Fire safety in your home
You should feel safe in your home. We produce or promote a range of information to make you aware of fire risks and fire safety, including:
- the government's 'Fire Kills' Campaign
- information on smoke alarms and how to prevent common fires - 'Fire safety in the home'
- the government's Fire safety tips for people when celebrating
- how to book a 'Safe and well' visit from the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service - you can also contact your local housing team to do this
Fire safety in high-rise buildings
Stay Safe, Stay Put
All our high-rise residential buildings are designed and built to ensure that a fire is contained to the flat where it starts and should not spread to other flats very quickly. This provides time for the fire service to deal effectively with all incidents.
You should familiarise yourself with the fire evacuation plan for your block of flats displayed on each floor.
If there is a fire in your flat, you should:
- alert all occupants and leave the building
- close doors behind you
- phone 999
If there is a fire elsewhere in the building, it is usually safer to stay inside your flat unless you are affected by heat or smoke.
Always follow the advice of the fire service in an emergency.
Disposing of waste safely and keeping corridors, lobby areas and stairwells free of dumped waste, rubbish and discarded furniture can also help to reduce the risk of fire in high-rise residential buildings.
'Ring' doorbells
Do not fit a 'Ring' doorbell to a fire door, or any item or device that requires holes to be made in the fire door. You will be responsible for the cost of removing, replacing and re-certifying the door if you do this.
To find out more about fire safety in your home:
- follow the 'Fire safety in flats advice' - for an accessible version, phone 0121 303 4036 or email bcc.callcentre.support@birmingham.gov.uk
- contact your local housing team
Page last updated: 29 August 2023
