Tom Sutton

Thanks Robin much appreciated.

Hi Robin any updates?

You are subject to the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the guidance is Offices and shops. Check out https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities and http://www.firesafe.org.uk which should be helpful.

I have never seen such a device but a problem I would foresee would be, on a door closer when the door is closed (normal position) the spring in the door closer would not be under tension. In what you propose when the door is open the spring would not be under tension but when closed (normal position 7/24) the spring would be under tension therefore would the spring stand up to this kind of treatment? Have you considered automatic door openers and instead of having a PIR to open the door use the fire alarm instead. I am not sure it could be arranged but you could speak to suppliers of such devices. Finally have you considered an Heath Robinson device, a cable fixed to the top of the door running through a pulley and down the wall with a weight fixed to the end of the cable. When the door is closed, and held with the magnetic lock, the weight will be raised, release the lock, the weight drops opening the door? Only a thought. :unsure:

The distances are 45 M to the nearest MCP if actual distance, 30M if at plan stage. In premises where people may have poor mobility or a high fire risk it should be reduced to 25 M or 16 M. Therefore the distance between MCP's will be approximately double those distances, also all these distances are subject to risk assessment.

Got this from AnthoryB on Firenet. I asked this question on an international sprinkler group for you, here are the replies to date (excuse the NFPA references there are a lot of US people in the group) Chris Logan - Could be a bad batch of heads? Ask the manufacturer if any known issues where brought to there attention Gary Shelly - Makes you wonder if they use some sort of lighting that emits higher levels of UV light. Robin Ken Lillskrubb - had the same over here, replaced everyone and tested the clear ones with 16bar pressure, none of them held the pressure. Michael Steedman - We have never had that problem in Australia do you know the brand of heads used, will keep this issue in mind thanks for the update Ryan Ahl - Check with Greg Cloutier, he just posted something recently about this, he came across a Viking upright I believe that had clear liquid. Could be a Viking issue if they are the manufacturer of heads you saw. Greg Schmitz - Are you certain they are clear and not yellow? 175 yellow heads look clear under some circumstances, especially if you're used to looking at mostly red and green. NFPA 25 does not address this, only requiring replacement if the fluid has emptied. I would urge replacement, however, as clear fluid makes it impossible to inspect heads from ground level and verify temperature rating and that fluid is present. BJ Lock Ummmmm.....if the fluid is clear....then this is a critical deficiency .... They should be changed immediately. There really is no other proper answer.... Greg Schmitz - Personally, I would write it up, but if the bulb is still full, color is more or less just a convenient way to check the temperature rating. The rating is stamped on the deflector as well. http://www.fmglobal.com/FMGlobalRegi.../Vshared/FMDS0281.pdf Found this, by Factory Mutual. Still need a reference to an NFPA standard. Section 2.3.8.5 I believe, says change if clear. Good practice if FM says to, but still need a code reference....See More Robin Ken Lillskrubb - Totally clear only. Tested quite a bit with the Ultrafog Sprinklersystem, since there comes almost no water at all, can walk through the fog without getting really wet. Had clear heads in a Sauna and we just let them be and turned the Sauna on, turned out they blew out @ 120°c and should've held 185°c

BS 5839 pt 1 2013 quote a number of maximum distances to call points, subject to risk assessment but no minimum distances. They must be adjacent to exits from each floor, to open air and high risk areas but why would a minimum distance be required?

What do you mean by a fire alarm switch, is it a break glass call point because if there was no cover or glass it would have actuated and the system would be in the alarm mode? Does it have other purposes like actuating a fixed fire extinguishing installation?

George you need to speak to the local authority, they are the only ones able to give that answer and what do you mean by "break glass security on fire exit door"? http://www.firesafe.org.uk/security-and-fire-safety/

A fire resisting front fire door is required to protect you and your family, also to protect all your neighbours in the event of a fire in your flat. As a result the council appears to be fixing certificated fire door sets which are the only way to be certain the fire doors will perform to the necessary standard. There are products on the market that claim to update standard door to a fire resisting door and some companies will provide a certificates, but not all enforcing authorities will accept them. (search on the internet for “ updating fire doors”) You need to talk to the council to see if they will accept them; if not, then the legal position is not very clear because the flats are not subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 but the common areas are, so is the front door part of the common area or the flat?

