Hi All, I would appreciate your views on where the above sits in terms of scope of communal area fire risk assessments in residential accommodation. If such a ventillation system is common between private dwellings, but not the communal areas (apart from ducting etc routed from common areas) would you consider it to be the duty of the fire risk assessor (externally appointed) to inspect and make recommendations relating to the extraction systems common to the private dwellings?

Hi all, I work within the residential property management sector and have conducted numerous FRA's on this type of property. It is not unusual for the lease to state that these systems are the responsibility of the lessee if they exclusively serve the apartment. However, from your query these are interlinked and therefore would probably fall under the remit of the managing agent. It is my personal opinion that the extraction & ductwork would fall within the remit of the FRA whether serving a single apartment or all. These systems are an integral part of the property and a means of fire spread and as such are a hazard which should be addressed. The only exception to this is if the system is sealed away and the assessor has no information or access to the system. Last year I conducted a risk assessment after a fire and the same situation with the extraction systems was evident; needless to say that a large proportion of the assessment was dedicated to reducing the risks from this system. I must also agree with Bob in that most FRA’s are of very poor quality and are prepared to a price rather than to ensure compliance.