Stay Put

In a purpose-built block designed for it, a stay put strategy means that residents whose own flat is not affected by a fire remain where they are. The flat of origin evacuates; everyone else stays put unless told otherwise. It is not a compromise or a lesser option — in a building that supports it, moving everyone through a single stair while the fire service is arriving is the more dangerous course.

What the strategy depends on

Stay put rests entirely on the building performing as designed: compartmentation between flats and to common parts intact, flat entrance doors rated and self-closing, and common escape routes protected. Remove any of those and the assumption underneath the strategy stops being true.

Why defects are so consequential

A compartmentation breach in a building with a simultaneous evacuation strategy is a serious defect. The same breach in a stay put building undermines the instruction being given to every resident, which is a materially different order of problem — and it is why compartmentation surveys matter more, not less, in blocks operating stay put.

Reviewing the strategy

A building's strategy should be stated, communicated to residents in terms they can act on, and reviewed whenever the fire risk assessment identifies defects that bear on it. Where the building can no longer support stay put, interim measures may be needed until it can — a decision for the responsible person on competent advice, not one to be reached informally.