Fire alarm systems and Emergency lights have their own testing and servicing routines and should be carried out by a competent person, check out, http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-alarms/ and http://www.firesafe.org.uk/emergency-lighting/

It should not take several months to have a fault on magnetic fire door holders rectified and if it does, an alternative should be provide, similar to what Harry has suggested. A fire safety professional should never recommend fire doors to be wedged open irrespective of type of premises but like all rules there are exceptions and I would accept it is OK to wedge a fire door temporarily, for instance when moving a trolley through the door, provided there was someone there on hand to close the door when no longer necessary. I would suggest you submit a written report to your line manager and keep a copy for future reference.

It is up to the Responsible Person in this case it is the managing agent and it his their responsibility to keep all escape routes clear (art 14 (1)) and if they do not they are committing an offence. The enforcing authority is the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) and if the managing agent cannot comply with the fire safety order you should contact the FRS.

Hi M You are are absolutely correct if you are not a Alarm Investigation Marshal and have not received the appropriate training then you should not be asked to carry out such a task. All fire marshals are classed as competent person under the Fire Safety Order which says "A person is to be regarded as competent for the purposes of this article where he/she has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him properly to assist in undertaking the preventive and protective measures". For further information article 18 of the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 state the full requirements.

If new legislation is introduced or the existing legislation "The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996" is amended then the euro signs will have to be changed. The current British, European and International Standard is BS ISO EN 7010 and any new or amended legislation will use this standard. Then so called euro signs will then be illegal but when this is likely to happen is anybodies guess, however it will happen and if you can change the euro signs you should. You cannot force anybody to change but you can recommend it because sometime in the future they will be required to change. New or refurbished premises should use the current standard as a matter of course.

What type of premises are we discussing each one would have a particular fire evacuation plan.

When you ask a question you need to to be precise when describing the premises. Ben above states "commercial/ residential properties" what does this mean, offices, shops, factories, workshops, flats, houses, holiday lets because to decide if they apply to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 you need a full description also helps in deciding who the Responsible Person (RP) is.

A refuge is an area that is both separated from a fire by fire-resisting construction and provided with a safe route to a storey exit, thus constituting a temporarily safe space for usually disable persons. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the Responsible Person (RP) to provide a satisfactory mean of escape which includes disable persons and the guidance is Fire safety risk assessment: means of escape for disabled people also BS 9999:2008 Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings refers to refuges.

As an RP you can conduct a fire risk assessment and you are responsible for it no matter who does it. However I would suggest you only consider small uncomplicated premises and use the free guides available from the DCLG. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/regulatory-reform-fire-safety-order-2005/ and http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-risk-assessment/ also http://www.firesafe.org.uk. There are two publications to assist you in selection a competent person they are A Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor and Competency Criteria for Fire Risk Assessors. Check out http://www.fia.uk.com/en/info/document_summary.cfm/docid/E6479C4F-E267-4DD4-8B55A6930C685F13 and http://www.fia.uk.com/en/Information/Details/index.cfm/FRA%20Competency%20Criteria

I all depends on who has control and should be included in the lease agreements. The RP is responsible for his/her workplace including the access and egress to the public thoroughfare providing they have control. If the landlord has control he/she has the responsibility, for example if a fire door is hanging off its hinges who has the responsibility to repair it, who installs the fire fighting equipment/ fire alarm and maintains it, if a sink hole appears in the site who has to make it safe, in short who has control. I would assume the outside areas are the responsibility of the landlord, therefore has control, the fabric of the buildings would be again the landlord, if the stairs need repairing then the landlord, as he/she has control. The fire risk assessments would be the RP's (employer) and most of the article 8 to 24 theirs but those under control of the landlord would be his/hers. Check out Fire safety duties in http://www.firesafe....ety-order-2005/ and the RR(FS)O.

This is a domestic premises and not subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and I think the environmental health officer is applying the Housing Act 2004 as a result, using the Housing health and safety rating system operating guidance but a am afraid this is well outside my area of expertise. Has the EHO issued an improvement notice or anything in writing he could be trying on the bluff & persuasion act.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the Responsible Person (RP) ( the employer), to ensure the maintenance of Portable Firefighting Equipment, if he/she does not have control and the landlord has control then it is the landlord responsibility. Check out article 3, article 5 (c ), article 13 and article 17 also the terms of agreement regarding your lease.

It is not a legal requirement but it is a recommendation of BS 5306 - 3 with regards to the maintenance of portable fire extinguishers. You can also follow the manufacturers' instructions.

You are talking about a domestic premises which is not subject to any regulations therefore you cannot be in breach of anything regarding the property, if it is a flat then the commons areas are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Ask your landlord what legislation you are in breach of and for him to explain the relevant parts.

Stephen check out http://www.safelincs.co.uk/fire-doors-with-30-minutes-protection-fd30/ there could be other manufacturers but I am not aware of any.