Information on fire safety

The University of Birmingham is currently carrying out checks on the small number of high rise buildings on campus and residential accommodation buildings. While the checks are ongoing, to date we have not identified any flammable cladding in those buildings or in campus-based residential accommodation buildings.

As a university, we have a crucial job in safeguarding our students. We provide accommodation to many thousands of students every year, and we work hard to ensure it is not only a pleasant environment that is conducive to study, but also a safe one. All of our residential buildings when constructed complied fully with the  building regulations at that time. We have a team of highly skilled Health & Safety, Maintenance and Engineering officers who ensure that we are both well informed and able to respond positively to changes in guidance .

Chamberlain Tower, which opened in September 2015, is our only high rise student accommodation facility and we are proud that it has been constructed to the highest possible standards in terms of safety. It is protected by an automatic sprinkler system which is fully maintained and checked on a regular basis. To promote safe living we issue extensive fire safety guidance to students at the start of the academic year. The flats are fully compartmentalised to reduce spread should there be a fire and each flat has a combination of heat detectors and smoke alarm. Our Security Control Room, to which all alarms are routed,  is manned 24 hours a day, so we are able to respond to any alarm rapidly.

To support our proactive work in this area, we have a Fire Strategy Group which consists of senior members of University staff and senior fire officers from West Midlands Fire & Rescue Services at which we discuss issues around all aspects of fire safety on campus. We will continue to work together with our partners to consistently ensure the safety of all our staff and students.

In addition, we work closely with partner accommodation providers to ensure they meet the same high standards. We have received recent reassurance from them along these lines.

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