Two fires in blocks of flats over the weekend have again shown how quickly a fire in one home can affect a whole building.
On the night of Friday 23 October, a fire in a flat in a residential block in Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet, Kent, left two people seriously burned and six more treated for smoke inhalation. Residents were evacuated because smoke and water had affected other parts of the building, and some were put up in hotels while a rest centre was opened.
Shortly after midday on Sunday 25 October, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service sent four fire engines and an aerial ladder platform to a fire in a block of flats in Gateshead. A woman was taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle after jumping from a balcony to escape. A second person was treated for smoke inhalation, and neighbouring residents were evacuated as a precaution. Police said the fire was not being treated as malicious.
Investigations into both fires are still going on, and nobody should guess at the causes. Our thoughts are with everyone affected. Even so, fires like these are a useful prompt for anyone responsible for a block of flats to check that the basics are in place.
What this means for you
If you are the "responsible person" for a building with two or more flats and shared common parts, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to you. That includes housing associations, councils, managing agents, freeholders and landlords of converted buildings.
Since the Fire Safety Act 2021 came into force on 16 May 2022, your fire risk assessment has had to cover the building's structure, its external walls (including balconies and windows) and the entrance doors to individual flats, as well as the common parts. A fire inside one flat is still your concern if it puts the escape routes, the compartmentation or other residents at risk.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023 and add specific duties that depend on the building's height:
- All multi-occupied residential buildings: give residents fire safety instructions and information about the importance of fire doors. This must go to new residents as soon as reasonably practicable after they move in, and to all residents every 12 months.
- Buildings over 11 metres: check communal fire doors at least every three months, and use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors at least once every 12 months. Keep a record of what you did, including attempts to gain access where it was refused. The checks must include making sure the self-closing devices work.
- High-rise residential buildings (at least 18 metres or seven or more storeys): further duties apply, including a secure information box, wayfinding signage, monthly checks of firefighting lifts and equipment, and sharing floor plans and external wall information with the fire and rescue service.
Practical checklist
Based on what we see on site across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire, these are the points we would look at first:
- Is your fire risk assessment current? It should reflect the building as it is today, including any refurbishment, changes in who lives there and the evacuation strategy. For blocks of flats, BS 9792:2025 now sets out a recognised approach.
- Do the flat entrance doors actually work as fire doors? Missing or disconnected self-closers, damaged seals, replacement doors that are not fire-rated and gaps from poor fitting are among the most common faults we find. A working fire door is what keeps a fire in one flat from becoming smoke in the stairwell.
- Are the communal doors closing and latching? Stair and lobby doors wedged open, or doors that no longer close fully, undermine the whole strategy.
- Is the evacuation strategy clear, and do residents know it? "Stay put" only works when compartmentation is sound. If residents don't understand what they should do, that is a gap.
- Have residents had the required information this year? Check that you have issued fire safety instructions and fire door information, and that you can prove it.
- Do you know which residents might need help to escape? Where there are disabled or vulnerable residents, make sure their needs are reflected in your plans.
- Are the common parts clear? Mobility scooters, bikes, rubbish and stored items in corridors and stairs can block escape routes and add fuel.
- Do you have a record of every check? If the fire service asks, being able to show regular, documented checks is your best evidence of compliance.
How Obelisk can help
Obelisk Fire Safety carries out fire risk assessments for blocks of flats to BS 9792:2025, and for other premises to PAS 79-1:2020. We also inspect and survey fire doors, including the quarterly and annual checks required under the 2022 Regulations. We work with housing providers, care and supported living schemes, HMO landlords, schools and NHS premises nationwide, with a focus on the East Midlands and surrounding areas.
If you're not sure your building would hold up after a fire like these, contact us on 07407 156178 or info@obeliskfire.co.uk.
This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice.
Sources
- KentOnline – Two seriously burned and six treated for smoke inhalation after flat fire in Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet (25 Oct 2026)
- BritBrief – Woman hurt after balcony jump to escape flats fire (Gateshead, 25 Oct 2026)
- AOL – Woman 'jumps from balcony' to escape Gateshead flats fire as residents evacuated
- legislation.gov.uk – The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10
- Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service – Fire Safety Regulations 2022
- Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service – Fire Safety Act 2021