1. Communities Fire Safety Report following consultation with Housing Providers 25 th January 2010

2. Summary  Details of your existing procedures/policies for fire safety measures in your properties, risk assessments for both voids and occupied tenancies.  How you raise awareness / provide information to your tenants.  Whether a supply of free smoke detectors (or support from the council/agencies in another way) would promote increased installation in all properties.  Details of any planned changes to your approach due to be implemented in the next twelve months and any other comments you wish to make that the partnership could consider and assist to deliver. 18 responses were received which represents a 32% response rate Following a fire in a family socially rented home, which led to the tragic death of two children a letter was sent to all Housing Partnership and Supporting People Landlords, in order that the council could identify the different approaches and policies landlords have in place. 55 landlords were asked to provide the following information:-

3. Findings All Larger RSL’s that responded have comprehensive Fire Risk assessments and service contracts for fire alarms in place. Smaller landlord providers all had safety checking policies in place. This applied to both voids and occupied tenancies.  Three ways of providing advice were most common: Newsletters, information leaflets and sign posting to the Fire Service.  Two of the smaller providers felt that a supply of free smoke detectors would be helpful, which has been followed up.

4. Riviera Housing Trust’s response ….  Fire Risk Assessments are carried out to all flat blocks and sheltered housing schemes annually. In addition planned audits are also undertaken. These assessments involve identifying fire hazards, removing risks and ensuring occupants can safely escape in the event of a fire.  RHT undertake electrical tests, check fire alarm systems and sprinklers where they are installed, check emergency lighting and carry out annual gas safety checks on all our properties with a gas supply.  As part of the void inspection process the presence of smoke detectors is recorded along with the type of detector. Where there is no smoke detector a heat sensor is installed in the kitchen and at least one smoke detector is installed in the property.

5. RHT response continued ……  Following the fire at Ellacombe Church Road a review of smoke detection in all our properties was carried out which showed some properties had battery smoke detectors others had hard wired detectors and some properties had no smoke detection.  A door knocking exercise was conducted during October and November 2009 to check that all homes had a working smoke detector. Where there was no detector the team installed a battery operated one. If we could not gain access to a property a card was left asking the resident to make contact.  The Trust has just let a tender for installation of hard wired smoke detection in properties where our records show there is no smoke detection or a battery smoke detector is installed. This work will be complete by March 2010.

6.  It is not possible to provide a prescriptive list of measures needed to each organization as it is dependant of exact property type and occupation. However basic good practice guide can be obtained from HM Government -' A short guide to making your premises safe from fire' -available from CLG product code 05 FRSD 03546. This will be especially helpful for the smaller RSLs and SP providers.  All agencies who didn't respond to original letter to be contacted and reminded of their responsibilities.  More detailed fire safety measures are to be factored into all new Supporting People contracts and the monitoring of those contracts. Recommendations

7.  Best practice involving training, testing, instructions to tenants, use of newsletters and written conditions in tenancies relating to fire safety, be shared with all providers to allow the development of better measures.  In addition landlord training for private sector landlords took place in March when fire safety was one of the topics covered. This will be part of the measures aimed at the private sector where conditions are likely to be poorer and the knowledge level of landlords far less developed. This will include focusing on taking enforcement action against owners of houses in multiple occupation (HMO) for non-compliance Recommendations continued ….

8. Partnership Actions The Care Trust:  The Care Trust has provided fire awareness training to staff and materials to signpost and refer people to the fire service. It was hoped that sharing information about vulnerable people across agencies would improve through the information exchange being brought forward as part of the ‘safer in your homes project’. Children’s Services:  The Children’s Centres distribute ‘Safety in the Home’ packs and work closely with the fire service to undertake home safety checks (not specifically around fire safety but all aspects of safety for under 5’s). Over 180 packs have been distributed in less than a year.  All managers have been informed of the importance of frontline staff routinely being vigilant and routinely asking questions of their families or young people around smoke alarms being functional.