Q) What should I do if the fire alarm sounds in the building? Q) What do I do if I discover a fire?

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1 ITEM 7(a)(i) Information from Milton Keynes Council and Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service Dear resident You may have questions regarding fire safety at Stephenson House, especially in light of local media reports this week (w/c 26 June). We hope you find the following information helpful. Q) Is Stephenson House safe? A) We have no reason to believe it s unsafe. In Milton Keynes, common areas of blocks of flats come under fire safety legislation enforced by the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority, who regularly undertake audits and issue letters and notices to improve fire safety for residents. Q) Is there anything I should do differently? A) Everyone should respect the fire precautions within the building. At Stephenson House there have been instances of essential fire doors and fire exits being vandalised, sofas being brought into the escape staircase and combustible rubbish being discarded in escape routes. Clearly this is a minority but fire and security in the building is crucial for residents safety and everyone must remain vigilant. Q) What about the outstanding enforcement notice from the fire service, served last year? A) Work is currently taking place on the building to meet the satisfaction of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service. Most of the required works have been completed and the notice has been extended to 28 July 2017 to allow more time to finish difficult works. The enforcement notice will be lifted when the work is complete. So far as we know, nothing in the notice relates to the tragic events at Grenfell Tower. Q) What about the cladding outside the building? A) Samples of this have been sent off for testing. However, a building s fire safety depends on more than one factor and we have no reason to believe that Stephenson House is currently unsafe. We ll let you know when testing is complete and about new information emerging locally or nationally. Within the last few months, a carelessly disposed cigarette from a flat window started a small fire on the flat roof canopy. The felt and some wooden battens were involved in fire but the cladding was only affected by heat and remained totally undamaged.

2 Q) What should I do if the fire alarm sounds in the building? A) You should follow the safety procedures as normal. If you hear a fire alarm, you should always evacuate the building and call 999. Stephenson House is a converted office block but was built in accordance with building regulations and therefore has good compartmentation between floors and flats. The fire alarm has been redesigned to reduce the number of false alarms and should only sound if there s a real fire. General advice for high-rise buildings can be found at Q) What do I do if I discover a fire? A) If you discover a fire in your flat, ensure that you and everyone else leave the flat immediately. The flat door, which is a fire door, should close behind you by means of a self-closing device. Smoke vents in the corridor may activate and exhaust smoke from the immediate vicinity. Don t use the lift but escape down the stairs to fresh air. Call 999 as soon as possible. Q) I m still concerned what do I do? Is there anyone I can talk to? A) The Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service enforcing team are on (Mon-Fri ). Please ask to speak with an Inspecting Officer. We also offer a Home Fire Risk Check, in which case ask for a Prevention Officer.

3 ITEM 7(a)(ii) Position Statement from the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority on Fire Safety at Stephenson House Background: - Since 2006, common areas of blocks of flats have come under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (fire safety legislation). In Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, this law is enforced by the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority. We have regularly undertaken audits and issued letters and notices to improve fire safety for residents. Stephenson House has been known to the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service (BMKFRS) for many years and has been subject to regular fire safety inspections and crew familiarisation visits to support public and firefighter safety. - BMKFRS issued an Enforcement Notice to the responsible person for Stephenson House in The Notice was extended to 28 July 2017 to allow more time to finish difficult works. So far as we know, nothing in the Notice relates to the tragic events at Grenfell Tower. It is not anticipated that the Notice period will be extended further as the works have been almost completed. - The Enforcement Notice required a reconfiguration of the fire alarm system. This was not because the existing alarm system was unsafe but BMKFRS felt it needed to be made more effective, to ensure residents had confidence in its functionality and fully understood what they had to do in the event of a fire. The works meant the responsible person needed access to all individual flats and so it was agreed to set the Notice timescale for a year, as this was felt reasonable. - The BMKFRS Protection Team based in Milton Keynes has worked closely with the management team responsible for the building; maintaining the fire safety of the premises has not been helped as not all occupants respect the fire precautions present within the building. We have noted many instances of essential fire doors and fire exits being vandalised, sofas being brought into the escape staircase and combustible rubbish being discarded in escape routes. Post-Grenfell Tower fire considerations: - There is external cladding on Stephenson House.

4 - Samples of this have been sent off for testing; however fire safety of the building depends on more than one factor. We have no reason to believe that the building is currently unsafe. We will continue to monitor the situation in light of any new information emerging locally and nationally. Within the last few months, a carelessly disposed cigarette from a flat window started a small fire on the flat roof canopy. The felt and some wooden battens were involved in fire but the cladding was only affected by heat and remained totally undamaged. So far, we have been shown documentation demonstrating the cladding to have a Class 0 Surface Spread of Flame. It is important that the cladding system as a whole is tested and the management team has assured BFRS that this is underway. We are expecting an answer within 2 weeks. - Although the BMKFRS role is to enforce compliance with fire safety legislation, we understand that there is an expectation that we will give advice and assurance to the public, without stepping on the toes of the responsible person. Therefore we have worked with the management team and the Milton Keynes Council communications team to agree a letter which was sent to all residents at Stephenson House. - The Milton Keynes Protection Team placed posters in the lobby areas of all high-rise residential premises within MK, including Stephenson House, offering to speak to concerned residents via a single telephone number.

5 ITEM 7(a)(iii) Issued by Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service June 2017 Advice for people living in high-rise accommodation: Make an escape plan so that you and your family are fully prepared if there is a fire in your flat. Tell everyone in your home what the escape plan is, and where the door key is. Practise what you would do if you had a real fire. Make sure exits are kept clear of obstructions, and doors to stairways are not damaged or faulty. If it is too dangerous to follow your escape route because the stairs and hallways are filled with smoke, ring 999 and stay inside the safest room. Keep the door closed and use towels or bedding at the bottom of the door to block the smoke. If you're trapped, go to the balcony - but don t think about jumping. Wait for the fire and rescue service. Use the stairs, not the lift, when leaving the building in the event of a fire. If there s a fire in another flat in the building, you re usually safest in your own home, unless you re affected by the heat or smoke. In the event of a fire, never assume that someone else has called 999. Make sure your neighbours know about the fire. Bang on their doors on your way out. Never tamper with internal fire mains (dry riser) inlets on landings. These provide water to firefighters when there s an emergency. It could cost lives if they re not working properly when there s a fire. If you see a dry riser vandalised or damaged, report it immediately to the manager of the building. Never use or store bottled gas cylinders in high-rise flats. Never park so you block access to high-rise flats. Access roads are designed so that fire engines can get as close as possible to fight fires. Please don't start cooking if you are very tired or have consumed a lot of alcohol. If you smoke, make sure you put your cigarettes out properly, and don t smoke in bed.