Tom Sutton

I am afraid there is no legal requirement for manufacturers to fix label to mattresses the guidance says, The fire safety of all mattresses (of any size), divans and bed bases is controlled by both the Regulations and the GPSR. Only the filling material (foam or non-foam) contained in a mattress, upholstered divan or bed base must meet the Regulations. However, the fire safety of the complete product is controlled via the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. The normal route to achieve legal obligations is to have products evaluated against the British Standard best suited to product safety. In this context, a finished mattress and mattress topper, divan or bed base should comply with the low hazard category of BS 7177. There is no formal scheme for proving compliance with a Standard and a supplier can simply claim compliance. However, the accuracy of such a claim needs to be justified when challenged by purchasers or Enforcement Authorities. Check out http://www.fira.co.uk/document/fira-contract-flammability-guide-october-2011pdf.pdf and http://www.fira.co.uk/document/fira-flammability-guide-october-2011pdf.pdf for more information.

The guidance to the regulations state, "The permanent label must be durable and securely attached to the furniture (i.e. cannot be removed without causing damage to the label or the product and must be able to withstand the normal wear and tear of everyday use and misuse). The durability period for permanent labels is not defined in the Regulations. However bearing in mind that any records need to be kept for 5 years and the purpose of the permanent labelling is to link through to those records, a similar period would seem logical. The permanent label has to be securely attached to the external surface of the item. Attachment of the permanent label to the underside of the item is also permissible." A stapled permanent label pinned to the woodwork under the sofa would appear to be in accordance with the above statement it would not be possible to sew it in on all occasions. My sofa from Harvey's has a stapled label under the sofa.

There is no legal requirement for fire doors to be removed from a residential building, but if there is a change of use and a fire door is no longer required for the means of escape, then it could be removed if desired. The building will be subject to Building Regulations .so check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-safety-in-new-extended-or-altered-buildings/.

I do not fully understand your description you say “One exit that leads from my office block to the top of the main stairwell and on the ground floor exit to the same area there are double fire doors” also “There are two other emergency exits but are not the commonly used doors.” You enter the staircase at the top floor through double doors then down the staircase to the staircase ground floor what doors are you confronted with, 1. Double doors leading to the outside of the building? 2. Double doors into a foyer/hallway then doors to the outside the building? 3. Any other doors?

The screws would be very small and it would be unlikely to affect the fire resistance of the door.

There is a correct answer and a practical answer. The correct answer is, that as you will have to drill all the way through the door, which will create a weakness, this will affect the fire resistance, which is impossible to predict to what extent, so the whole assembly should be subject to test. On the other hand you have conflicting hazards of personal assault and fire safety perhaps it would be reasonable to balance these risks by using a steel or brass viewer, drill with care to ensure the exact fit without any gaps, and use intumescent paste around the viewer to pack the hole. I suggest any decent joiner should be able to do this provided the RP applies a good level of instruction and supervision. Envirograf have a security grill which is tested to 66 mins but I suspect it is not what you require.

As you have said, separate alarms in the flats as they are private dwellings and wireless alarms installed in the common areas, including emergency lighting, which I assume is in accordance with the fire risk assessment conducted by the landlord, should be acceptable. You also need to consider the audibility of the fire alarm in the common areas when you are in your flats,watching the television or sleeping, it should be loud enough to alert you. This is only part of the fire risk assessment I am assuming the rest is satisfactory.

I am assuming you are talking about external fire escape staircase, an this is covered by article 17 of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which states "subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair". Do what it says on the tin, which should include a structural engineers report as to its structural safety.

You could just use a piece of solid hardwood or you can get threshold smoke seal. Check out http://www.ifsa.org.uk/pdf/Information%20Sheet%205.pdf.

The refurbishment will be done under the Building Regulations you could check with the local Building Control.

It sounds like a converted large house and I do not see many problems for you but I cannot give a definitive answer without a physical survey because of the many item you have to consider. The fire alarm will need to be extended as you have suggested, the emergency lighting may have to be extended and the premises will require fire fighting equipment installed, depending on the fire risks present. The single protected staircase should be acceptable but you may be required to provide escape windows on the first floor and the ground floor if there is no alternative means of escape. The appropriate guidance is Approved Document B - Fire Safety: Volume 2 - Buildings other than dwellinghouses After the alterations you will need to conduct a fire risk assessment and the appropriate guidance is Fire safety risk assessment: educational premises

Fire safety in the common areas of flats or Maisonettes is controlled by Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) and this order lays down the legal requirements. The individual flats are domestic premises and exempt from the FSO but the common areas (staircase/hall) are subject to the FSO. Therefore fire safety in the flats are the responsibility of the tenants but the common areas is the responsibility of the landlord who under the FSO has to conduct a fire risk assessment and act on the results. I would suggest the landlord has used the HOUSING - FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing document, which would recommend emergency lighting and category D smoke alarms if not a higher standard.

