On 05/07/2019 12:26, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
was thinking very hard :
As part of the re-furb we're starting to think about how to escape a
fire if the staircase is impassable. We plan to stay here until age
and decrepitude means we have to move, so the system needs to be
usable by a wide age range. There seem to be escape ladders or rope
descenders (is there anything else, apart from greasy poles?) but I
can't imagine using a rope ladder when old, and a rope descender
either needs a return mechanism or a descender and harness for each
person.

A self closing fire door or doors, on bedrooms, seem the only sensible
answer, combined with a linked fire alarm system. Then await the fire
brigades arrival for rescue.

I have double plaster boarded ceilings to ground floor, linked fire
alarms and one (unused) bedroom at the rear with a fire door.

It's the door at the bottom of the stairs that needs to be a fire
door, and closed when you go to bed, so you have a safe exit route
down to your front door.

If that is not possible then the kitchen needs to be a fire
compartment in its own right so it can be isolated easily.

And don't forget fire and smoke hoods on downlighters else
your double-layer ceilings are pointless.