TENANTS living in the Lord Street flats in Douglas have been urged not to wedge open or tamper with fire doors following a fire earlier this week.
Douglas Borough Council has issued the warning after four people were taken to hospital following a fire in flat 55 of the Murray's House block at around 11pm on Tuesday.
Following the blaze the council's acting housing manager and a community liaison officer from the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service visited the Lord Street flats to reassure tenants and review their fire prevention measures.
In more than half of the properties they gained access to they found that the tenants had wedged open their fire doors or disabled the self-closing mechanisms on the internal doors.
As a result tenants have now been reminded that these doors are there to contain fire and stop the spread of it not only to other rooms but also to adjacent properties.
Disabled tenants are the only tenants that may request exemption from this however this can only be granted by the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service and applies to the tenant not the property.
The council say that no structural damage has been caused to the Murray's House building but flat 55 has suffered extensive fire damage and once the tenants have been discharged from hospital, where they are being treated for smoke inhalation and shock, they will be rehoused.
Carol Malarkey, the council's public health and housing committee chairman, said: "Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service officers and council staff are to be praised for their prompt action and I am relieved to learn that the tenants of flat 55 are recovering in hospital.
"In partnership with the fire service the council is rigorous in making statutory fire prevention checks to all its properties. In support of this we would ask tenants to be vigilant about their domestic fire precaution measures and urge those in flats and apartments - for their and their neighbours' safety – not to disable the self-closing mechanisms on their internal doors."
The cause of the fire on Tuesday is still being investigated.
Also see: Investigation into cause of Lord Street flats fire
