Fire safety in multi-occupied buildings: residents research

This report presents the findings from research into residents behaviours in buildings covered by the Welsh Government’s Building Safety reform programme. The research ran from December 2022 to March 2024. An online survey of 1,562 residents of multi-occupied buildings in Wales was conducted, followed by 24 qualitative in-depth interviews, with residents selected from the survey respondents. Segmentation analysis was used to classify residents into groups, based on their attitudes and behaviours.

The research found that residents were more likely to engage in negative fire safety behaviours in their home, than in communal spaces. This included behaviours such as heating their home with a free-standing heater or using more than one extension lead in the same plug socket.

When looking at fire detection, 92% of residents reported having a smoke detector/alarm in their home, but 23% reported having never personally tested it.

Those residents who said they had a good relationship with their landlord or building manager, felt they were visible and easy to contact. This compares to those who reported a poor relationship, and spoke of insufficient fire safety equipment, poor rationale for fire safety related restrictions, and a lack of responsiveness.

Residents tended to want to see very generalised messages on posters but receive specific information or instructions by direct communication via their preferred channel. In terms of trusted communication, residents felt they were most likely to act on communication from the Fire and Rescue Service.

The study points to the differing strategies required to raise engagement in fire safety according to the type of resident and particularly their underlying motivation to take personal responsibility. The segmentation analysis highlights the fundamental step, before advising on positive fire safety behaviours, of persuading a sizeable minority of residents that they have a role to play at all.