[Tim Richardson]

True the risk is from fine spray but all outlets should be flushed at least fortnightly otherwise dead legs become present in which legionella bacteria can proliferate – if this then spreads throughout the system it can colonise other outlets such as spray taps, hosepipes and showers. Flushing fortnightly is a control strategy to prevent legionella from breeding in the first place.

Daily flushing would be better true and if this can be achieved then great, the British Standard and HSE look for a reasonable balance though and fortnightly is considered reasonable. Slightly perversely the worst time for legionella in hoses in is winter because, in some cases, an outside tap won’t be used from September until April.

Absolutely residents should be responsible, otherwise the burden of flushing all the taps becomes ridiculous. In my opinion (from a legionella perspective) almshouses are the same as Council property where tenants are responsible, no one would consider it reasonable for the Council to visit every house weekly and flush everyones taps. On the other hand I’ve seen a few almshouses where residents can no longer access the first floor – in those cases I recommend that the charity or carers flush the upstairs outlets fortnightly to avoid potential infection.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by Tim Richardson.

[Tim Richardson]

Nick is spot on, more charities are doing this though and from personal experience I have seen an almshouse resident die from smoke inhalation after a fire was caused by her television catching fire. The charity did not PAT test resident’s own items, perhaps if it had she would still be alive.

[Tim Richardson]

Extinguishers within individual flats are not really a good idea – they need to be regularly serviced and the guidance (which is not for individual dwellings) suggests people should be trained to use them.

Fire blankets, on the other hand, are service free and more often provided as training is not required.

Neither is mandatory however and an immediate evacuation is the best policy.

Tim Richardson – Panel consultant and Nationally Registered Fire Risk Assessor.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by Tim Richardson.

[Tim Richardson]

If the water is regularly turned over – say fortnightly then there’s no reason to flush the tap itself.

Tim Richardson AWMSoc CertWMSoc- Panel consultant and Accredited and Certified Legionella Risk Assessor

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by Tim Richardson.

[Tim Richardson]

This is very interesting, when the NFCC guidance first came out I attended a training course set up by the Institution of Fire Engineers, there were multiple Fire Service officers present and it was clear that there was far from a consistent approach, some seemed to think every form of housing for older people ought to be treated the same was as a nursing home. Many Fire Service personnel bracket together general Almshouses with other forms of sheltered and extra care housing and the NFCC guidance doesn’t make the distinction clear.

Evacuate or Stay Put, however, very much depends on the nature of the buildings, their age, the degree of compartmentation, fire alarm arrangements etc. and can’t really be separated from the Fire Risk Assessment.

Tim Richardson

Registered Fire Risk Assessor,
Almshouse Association Panel Consultant

[Tim Richardson]

As it stands the policy statement from August 2024 gave registered providers with under 50 units 4 years to comply. This is not an answer by any means but does mean that you should have until August 2028 to decide what to do – de-register or see if another exemption is forthcoming.

[Tim Richardson]

Yes, the bill is wordy but the requirements for qualified staff are only for “Registered providers”.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by Tim Richardson.

[Tim Richardson]

That’s good then, so the majority of small Almshouses are unaffected and those that are currently Registered Providers should de-register. Simple enough.

[Tim Richardson]

My understanding was that this only applies to “Registered Providers” which the majority of smaller Almshouses are not. Many have also de-registered over the years too. If this applied to every Almshouse I guess it would finish off the majority of them.

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