While tenants will make the most of their balcony space during the summer months it is important to be aware of the threat this presents. The number of serious fires has increased over the past three years, with the most common starters being barbecues, cigarettes and outdoor heaters.

The risks

The most significant cause of balcony fires are barbecues, and with the summer months in full flow this is something to be very aware of. Barbeques should never be used on balconies, a number of fires have started due to falling embers, flames close to flammable materials and disposable barbecues being left unattended. As well as barbeques, fire pits, outdoor heaters and cigarettes also contribute to balcony fires. Earlier this year a patio heater exploded in Essex injuring four people.
The fact that most balconies are high above the ground only works to increase the risk due to increased wind speeds and unpredictable directions. Studies have shown that balcony fires are statistically significant, take longer to find, involve greater suppression efforts and cause more damage than fires that start within a building. Worsening factors include lack of fire detection and sprinklers on balconies as well as the storage of highly flammable materials. The other quite serious issue is the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, if a BBQ is on a small balcony and balcony window is left open, and the fumes enter the dwelling.

Reducing the risk

As a property owner there are two ways you can reduce the chances of a balcony fire occurring in buildings. One way is to factor this risk into the design phase of buildings and the other is ensuring tenants are educated.

Design phase

More often than not when designing a block tower you will provide a communal outdoor area and in an ideal world all tenants will abide by the rules barbequing in this area only. However, it is impossible to predict how tenants might act so to mitigate the risk as much as possible appropriate materials which don’t accelerate flames should be used.

When designing the outdoor communal area in which residents can safely barbeque it is crucial to consider what materials will be used in terms of fire risk. Soft landscaping that might be more economical and effective to use like bark chippings can actually increase the speed of a fire and increase the chances of it impacting the building itself.

Roman Cooper, director at Allcooper fire and security solutions adds “we would always expect there to have been a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) carried out by the landlord, and this kind of communal activity should be evaluated and reported on. The FRA will identify those safe community areas, but will in all probability reinforce the need to eliminate these risks entirely”.

Educating tenants

As part of every tenancy agreement you deal with, barbecues and outdoor heaters should always be prohibited on balconies, not only for the safety of your property but also for the safety of your tenants. You can also convey the risks to tenants in the other communications you send out i.e. letters, emails, and social media posts.

In most cases you will encourage tenants of tower blocks to use a communal barbeque area, London Fire Brigade has recently issued a BBQ safety alert along with their top tips that you can pass on to residents:

• Keep a bucket of water or sand nearby for emergencies
• Barbecues must be placed on level ground so they don’t tip over
• Only use approved barbecue fuel or fire lighters. Never use petrol or paraffin
• When you have finished cooking, make sure the barbecue is cool before you try to move it
• Empty the spent ash on to bare garden soil - never put it in the dustbin

For gas barbecues:
• If using gas, store gas cylinders outside, away from direct sunlight and frost
• Make sure the tap is turned off before changing the gas cylinder
• After cooking, turn the gas supply off first and then the barbecue control. This will stop any gas from leaking
• Make sure all joints are tightened, safe and secure

While the trend for tower blocks seems to be forever increasing it is important that developers and property owners use risk mitigating considerations during the design phase combined with tenant education.

Source: Zurich

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