Fire safety advice on Students Union, West London University, London

I was asked at very short notice to visit the Students Union block of the university to inspect and report on fire safety issues in the 3-storey North Block commonly known as the Students Union building. This followed an incident when the temporary generator power supply failed earlier in the week and parts of the block were plunged into darkness as the emergency lighting apparently did not operate. I visited the site, inspected the building and paperwork with the Estates Director and later in the day briefly met the University Deputy Chancellor and the University Secretary to summarize my tentative findings. I prepared a report of my findings which recommended that a fire safety strategy report be prepared along with a fire safety manual and that fire doors needed upgrading and that maintenance and associated tests should be carried out (if not already done) in accordance with the codes, notably BS5839 and BS 5266.

Client: West London University