Fire safety on our properties

At McCarthy Stone, the safety of all our 20,000 homeowners is our utmost priority.  As the developer, landlord and managing agent of all the developments that we have opened since 2010, we are uniquely placed to ensure the right measures are undertaken towards fire safety. 

We are committed to taking full responsibility for the robust maintenance of all the developments that we manage and ensure the necessary actions are taken to protect our developments. They include the following: 

• All our properties are subject to a regular Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) and these assessments are carried out by our in-house team who are accredited through the British Approvals for Fire Equipment (BAFE). 
• We conduct on-site management checks to a set frequency, for example, our fire alarms are tested weekly and other aspects are checked either monthly or quarterly.
• All our apartments are built with fire compartmentation that is designed to resist the passage of fire between the walls and doors until the fire services arrive. In addition, the communal corridors and escape routes are equipped with smoke ventilation systems to improve conditions for means of escape and fire-fighting by limiting obstructions and toxicity in the common escape path. 
• We have a Primary Authority Partnership with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue who audit a number of our developments to ensure compliance with fire safety legislation. This is in addition to the NHBC who have to check all our developments as part of their approved building inspection duties for consistency and compliance with building regulations at the time of construction.
• The vast majority of our developments are around three or four storeys high, and built using brick and render, and not cladding. Where audits have shown that additional fire safety measures or remediation is appropriate for any of these schemes, we have taken swift action and are funding all of these costs.