It seems obvious that an HMO should have fire extinguishers everywhere, but the guidance is more careful than that, and over-providing can do as much harm as under-providing. Getting HMO firefighting equipment right means matching it to the risk and to how tenants will actually behave. If you run a shared house in Eastbourne or anywhere in East Sussex, here is the sensible position.
Escape comes first
The most important principle, woven through the LACORS guidance, is that the priority for tenants is to get out and call 999, not to fight a fire. Equipment is there to help someone deal with a very small fire, or to clear a path through a small fire blocking the exit, not to turn tenants into firefighters. That mindset shapes what you provide and what you tell people.
Fire blankets in kitchens
The shared kitchen is the highest-risk room in most HMOs, and a fire blanket there is sensible almost everywhere. It tackles the most likely fire, a pan catching alight, without any training, and without the risk of someone using the wrong extinguisher on burning oil. A blanket mounted by the kitchen exit is a small, high-value measure.
Extinguishers, used with care
Whether to provide extinguishers, and which type, is a risk-based decision for your fire risk assessment. Where they are provided, multi-purpose extinguishers sited on the escape route, near exits, are the usual choice. The concern with putting extinguishers everywhere is that they can encourage untrained tenants to stay and fight rather than leave, which is the opposite of what you want.
Maintenance is a legal duty
Whatever you install, the management regulations require firefighting equipment to be kept in good working order. Extinguishers need annual servicing by a competent person, and the dates belong in your records alongside your alarm tests. A corroded or discharged extinguisher is no use to anyone.
Tell tenants what to do
Equipment only helps if tenants know it is there and understand the message: get out, raise the alarm, call the fire service, and only ever tackle a small fire if it is safe and blocking your exit. Put this in your tenant fire safety information and on your signage. East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service can advise on type and siting.
Siting and pointing it out
Equipment that tenants cannot find in a hurry is no better than none. A fire blanket belongs by the kitchen exit, within reach but not over the hob, and any extinguishers sit on the escape route near exits where someone leaving can grab one if a small fire blocks the way. Mark each item with simple signage so it is obvious at a glance.
Tell tenants in their welcome information what is provided, what it is for, and the overriding rule that getting out comes first. East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service can advise on type and siting for your particular HMO, and keeping servicing dates with your other records means you can show the equipment is maintained as the regulations require.
Where extinguishers are provided, type matters: water or foam suits ordinary combustibles, while carbon dioxide is used around electrical equipment, and the wrong type can make a fire worse. Because choosing and using them safely needs a moment of thought that a fleeing tenant may not have, the assessment decides what is genuinely worth providing.
Equip your HMO sensibly
Want the right equipment in the right places, without over-doing it? For advice tailored to your property from a competent professional, speak to Jamie at ESI: Fire Safety on 01276 300 351.
