Fire safety measures
The College is staffed 24/7 with a Duty Manager who acts as the incident controller, responsible for fire management.
Building safety and system checks are performed daily by the Reception team. (There is also an annual building fire risk assessment by an independent expert.)
The College fire alarms are tested weekly each Friday - at 10:30am in Willie G and 11am in London House
The College operates an L1 fire detection system, covering all rooms, spaces and voids. The system allows for investigation for single activations in Member rooms, before triggering a full alarm.
Our fire strategy is based on the effective compartmentation of buildings to reduce the spread of fire and allow safe escape. Fire resistant doors help contain fires for a limited time, for example office, bedroom and cross corridor doors. There are also fire suppression measures for key areas, such as kitchens.
To keep everyone safe DO NOT obstruct fire doors, close the doors during an emergency and if you see any defects with the doors, report this to the Facilities team.
When to evacuate
If you hear an alarm that sounds and then goes off you do not need to evacuate until you hear a continuous alarm.
On hearing a continuous fire alarm for 20 seconds, you must leave the building immediately and proceed to the designated fire assembly point, Mecklenburgh Square Garden, London WC1N 2AD. Staff at exit points will point you to the right direction.
When you hear an alarm that goes off it means that a fire head has been activated because of smoke or heat. Staff will go quickly to investigate the source of this activation and will decide to evacuate if necessary. This is not a false alarm – something has happened, probably someone cooking in a flat who has burned something, which has caused smoke or heat. This has the potential within seconds to catch on fire and so it is not a false alarm.
Discovering a fire
If you discover or accidentally start a fire you should find a fire call point which is a red box on the wall in the corridor. Press it in the middle to activate the alarm. If you cannot locate this quickly then contact the reception desk (0207 837 8888) and inform them clearly where the fire is.
There are fire heads in every part of the building and they will also detect smoke and heat and they will also alert reception that there is risk of a fire. These fire heads indicate the location. Staff will dial 999 and call the fire brigade.
Fire equipment
Fire extinguishing equipment has been provided throughout the College, do not interfere with pins, tags or maliciously set off fire extinguishers. These extinguishers are life safety equipment and are used in the event of a fire. In flats you have a fire blanket near your cooker. Always alert reception of a fire before attempting to put it out. Do not attempt to use fire equipment unless you are confident that you know what you are doing.
The College takes fire safety very seriously and we ask you to assist us to keep everyone safe. You must not interfere with any part of the fire alarm system. Never cover a fire detector, they are there for your protection and that of other building occupants.