When a fire breaks out at night in a property they arrived at that afternoon, your guests rely entirely on being able to get out quickly. That is why escape routes sit at the heart of fire safety for any Oxfordshire holiday let, and why the guidance is so firm about them.
What the guidance expects of escape routes
The Home Office guidance says you are required by law to ensure guests and staff can evacuate as quickly and safely as possible, and that emergency routes and exits must lead as directly as possible to a place of safety. An escape route includes any rooms, corridors and stairs people must pass through to get out, and it must be kept clear of obstructions at all times.
Keep it clear and well lit
Clutter and storage in a hallway or on a staircase can be fatal. The All-Wales guidance stresses keeping routes free of slip, trip and fall hazards, and the Home Office guidance asks you to consider whether smoke could affect visibility along the route. Lighting the escape route, even if the power fails, is part of this, whether through borrowed light, torches or fixed emergency lighting.
Distance matters
The All-Wales guidance gives a useful benchmark: in most cases the total travel distance from any point in the building to an exit should not exceed 18 metres. Judging travel distances properly is one of the more technical parts of an assessment, and a common reason owners bring in a professional. Where there is only one direction of escape, the acceptable distance is shorter still.
Exit doors must open easily
Final exit doors, such as the front and back door, should be easy to open from the inside without a key. The guidance suggests a simple thumb turn, night latch or lever, and notes you should consider whether every guest, including children and people with limited mobility, can operate them. A guest fumbling for a key in the dark is exactly the situation to design out.
Protect the route
Sound doors and walls help hold back fire and smoke long enough for people to escape, and keeping doors closed at night helps too. Watch out for inner rooms, where the only way out is through another room, as these need special care. Build all of this into your fire risk assessment.
Get advice if unsure
Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service can advise, and a competent assessor will assess travel distances and route protection properly.
What guests need from an escape route
A good escape route is one a guest who arrived hours earlier can follow in the dark, possibly through smoke. That means routes kept clear of furniture, luggage and clutter, doors on the route that open easily without a key, and enough light to see the way out if the power fails. Travel distances and door widths, which the ESI assessor checklist examines in detail, decide whether a single route is enough or a second is needed. Where a room can only be reached through another, our piece on inner rooms explains the extra care required. Walk the route yourself with the lights off, as a guest would in an emergency, and fix anything that trips you up. Oxfordshire’s fire and rescue service can advise on layouts that are hard to assess by eye.
Final exit doors should never need a key kept out of reach, so a thumb-turn lock that opens from the inside without hunting for keys is the safer choice for any room on the escape route.
Get the right advice for your property
Want your escape routes assessed by a professional? For advice tailored to your property from a competent professional, speak to Jamie at ESI: Fire Safety on 01276 300 351.
