Tenants wedged open internal fire doors

Douglas Borough Council is urging its flat tenants not to interfere with fire doors.

The warning follows a blaze in Lord Street flats in the early hours of Wednesday, which left one home severely damaged and its tenants detained in hospital with smoke inhalation.

Fire inspectors later found that in more than half the properties, tenants had wedged open internal fire doors or disabled the closing mechanisms.

The 'closers' prevent fires spreading and exemption for disabled tenants can only be granted by the Fire and Rescue Service.

Chairman of the Public Health and Housing Committee Carol Malarkey says tenants must take some responsibility for their own safety: