Tenants have to remove mats from the front of their doors!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Margaret Goodwin on February 4, 2010 at 5:03pm

It is unreasonable.
When I came to Hanover 2 years ago I was told that I could not have artificial flowers outside my flat as - in the event of a fire - they would give off toxic fumes. I said dried flowers were more my style and was told that they would be fine. In last year's assessment I was told to get rid of them as they present a fire hazzard! Needless to say they remain.

Just leave your doormat David.......superglue it to the floor then tell them if they don't like it they can move it. Dammit, this pettyness drives me crazy.......doesn't anyone have a sense of proportion any more?

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Permalink Reply by Margaret Goodwin on February 4, 2010 at 5:17pm

.......and another thing: our flat entrance doors may be fire proof but it's mostly smoke that kills and there are huge gaps under and around the doors (to make sure we suffocate mercifully quickly perhaps?). We are advised to stay in our flats (on our site) but my first instinct would be to 'leg it' rather than sit, waiting to be rescued, with smoke pouring under the door and windows that only open wide enough for a cat.

Health & Safety? What a joke.

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Permalink Reply by david alan moore on February 4, 2010 at 10:01pm

Hi Margaret, i think health and safty have gone mad, last year we had our front doors fitted with stainles
steel hinges, and sealant material around the door frames, also a stainless steel letter box with magnetic
fittings to keep the letter box closed, so smoke cannot get in, also they fitted a door spring, so when you
entered the flat the door slamed closed,i did ask the workmen why they were fitting new letter boxs and
they told me the old metal letter boxes could melt in a fire, my reactions to this was it would have to be an
inferno for this to happen, the sealant they put around the door frame, is a waste of time, as youm can still
see daylight through the door, so smoke could still get in.
as for the door springs, a lot of the resident have dismantled the arm, as they found it difficuld to push the
door open, i did complain about this work, but as usual got no satisfaction repy from Hanover.
to me and most of the residents this was a complete waste of money.
David Moore.

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Permalink Reply by Ivy Durn on February 5, 2010 at 9:36am

Hi Margaret,

This sounds about right....very familiar....I have complained about the gap under my front door on more than one occassion to no avail.....if a fire did break out in our block we would definitely perish from the smoke so we (my husband and myself) invested in 3 fire retardent doors within the flat (several hundred pounds) so that we could at least shut ourselves in the bedroom and hope for rescue.

I can understand the necessity for the firemen not to have old folk getting under their feet by wandering around during a fire but it seems mad to me to have to shut yourselves inside....



Margaret Goodwin said:

.......and another thing: our flat entrance doors may be fire proof but it's mostly smoke that kills and there are huge gaps under and around the doors (to make sure we suffocate mercifully quickly perhaps?). We are advised to stay in our flats (on our site) but my first instinct would be to 'leg it' rather than sit, waiting to be rescued, with smoke pouring under the door and windows that only open wide enough for a cat.

Health & Safety? What a joke.

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Permalink Reply by eric tranter on February 5, 2010 at 11:09am

I wonder what will happen if the stairs and corridors become wet,muddy and slippery because there are no mats to wipe your feet,would this then be a 'slip rather than a trip hazard'

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Permalink Reply by Cowboy on February 5, 2010 at 4:00pm

Honestly I do try not to be controversial but I think the comments are very one sided. Health and Safety seem to see things in either black or white. We all know there is a grey area where common sense takes over. My flat doorway is in a recess so in case of emergency no one would have to pass over my doormat. However in the main corridor there are doormats outside flats and I've often thought that in an emergency they could be a hazard. To answer Eric T - at our main entrance we have a large area built into the floor to wipe your feet. If people don't use that then regardless of having a doormat one would still get mud on the carpet in the main corridors.
Like David M we had heavy return springs fitted - ideal for the young and strong - but it is in my opinion too strong for a number of older people...Those letterbox flaps are a pain in the rear end because the inner flap has a lip at the bottom which hinders mail so often I have deliveries hanging out of the front of the letter box which defeats the object.
If Health and Safety really wanted to do something positive then there should be a reasonable exit via at least one window in each room.
Margaret who ever said plastic/artificial flowers are a hazard send the round to me - they would be a friend for life. In the recess outside my front door are about eight containers of plastic flowers - not me at all.
The last comment is for David M - I have a chicken jalfrezi and pllau rice in my steamer !
Eat your heart out man --- Hank.

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Permalink Reply by John E Pallister on February 5, 2010 at 9:52pm

Crickey...whatever next....removing your letter boxes in case you trap your fingers !!

