Extinguishers banned in flats

By JAMIE PYATT

FIRE extinguishers are being banned from blocks of flats – after they were branded a health and safety RISK.

The canisters could be dangerous if people use them without training, risk assessors said.

And they could encourage people to stay and tackle a blaze rather than flee.

The Fire Service is backing the ban – which could be brought in across the country under new rules.

But Mike Edwards, 61 – who lives in a ten-storey block where extinguishers are to be banned – branded the decision “ludicrous”.

He said: “I was absolutely staggered – Britain has gone mad. How can removing extinguishers be safe?

“If you are trapped in a burning building, you will certainly work out how to use an extinguisher.

“Our oldest resident is 103, but even she said she could work out how to use one in an emergency.”

The retired printer, of Bournemouth, Dorset, said people at a nearby block were “worried sick” about fires after their extinguishers were taken away.

He added: “The Fire Service can’t quickly get their equipment above the eighth floor – so if someone is trapped they are now just expected to sit and burn.”

The Government’s new Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order says every private block of flats must be risk assessed.

Escape

Extinguishers have already gone from communal areas at 13-storey Admirals Walk in Bournemouth.

A letter to residents from agents said: “Unless all residents are trained to operate the fire extinguishers, there is no legal requirement to maintain these in communal areas of residential blocks.”

Pete Whittaker of Dorset Fire and Rescue said each block would be judged separately over whether it should have the canisters.

He said: “In some cases, they are no longer needed and are more of a hazard.

“We do not want to encourage people to leave their flat to fetch a fire extinguisher from a hallway and then return to a blaze – we want people to get out safely.”

He said new building regulations meant that all escape routes should be fireproof anyway.

The ruling comes months after Bournemouth Council stopped lending armbands at its swimming pools over health and safety fears.