Protecting your rental property or HMO

With many local authorities insisting that HMOs of three storeys or more have a fire extinguisher on each floor, it makes sense to provide ones which are easy to use but unobtrusive. One of the disadvantages of traditional fire extinguishers is that they can end up being used as door stops – rendering your expensive and carefully fitted fire doors useless! As a landlord you should know that traditional extinguishers (pressure based) must be serviced every single year – if they are not, there is a high likelihood that they will not work when needed most. (Plus there is a finite life to fire extinguishers). Some councils may even insist on them being serviced twice yearly – a considerable ongoing cost to a landlord.

And fit a self-actuating fire suppression device to the fuse box as extra fire security.

Rental properties, especially HMOs present a higher risk than your own home as the tenants may not pay particular attention to safety as they deem it ‘not their responsibility’. Also there may be more devices than usual if each tenant has their own laptop, phone and TV for example, causing overloaded sockets which can be a source of ignition. 

As a responsible landlord you will have carried out a Fire Risk Assessment* and you will have installed fire doors (including the correct fire door hinges and smoke strips) and mains wired smoke detectors, and a self-actuating fire suppression device. You will also have assessed obstructions likely to prevent a safe exit in the event of a fire and addressed any other  fire risks. Installing our Fire Safety Sticks can be part of your fire safety strategy.

*For further guidance contact your local authority.

And of course unlike those traditional extinguishers, Fire Safety Stick needs no servicing or maintenance – so no need to remember to book (and pay for!) its annual – or biannual – service. Plus the Fire Safety Stick has a proven shelf life of at least 15 years (we believe it will last even longer!)

Compared to the purchase price of say £50 for two types of conventional extinguishers, plus annual maintenance costs of £50 (assuming a service cost of £25 plus VAT each, although it’s hard to find quotes on-line), that's £100 at the end of year one, plus £50 each year going forward. So over five years that’s £300 plus VAT – without the cost of replacement parts, just for two – and double if it’s biannual! If you have three floors then ... well you do the maths! Compare that to the cost of the Fire Safety Stick with all its other benefits. 

Have you seen the mess an extinguisher causes? If there is a small fire in the kitchen for example, yes a traditional extinguisher may put the fire out but it will leave such mess and residue that the work tops, other nearby appliances and decoration will be ruined. With the Fire Safety Stick though there is no residue and no further damage – avoiding loss of rental income, insurance claims, redecoration and all the inconvenience that entails.

If a self-actuating fire suppression device activates it's quite likely the first thing anyone knows about it is by an appliance or lights not working. This means the device has done its job in seconds and prevented a fire whilst occupants have carried on unaware anything was wrong. The aerosol emitted from the device will have dissipated and no residue will be left. An inspection will see some fire damage and repairs will be need. But behind the scenes a fire has been extinguished.