Cheers

John

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Permalink Reply by Cowboy on February 5, 2010 at 11:01pm

Think about it David - could you imagine fire drill with some of the people ??? We have the same notice as other centres. - stay in your flat. --- Hank

david alan moore said:

Hi Cowboy, are you trying to make me jealous, having jalfrezi and pllau rice, all i had
tonight was fish and chips.
As for your comments on mats outside the flats, i agree with you as on entre to the flats
there is a large mat to wipe your feet on, also the letter boxes are a pain in ther backside,
i have a paper delivered daily, and they struggle to get through the letter box, becouse of
the lip at the bottom, it is the same with the post.
I did bring up the subject of the lack of escape from the flats in case of fire in the hallways,
as the windows in the flats do not open enough to escape from, and was told that you had
to stay in your flat to await the firemen to lead you to safety, this is not the way residents
would react, i for one would want to get out as quickly as possible,and not have to wait to
be rescued by firemen, we have had false alarms here and it has taken at leased 15min
for the firemen to get here.
I would be intrested to hear if any HW residents have fire drills on there estates, here at
colindale we do not, so if the was a fire i cant see how they can do a roll call to see if everyone
is accounted for.
David Moore.

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Permalink Reply by John E Pallister on February 6, 2010 at 1:50am

As I live in the top floor flat (4th floor), if there was ever a fire outside my door, it would be a case of tying my lenght of rope to the radiator, opening the window as wide as possible and as soon as any flames entered my flat, it would be, 'rope out of the window and down' if I fell and broke my leg in the proccess, it would be better than being 'frazzled'. Well that's it in theory !!

Cheers

John

david alan moore said:

Hi Cowboy, are you trying to make me jealous, having jalfrezi and pllau rice, all i had
tonight was fish and chips.
As for your comments on mats outside the flats, i agree with you as on entre to the flats
there is a large mat to wipe your feet on, also the letter boxes are a pain in ther backside,
i have a paper delivered daily, and they struggle to get through the letter box, becouse of
the lip at the bottom, it is the same with the post.
I did bring up the subject of the lack of escape from the flats in case of fire in the hallways,
as the windows in the flats do not open enough to escape from, and was told that you had
to stay in your flat to await the firemen to lead you to safety, this is not the way residents
would react, i for one would want to get out as quickly as possible,and not have to wait to
be rescued by firemen, we have had false alarms here and it has taken at leased 15min
for the firemen to get here.
I would be intrested to hear if any HW residents have fire drills on there estates, here at
colindale we do not, so if the was a fire i cant see how they can do a roll call to see if everyone
is accounted for.
David Moore.

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Permalink Reply by brian winchcombe on February 6, 2010 at 2:32pm

Instead of using good sense to do what's good for everyone, they seem to think they are in power to make us do what they want to do.

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Permalink Reply by Cowboy on February 6, 2010 at 2:46pm

Brian it's the same as PC brigade. The ridiculous comments about Christmas offending other religions. What a load of rubbish. The average Muslim, Jew etc., does not get offended, as I don't get annoyed over their religious festivals. The Indian festivals are full of colour as are their weddings and I love them. Maybe it is because I'm not into religion - I don't know but I would have thought a religious person would have embraced others.
Let's not see the Muslim faith as a threat, it is the interpretations of that faith that alarms me as do some interpretations of the Christian religion. --- Hank

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Permalink Reply by Margaret Goodwin on February 6, 2010 at 7:23pm

Hi David - I don't find fault with H&S - in my experience the rules they make are sound, if a little pedantic, at times (but that is the nature of H&S). My complaint is against the dimwits who apply the rules as they think fit and go completely over the top in doing so. People like this should not be put in a position of authority as, it is self evident, they are incapable of exercising good judgement and hide behind 'H&S gone mad' when their lack of ability is exposed. Does anyone take responsibility for anything any more? - Marg

david alan moore said:

Hi Margaret, i think health and safty have gone mad, last year we had our front doors fitted with stainles
steel hinges, and sealant material around the door frames, also a stainless steel letter box with magnetic
fittings to keep the letter box closed, so smoke cannot get in, also they fitted a door spring, so when you
entered the flat the door slamed closed,i did ask the workmen why they were fitting new letter boxs and
they told me the old metal letter boxes could melt in a fire, my reactions to this was it would have to be an
inferno for this to happen, the sealant they put around the door frame, is a waste of time, as youm can still
see daylight through the door, so smoke could still get in.
as for the door springs, a lot of the resident have dismantled the arm, as they found it difficuld to push the
door open, i did complain about this work, but as usual got no satisfaction repy from Hanover.
to me and most of the residents this was a complete waste of money.
David Moore.

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