I live in a four storey flat. We have a back stair  outdoor fire escape, with a locked in gate which opens out to an access patio/paved area  of about 12 by 12 Feet which leads to a road.  The management committee have decided to put low level plant planters across this area approximately 28 inches apart to block cars from using the space for loading, but the height of the planters makes it dangerous for elderly or low vision residents as they could trip over the planters if light fails.  Is there a minimum distance that the planters  should be apart to make sure in event of an evacuation they would not obstruct people as they might not see them in an emergency situation ...and they could obstruct fire equipment getting access to the stairway.  Who should we contact to find out about this?

There should be external emergency lighting to indicate the route from leaving the building to a place of safety. An exit for small numbers as in your situation would be 900mm if wheelchair accessible, 800mm otherwise.

Legally there must be a written Fire Risk Assessment for the block and also legally all residents must be provided with details of the fire risks and protective measures present as well as the evacuation policy, etc so this in theory should already have been considered....