Sorry Nicola not as simple as you may think, there are many questions that need answers, is the staircase protected to outside the premises, is the ground and first floor fully compartmented, how many persons will be using the premises, is there a fire alarm, plus other questions need to be answered. Without a physical survey it is impossible to give a definitive answer, therefore I would suggest you acquire the services of a fire risk assessor to survey the premises and he/she would be able to advise you on your proposals, which there is always a solution.

There are few hard and fast 'rules' in these days of risk based approach to fire safety and everything is about assessing the true risk to occupants. However Approved Document B states that the minimum width of a fire escape route or exit which will be used by 60 persons or less is 750 mm (Table 4 page 36). It also states that the width of escape routes and exits should not be less than the dimensions given in table 4. http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_B2_2013.pdf

There are few hard and fast 'rules' in these days of risk based approach to fire safety and everything is about assessing the true risk to occupants. However it depends on how may person are likely to use the escape route and providing it does not reduce it too much it could be acceptable for a temporary period of time. Approved Document B states that the minimum width of a fire escape route or exit which will be used by 60 persons or less is 750 mm (Table 4 page 36). It also states that the width of escape routes and exits should not be less than the dimensions given in table 4. http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_B2_2013.pdf

Yes Holly they do need to be fire rated and in most cases there should be three hinges but door manufacturers may recommend the use of only two hinges under special conditions. The hinges should be marked with the BS EN 1935/CE marks and maybe other marks like the Certfire marks which indicates they are fire rated. However the only 100% way of knowing the capabilities of the hinges is to have the HINGE DESIGNATION. (see Guide to Interpreting Markings for Single Axis Hinges.) Check out http://www.safelincs.co.uk/fire-rated-hinges-set-of-3-product-1/

Check out http://www.fira.co.uk/document/fira-flammability-guide-october-2011pdf.pdf is states, Permanent labels need to be carried on all items of furniture with the exception of mattresses divans and bed bases. The labelling specifications for mattresses, divans and bed-bases are covered separately by BS 7177. Display labelling is required to indicate the ignition resistance of each item of furniture and needs to be attached to all new furniture at the point of sale, with the exception of mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, scatter cushions, seat pads, loose covers (sold separately from the furniture) and stretch covers.

First you need to establish the fire strategy including the means of escape scheme and decide which doors are fire resisting doors. There are FD doors which are fire doors with an intumescent strip, designed to prevent flames from spreading. Also FDs doors which are fire doors with an intumescent strip and cold smoke seal, designed to prevent flames/smoke from spreading. All doors should have gaps not exceeding 3 mm +/- 1 mm especially fire resisting doors and any gaps greater than 4 mm could render a fire resisting door useless because the intumescent seal/ cold smoke seal may not function properly. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/

I would think so once the battery is flat, there would be no power supply to operate the EL tube but the normal tubes would still be fed from the sub lighting circuit and the emergency circuit would be isolated by the test switch.

All doors on escape routes should be quick and easy to open without the need for a key. In most situations this is the case; for instance, you simply operate the door handle of the door leading from an office and pass through. In the case of a hotel, while a key is required to access a bedroom, it is only necessary to operate the door handle to get out. However, the final exit door of a building frequently presents problems because this type of door requires a higher degree of security while still having to be to be opened easily from within. Checkout http://www.firesafe.org.uk/security-and-fire-safety/

The Tormax imotion appears to be an automatic door opening device suitable for use on fire resistant doors. If this is a final exit door it doesn't need to automatically open, it only needs to be easily openable without the use of a key, which is a method Harry has suggested.

I fully understand your frustration in my day,many moons ago, very few buildings other than entertainment and sleeping risks had EL and to test them I simple went to the switch room and threw the main switch then walked the premises. But even then there was times (hotels etc) when you could not switch the normal lighting off for safety reasons. Now days far more complicated and EL in premises that maybe do not require it, the call progress.

The current BS 5266 Pt 1 2011 states, a test facility should simulate a main failure and not interrupt the normal lighting supply. So we have two wiring systems 1 the old and 2 the new and you have the both in one building. Should you update the EL system then that depends on whether you can carry out the testing satisfactorily without interrupting work processes and the EL is effective, this is a decision you will need to make when you conduct your FRA. By operating the test switch on the new wiring system you are still simulating a mains failure its just the normal lighting is not extinguishing but the emergency lights are illuminating. Harry highlights the problems with the old wiring system.

Check out http://www.esielectrical.co.uk/media/em_ltg_design.pdf last page and I am no expert but it appears that when you test self contained luminaries the main lighting will remain on.

You could search the web with "upgrading fire doors" and see if any suitable links are found.