Last year, 9,000 people were injured by fire in their homes, and 4,000 suffered from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. A new register set up by the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) in conjunction with the UK’s Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) aims to reduce those figures.
The Blue Watch scheme aims to encourage landlords to make their rental properties safer from fire and CO risks and give themselves (and their tenants and potential tenants) peace of mind. The scheme will help ensure that the correct safety products and procedures are in place in rented properties, where the risk of fire and CO is higher than in owned properties.
The ongoing stream of UK prosecutions for fire safety offences demonstrates that landlords continue to flout the regulations and put their tenants in danger.
Despite their legal responsibilities, many landlords do not fit CO or smoke alarms, provide tenants with gas safety certificates, or ensure electrical equipment is safe. West Yorkshire FRS research found 31 percent of landlords never worry about making sure their tenants are safe, yet 6 percent of renters — the equivalent of around 99,000 people in the region — have had a fire or gas leak in their home.
In addition, the number of first-time landlords is now at a record high. Private investor landlords — or even people letting their property privately because they don’t want to sell it — are increasing. Often these landlords are not rogues, but they do not have a good understanding of their fire safety responsibilities.
The two-part voluntary Blue Watch scheme works as follows:
Blue Watch launched initially in West Yorkshire, Humberside, Merseyside, and Hampshire. For more information, visit the CFOA website.
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in Canada we have simular program… and in my opinion Co./smoke detectors do save lifes as long as they get installed properly….
This is understandable, though not very pleasant, that rented properties are more vulnerable than owned properties. Renters should at least consider the safety of their property if not the safety of the lives of tenants which are but just business for them. But in my opinion tenants have to share the blame for this as they too don’t seem to pay any special attention to the fire safety of the house.
Blue Watch is indeed a very good initiative commendable to the core. They have kept the fees considerably low as well when we consider the 12 month validity of the assessment and other fire safety benefits that can be achieved by this self-certification program. It should encourage the landlords to take up this program seriously and ensure the safety of their building and its residents.