elements for risk assessors and fire & rescue services to factor in, with inclusive evacuation scenario planning imperative to ensure the protection of residents.

In an exclusive report, Hunter Seymour examines the issue, noting the requirements to ‘prepare for the unpredictable’ and ensuring vulnerable residents can be alerted in the event of a fire.

The continuing crisis of placing thousands of migrants in “contingency accommodation” within the “Asylum Estate” of UK hotels requisitioned by the Home Office should acutely remind fire safety professionals of the increasing complexities of protecting sleeping accommodation when redefined by “Change of Use”. Predictions of arrivals escalating to 80,000 by the end of 2023 are widely reported in the British press, quoting government sources.

Meanwhile, this comes against a backdrop of recent statistics which reveal that Accidental Fires and Deliberate Fires in UK Hotels have risen by 20% in the last recorded year (2021-2022) and there have been more fire-related fatalities, in incidents overall, than the previous reported year. There were three hotel fatalities in the first week of this New Year alone.

Such critical concerns also refer to associated safety issues affecting any disadvantaged newcomer to hotels, such as language and cultural barriers, child safeguarding, mental health, and physical and sensory impairments. All of these carry significant implications for fire safety measures, which we examine here.

Designing and installing cavity barriers for timber frame buildings: What you need to know

Designing and installing cavity barriers for timber frame buildings: What you need to know

With timber frame construction expected to continue growing in popularity, it’s critical that any building made from the material is adequately protected against the spread of fire.

 

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