Recently, a balcony fire occurred in our area due to poorly discarded smoking materials.

Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but this incident is a powerful reminder of how quickly things can go wrong and how interconnected our safety truly is.

Your wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do. By working together and making safer choices, we can keep our neighbourhoods safer and more welcoming.

Smoking Safely on Your Balcony

Smoking is one of the leading causes of residential fires, and when cigarettes are not properly extinguished or are thrown carelessly, for example, from a balcony, it significantly increases fire risk.

London Fire Brigade emphasises:

• Always fully extinguish smoking materials, not just leaving them smouldering
• Never throwing cigarettes off balconies or out of windows, they can land on flammable surfaces and ignite fires below
• Using sturdy, deep ashtrays that cannot tip over; wet ashes before disposing of them safely, and never throw them into paper bins or communal rubbish.

Recent data warning signals are clear. Of 130 balcony fires over a one-year period, nearly half were caused by unsafe smoking material disposal.

Balcony storage: What to keep and what to avoid

Storing combustible or bulky items on balconies dramatically increases fire risk, especially when space is already limited.

Here are some key storage safety tips:

• Avoid storing items like old mattresses, cardboard, sofas, electrical appliances, or white goods outdoors, as they can fuel a fire or even spark one themselves
• Minimise the number of items you keep on your balcony; a clear space is a safer space.

Fire-smart choices for balcony furnishings

Our shared responsibility, our shared space

We all have a part to play in keeping our building fire-safe:

• Let’s treat each discarded cigarette with care, extinguish it fully, and never flick it off the balcony
• Let’s keep our balconies as clutter-free as possible, clearing out potentially combustible items
• Let’s choose safe materials when furnishings, ceramic over plastic, metal over wooden mixes.

We’re here to help. If you need suggestions, support with removal, or just have questions, please do reach out, our team is ready to assist you.

Let's work together, vibrant, vigilant, and community-minded, to keep our balconies safe, enjoyable, and worry-free.

Together, we can prevent incidents before they happen, and keep our community shining safe.