Campbell Jones competing in the 1963 Grand Prix
When Personal Security Compromises Public Safety
A housing development in central London has this week had its security doors removed as a consequence of health and safety concerns raised by the Fire Brigade and local council.
Residents of the block had been concerned about the homeless, strangers and potential criminals obtaining access to their property and so installed security doors in the lobby. To anybody this is obviously a wise decision provided that the doors met or exceeded all the requirements for a large building which had numerous residents.
However, the increased sense of security meant that people began to leave property, items such as bikes, prams and pushchairs in the corridors. In fact, so much property was left that the local council deemed it to be a health hazard as it would likely cause an obstruction in the event of an emergency. The council wrote to the residents, yet because of the intransigence of some of the householders, the council was forced into the position where they had to remove the secure doors, meaning that it was no longer possible to leave the obstructions in the passageways.
Safety Compromised by Obstructions
John Campbell Jones, a former F1 driver and resident of the building said: “They spent a lot of money putting all these doors on, which do make people much more secure, and then someone leaves a few things outside and, instead of someone knocking on the doors and telling us, they take the bloody doors off again.”
Residents who did comply with the notice to move their property to a location where it would cause no obstruction were told that it was too late, and because others hadn’t complied, it was now the council’s only option to remove the doors.
The council’s housing chief, Pat Callaghan, said “Items that are stored in lobbies are a fire risk and can physically obstruct and restrict the means of escape from a building, greatly increasing the risk to residents if required to evacuate during a fire.”
Ms Callaghan went on to point out that her council’s Community Safety Team had visited and other security measures had been taken.
Security and Safety
Fitting security doors, fire doors and security shutters will all have not only an appreciable effect on the physical security of your home or business, the psychological effects are marked too. Simply installing solid looking doors and shutters reduces crime and attempted criminal activity. However, no matter how secure you feel, you always need to be aware of this affecting your behaviour. Fire doors need to be kept clear and easy to open from the inside at all times. Internal fire doors in corridors should be kept closed (but unlocked) to prevent the spread of fire and smoke. If internal fire doors are routinely kept open they should be fitted with a door retainer that releases the door automatically if there is a fire and clearly marked that they will close automatically in an emergency.
After a number of recent fires at locations such as nightclubs in the UK, France and US, it’s timely to remind people that no matter what kind of premises you are securing, emergency exits should be clearly marked, kept clear at all times and any staff who work on the premises should know the evacuation procedure.
