Can you help. I live in a modern five storey block of flats with a basement garage. There is a fire exit from the garage that opens into a small area approx 5ft wide with 2 stairwells leading to the street level. There is a commercial unit at the underground level. The managent agent want to but in high (non scalable) gates at the basement level before the stairs so the fire exit would then open into a lock yard. I think this is a fire safety issue. Please advise

Unless it's a very big yard it's not a place of safety, especially if the fire spreads, and would necessitate fire service rescue which is contrary to the principle that means of escape should be designed such that all occupiers can safety self evacuate without external assistance.

 

A locked yard would need some way of opening from the inside without a key or code.