Fire safety measures risk leaving some trapped in their own homes

Fire safety measures in housing, while designed to protect inhabitants, are leaving older and disabled people trapped in their own homes, according to housing experts. 

Fire safety is happening at the expense of accessibility, with heavy, self-closing fire doors creating daily barriers and sometimes injuries for people with mobility issues, according to a report from the University of Stirling. 

This Bonfire Night, the experts behind the report warn that regulations around fire safety and housing are complex and sometimes conflicting. They call for an overhaul in the system and argue that residents’ voices should be at the heart of that. 

Providing inaccessible fire doors are a clear example of disabling by design, says the report, with older and disabled people, who might have reduced strength, mobility issues or mobility aids, struggling to open self-closing doors. 

Practically challenging

While technical adaptations such as automatic door openers exist, the report highlights that these are often expensive, difficult to fund, and practically challenging to deliver without compromising fire safety certification. Some residents then reject these adaptations altogether, preferring to wedge doors open rather than being trapped, despite the fire risk. 

The report draws on interviews with 12 housing and health practitioners across Scotland, and is informed by data gathered from over 140 community peer-researchers who are older and/or disabled from across the UK. It is part of a wider programme of work examining the stigma attached to age, disability and where people live called the Intersectional Stigma of Place-Based Ageing (ISPA) project 

The report, a collaboration with the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (Housing LIN), says better training and education is needed across housing, health and design professionals, including awareness of the Equality Act 2010.