Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Hofel Safety in Europe

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Hofel Safety in Europe

The thread about leaving children in a hotel room, with or without a fire alarm, has been "fixed" so that replies cannot be posted. I will, therefore, raise this issue in a separate thread. How many hotels in Paris have the following? Sprinklers Smoke detectors Fire alarms Fire escapes Fire retardant furnishings, walls, and floors Fire extinguishers in the hallways I do not recall seeing any of the above in the 3 star hotels I have used in Paris. In fact, I don't recall seeing them in European hotels. So, those of you who are more alert to those sorts of furnishings and equipment, do they or don't they? I don't know because I was not looking for them.

Bonjour Bob, I couldn't answer precisely to your question, but there are specific rules regarding fire safety in hotels in France, and in all Europe, as can be seen here: http://www.hotrec.org/areas/consumer/03.html and here http://www.avaric.com/ecoles/site%20...rithotel86.htm (Recommandation du Conseil du 22 décembre 1986 concernant la sécurité des hôtels existants contre les risques d'incendie - in French) Whether those recommendations are faithfully followed is another story, depending sometimes on the age of the building and feasibility of some measures.

All I know is twice in different hotels ,1 in Rome and one in London, we've been rousted out of bed by false alarms going off in the night!

How many hotels in Paris have the following? 8

I doubt if anyone is going to know the number of hotels with those things, but some certainly do have them because I've seen them (in person and mentioned on hotel web sites as amenities)in France and other countries, including 3-star hotels: smoke detectors and fire alarms and sprinklers. It seems to me that renovated hotels with minibars, AC, etc tend to have smoke alarms. I wouldn't know fire retardant floors if I saw them, but I'm sure public buildings have some fire code standards (those are the things Florence's web sites seem to cover -- doors, exits, etc). I've also been in larger hotels that had fire alarms accidentally go off, also, and I've seen fire extinguishers in hallway cabinets in European hotels (often in the stairwell) just like in US buildings. If it's a concern to you , you could ask a specific hotel you are considering about smoke detectors. I imagine sprinklers are rarer and only in expensive, more modern hotels. As for fire escapes, I've seen very few larger buildings anywhere with fire escapes, if you mean those old iron ladder-type things. I don't think they use those much any more, don't they date from the time period when firetruck ladders couldn't reach very high and there weren't building code requirements for fire safety and standards for egress and preventing fire from spreading. I know my office building certainly doesn't have a fire escape. As a matter of fact, though, I was in an older French hotel in Nice (dating from the 1920s perhaps) that did have a fire escape near the window of my room. I've never been in a US hotel with a fire escape that I can recall if you are referring to those ladder things.

These rules and regulations are pretty standard accross Western Europe and I reckon all hotels and guest house should have them. If they don't they would not be allowed to trade and/or the owners would be fined.

Good information. Polite suggestion, take a smoke detector along. Portable motion detectors are also available. USA Government suggests getting rooms on 2-7th floors. Access is easy from ground and first floor. Fire equipment can usually reach to 7th floor. Check out the equipment/service available at time you go to room. Actually walk the escape route...If emergency occurs stay out of elevator.

I believe there quite strict regulations set by EU. I have never stayed in a hotel in Western Europe that would not have had fire detectors, fire escapes, and fire extinguishers in the hallways. In almost 100 % of cases there are also sprinklers in rooms. And there are regular check ups by authorities. In Finland we are required by law to have fire detectors everywhere, also in our homes. Every now and then somebody from the fire department comes and checks my house to see that the detector is there and functioning. And in public buildings (like hotels) that is even far more strict.