Fire Safety
Keeping you safe in your home
Winchester City Council is committed to protecting residents from fire hazards. Our homes and communal buildings are regularly inspected, maintained, and managed to minimise fire risks.
Fire safety equipment, such as smoke alarms, fire doors, and emergency lighting, is designed to keep you safe. Like all safety systems, they can pose a risk if damaged, tampered with, or not properly maintained.
We are responsible for making sure fire safety systems and buildings are safe, well-maintained, and compliant with legal requirements.
On this page
— How to contact us about fire safety concerns
— What we do to keep you safe
— How we respond to fire safety issues
— How you can help keep yourself and others safe
— What to expect during fire safety inspections and maintenance
— What to do if you are not satisfied with our response
— Working together to stay safe
How to contact us about fire safety concerns
If you are worried about a fire risk, equipment fault, or hazard in your home or building, please tell us straight away. Even minor concerns can indicate developing risks, and we take all reports seriously.
Repairs and general enquiries: 01962 840 222
Use this number for issues such as:
- Smoke alarms beeping or not working properly
- Damaged or wedged fire doors
- Faulty emergency lighting or signage
- Minor fire safety concerns in communal areas
Emergency repairs (24 hours): 01962 865 405
Use this number for urgent issues including:
- Fire alarms sounding continuously without cause
- Blocked or unsafe escape routes
- Damaged fire doors that cannot close properly
- Visible smoke, fire, or unusual burning smells
Email (non-urgent concerns): hhub@winchester.gov.uk
For general queries or minor issues, such as inspection schedules, advice about alarms, or questions about communal fire safety.
Accessible information
If you need information in another language, large print, audio, or Easy Read, please let us know.
What we do to keep you safe
To ensure your home and building are safe, we carry out:
- Regular fire risk assessments in all communal and high-risk areas
- Inspection and maintenance of fire doors, alarms, emergency lighting, and signage
- Testing and servicing of smoke alarms and heat detector
- Monitoring and managing escape routes, corridors, and stairwell
- Quick response to reported hazards, including follow-up repair
- Use of only trained qualified contractors for fire safety work
- Keeping full records of inspections, maintenance, and follow-up actions
- Communicating clearly about scheduled maintenance, temporary shutdowns, and any issues that affect safety.
Occasionally, parts of a building may need to be temporarily closed or restricted if continuing use would be unsafe. We will explain the reason and expected timeframe in all cases.
How we respond to fire safety issues
Minor hazards: assessed promptly and scheduled for maintenance or repair.
Urgent hazards: responded to immediately, including alarms, blocked exits, or damaged fire doors.
High-risk situations: emergency services will be contacted if needed.
Before carrying out significant work, we:
- Review previous inspection and maintenance records
- Conduct a safety check before restarting systems
- Arrange follow-up inspections if required
- Ensure all contractors follow strict safety procedures.
How you can help keep yourself and others safe
You can help keep your home safe by:
- Reporting any faults or damage immediately
- Keeping escape routes, stairways, and corridors clear
- Allowing engineers access for inspection and maintenance
- Not tampering with smoke alarms, fire doors, extinguishers, or emergency lighting
- Informing us if you plan building works near escape routes or fire equipment.
Repeated refusal of access may pose safety risks. We will always try to arrange suitable appointments, particularly for vulnerable residents, but legal action may be required where access is repeatedly refused.
What to expect during fire safety inspections and maintenance
High Risk – Immediate or urgent action on site
If a high-risk fire hazard is found, the assessor will:
- Take immediate steps to reduce the risk (e.g., removing items from escape routes)
- Report the issue to the Council’s Fire Safety team straight away
- Explain the risk clearly to residents where appropriate
- Ensure urgent remedial works are raised and monitored
- High-risk hazards always receive the fastest response.
Medium Risk – Action within a reasonable timescale
For medium-risk issues, assessors will:
- Explain the problem and what is required to fix it
- Record the hazard and set a clear timescale for repairs
- Monitor the area until the work is completed
- Repairs are scheduled as a priority, although not usually emergency works.
C3 – Improvement recommended
A C3 means the installation is safe, but could be improved to meet current standards or best practice.
Examples: older wiring that still works safely, outdated fittings that do not meet modern guidance.
What happens:
- No immediate repair is required
- We may include the improvement in future planned works or upgrades.
Low Risk – Improvements or monitoring
Low-risk findings usually mean an area is safe but could be improved. The assessor will:
- Record the issue and explain it if you are affected
- Include the improvement in planned maintenance
- Monitor the issue during future assessments
- These items rarely require immediate action.
Training and competence
Our Building Safety Team is trained in fire safety management, compliance monitoring, and contractor oversight.
All fire safety contractors:
- Hold appropriate qualifications and certifications
- Receive regular refresher training
- Are checked annually for competence, insurance, and safety performance.
Keeping you informed
We communicate clearly about fire safety by:
- Providing notices in communal areas about planned work
- Updating residents when fire safety equipment is out of service
- Explaining inspection findings and actions when issues arise
- Offering accessible information for residents who need support.
Monitoring and reporting fire safety
We monitor:
- Inspection and testing schedules
- Outstanding and completed follow-up actions
- Urgent incidents nd RIDDOR reports
- Contractor performance and response times.
Performance is reported to:
- Directorate Management Team (monthly)
- Strategic Director (quarterly)
- TACT Board (quarterly)
- Regulator of Social Housing (annually).
This ensures compliance and continuous improvement in fire safety management.
What to do if you are not satisfied with our response
If you have a fire safety concern, please tell us as soon as possible. We will:
- Listen to your concern
- Assess the risk
- Take action to make the system safe
- Keep you updated on what we are doing.
If you feel we have not handled your concern properly:
- Make a formal complaint using our Complaints Process
- If still unresolved, contact the Housing Ombudsman Service for an independent review.
We follow the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
Working together to stay safe
Fire safety works best when:
- Residents report hazards early
- Access is allowed for inspections and repairs
- Safety guidance is followed.
By working together, we can keep you, your home, and your community safe.