INSPECTIONS

External fire escapes, (and all other means of escape in case of fire with which a building is provided), must be available for use at all times when the premises is occupied.
It is therefore recommended that an should be carried out to check the following points. Daily.

• That the doors giving access to the escape are easily open-able and open fully
• That any self closing doors which are in the vicinity of the escape are effectively self-closing
• That any fire resisting glazing adjacent to the escape is intact and fixed shut
• That the stairway, landing and route to a final place of safety (such as a roadway or car park) are unobstructed by goods, rubbish or vegetation
• That nothing is stored beneath the stairway
• That the stair treads, handrails and brackets securing the stairway to the building are in a sound condition. If there is evidence of rust on a metal stairway, it is likely that it needs a thorough inspection by a structural engineer followed by any necessary repairs and thorough treatment with weatherproof paint
• That the stair treads are non-slippery, e.g.no moss or algae growth
• That primary and escape lighting is in working order
• That any necessary signs are in place and are unobstructed
Immediate action should be taken to remedy any faults found during the check.
It is wise to scrape and re-paint a metal fire escape at regular intervals to ensure that it remains in a safe condition and to avoid the need for major and expensive structural repairs, which may put large areas of the building out of use.

Regular Checks should be completed on a regular basis and perhaps a yearly Structural Check by a competent person to assess any corrosion or Damage

We powerwash ours and inspect them every 12 months

SBH

Every 12 months the list above isn't the list that should be checked daily according to 9999. If you are checking fire exits open on a daily basis which is recommended then you would check that rubbish hasn't been put on or under the stairs. Checking for corrosion would normally be 12 monthly as mentioned. Moss etc should be cleaned when it occurs same as snow and ice.

A block of flats miles from base who is going to carry out these 'daily' checks?

If you are not realistic about what can be achieved, then health and safety loses all credibility. Sensible safety is what should be promoted. I agree an annual inspection of metal staircases seems realistic.

The West Yorkshire document is badly worded/structured.
Yes daily checks to ensure the fire escape is unobstructed by accumulation of daily waste, the access door is unlocked.

Annual checks for moss/algae growth and structural integrity of the fire escape - this is a time dependent issue, very unlikely to occur in a short timescale.

If a large enough building with a formal facilities/building maintenance service, simply add the fire escape stairs to the maintenance plan for the building.

Russ

As with many of the questions posed on this forum, the answer depends on the particular circumstances involved. If the external metal staircase/s you have in mind are sometimes prone to having combustible rubbish/items dumped/stored under them, then regular visual inspections by or for a local manager/supervisor would be appropriate along with measures to try and prevent or at least discourage such activities. The frequency of such inspections is best tailored to the frequency and degree to which such dumping/storing occurs.

The frequency of visual/thorough examinations of the condition of the staircases will also depend on a number of factors, e.g. what they're made of (steel more prone to corrosion than say aluminium), the effectiveness of what they're painted/protected with, and also their location. For instance, some external steel staircases in coastal environments can be especially vulnerable to corrosion from moist salty conditions and therefore might merit inspections more frequently than once a year.

Graham B

The West Yorkshire document is poor in the sense that (as I have already suggested) it should be divided into 2 sections - 'Daily checks' and 'Annual checks' (or whatever you want to call it.

Fair play to West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue. They replied to my enquiry within four hours with a very satisfactory response. If only every public authority were so efficient and open.

It seems that they agree with many of us here that the advice is suspect at best, and wrong at worst. They are going to remove the offending advice from their site before revising it

Lesson learned: Don't always believe what the Fire Service say as gospel as they are human and as fallible as the rest of us...........

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Dear Mr XX

Your information request has been forwarded to me in order for me to respond to your questions.

The Public Advice Note 028 requires a review before further publication. In the meantime, I will ask for it to be removed from our Internet.

The advice was produced in-house by a Fire Safety Inspector. The advice provided in the Note is not enforceable. The maintenance requirements that we would enforce is based around a three part test. The test consists of maintaining the equipment, facilities and devices:

• In an efficient state;
• In efficient working order; and
• In good repair.

Enforcing authorities cannot impose frequencies on maintenance though a recommendation to this effect may be made.

I hope this response assists, however should you require any further assistance please contact me

Best regards