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Fire risk assessment

Introduction

This is a fire risk assessment for the Môr Wyn Guest House.  It gives an introduction to the building and how its fire risks have been managed.  It gives information on current fire risks and how they are being managed and on future plans.


History

The property was built in 1889.  It is a five storey Victorian end of terrace building.  It has 7 en-suite guest bedrooms.  On the ground floor there is a utility room, kitchen, private lounge and dining room.  The privatebasement has a storeroom, bathroom, 3 bedrooms.  It was converted to a hotel in 1978.  At that time fire doors and a fire alarm system was installed to conform with the fire regulations.  It was run as a hotel until 2006 and had regular visits from the fire officer to ensure it conformed with fire regulations.  In 2007 it was converted to a Guest House.

A very old range was replaced in 2006 and new efficient gas boilers were installed to replace the existing 30 year old boiler.


Alarm system    

A C-TEC fire alarm system was installed in 2013.  It has smoke detectors with beacon and sounder in all bedrooms, the dining room and the lounge.  It has smoke detectors in all halls and lofts.  It has heat detectors in the kitchen and utility room.  The alarm system is checked weekly and has a battery backup.  The battery was replaced in 2019.   There are call points as follows, basement, outside ground floor toilet, first floor landing, second floor landing, outside room 5 on the second floor, first floor landing outside room 2.

The fire alarm system, extinguishers, fire alarm blanket, and secondary lighting system are inspected by a professional company annually.

Escape routes


Doors

There are doors to the house at the front and back.  There are fire doors at the end of the extension on the landings by rooms 2 and 5, the first and second floors.   These lead down a metal spiral staircase to the rear yard.

Stairs


Guests in rooms 7 and 6 (on the top floor) have to descend 2 and a half flights of stairs to reach an exit door.  People in the basement have to climb a single flight of stairs to reach an exit door.  Guests in rooms 8, 1, 3 and 4 have to descend and ascend a few stairs to reach an exit door.  Guests in rooms 2 are a few yards away from the fire doors at the back of the property.

Windows

All rooms have windows.

Rooms 8, 3 and 6 (all front facing) and the dining room have double glazed windows installed in 2005.  They conformed to the regulations existing at that time.  All have wide opening lower panes.  These are protected, from being opened too far with child locks.

Rooms 1, 4 and 7 had new double glazed windows installed in 2007.  They are tilt and turn so that the lower pane can be opened fully to allow exit.

Rooms 2 had new windows in 2013.  Room 2 has a standard opening window.  The bathrooms associated with these rooms have tilt and turn windows.

The basement has windows in the two bedrooms and the office.  The windows open inwards and are large enough to climb through into a recess.  A heavy metal grate covers the recess.  For the front bedroom the grate can be pushed up to allow exit.  The grate for the second bedroom is on the pavement and has been tarmaced closed by the council.  The grate for the lounge is covered by corrugated plastic, which can be broken to allow exit.

Signage

Each landing has a sign indicating the nearest fire exit.  No smoking signs are on the front door and the door leading to the guest bedrooms.  No smoking “tent” signs are placed in the bedrooms.

Fire fighting equipment

The kitchen is equipped with a fire blanket and an extinguisher.

There are water extinguishers on the ground floor, basement, first floor, second floor and third floor.

Doors

All doors are fitted with self closing mechanisms that are adjusted regularly.  The original doors appear to have been retrofitted with a fire retardant barrier when the building was converted to a hotel in 1979.  All other internal doors appear to be fire resistant doors.

The door to the airing cupboard is fitted with a sign which reads “fire door, keep locked”.

The rear fire exit doors were replaced around 2010 as the previous ones were quite stiff to open.

Employees

The guest house normally has one cleaner.  Both partners in the partnership that run the guest house are able to test the fire alarm and emergency lights.  Both partners are aware of the evacuation routes.  Employees, are trained in fire procedures.

Lighting

Guests are responsible for controlling the lighting in their own rooms.  Each room has a main light and a bedside light as a minimum.  Some room have additional table lamps.  All landings have either low energy night sensor lamps or movement detection modules which operate the lamps.  The night sensor lamps switch on automatically when the light level is deemed too low, giving ample light even on dark days for guests to see where they are going.  Emergency lights, fitted in all landings, trigger when the main electricity supply is cut.  The batteries keep the lamp illuminated for 3 hours.  These are tested monthly and the results recorded in a book.

Risks

The following lists fire risks and how they are managed: -

  • Smoking

We do not allow smoking in the building.  An ashtray is provided on the table next to the outside benches to encourage smokers to use the outside facilities.

  • Electrical faults

RCD protected consumer units were installed on all floors in 2007.  To prevent electrical overload in the kitchen and utility room area, the rooms have been put on separate phases to spread the load.

Gas

The boilers were installed in 2006.

The boilers are serviced annually.

Ignition and combustible sources

We do not store a great amount of dangerous or flammable chemicals.  The amount of cleaning chemicals stored is little more than a large house.  These are kept on high shelves in the utility room or in the pantry away from the food.  Paints and varnishes are kept in a cupboard in the basement or in an outside shed.  Out of date paints are cleared out annually.

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