Fire Safety for Loft Conversions

When you transform your loft into new living areas, it's crucial to give careful thought to fire safety. This means ensuring a secure escape path from every part of your property. Often, this will require you to improve the fire resistance of your house's existing structure.

Essential Fire Safety Measures for Your Loft Conversion:

• Secure Escape Route: For a typical loft conversion in a two-storey house, you must establish a protected escape route. This involves fitting new doors that resist fire and, in some cases, installing fire-rated partitions to safeguard the stairway. This is vital because escaping through windows from any floor above the first level poses too great a risk.

• Smoke Alarms: You need to install smoke alarms that are powered by your home's mains electricity supply, not just batteries. These devices must also be 'interlinked,' meaning if one detects smoke, all alarms throughout your home will sound simultaneously. Ensure you place these alarms within the stairway area on every floor of your residence.

• Structural Fire Resistance: You might also find it necessary to enhance the fire protection of specific structural components within your house. For instance, you may need to upgrade the fire resistance of existing floors.