Tom Sutton

The Furniture and Furnishings(Fire ) (Safety) Regulations 1988(as amended in 1989 and 1993) only apply to domestic furniture and your situation is not domestic, the appropriate guidance for you is http://www.fira.co.uk/document/fira-contract-flammability-guide-october-2011pdf.pdf. You also need to check out Fire safety risk assessment: small and medium places of assembly page 60.

What regulation are these?

Without a lot more information I cannot give a definitive answer but 40/50 meters does seem excessive and is there an alternative means of escape. I would suggest you have an Fire Risk assessment done to conform to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the appropriate guide is Small and medium places of assembly.

It looks like you have used “HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing” page 44 for your guidance, which is what I would suggest but you need to include the full package. There is no mention of the passive fire protection, fire detectors in the escape route, etc. Another issue you need to consider is the enforcing authority, the fire and rescue service is responsible for The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 but they only deal with the common parts. The Local Housing Department deals with HMO’s and they deal with the whole of the premises and they are the enforcing authority you need to satisfy. However I am sure they will accept the above guidance the same as the FRS but the LHD are the people you should get advice from.

Providing there are normal standard doors in close proximity and capable of allowing all the people that would need to use them to escape then I would suggest you close them for security reason if nothing else, restricting the flow of oxygen to the fire I think it's not going to make much difference.

Let me have another go, the meeting room will have a BGU near the door to the staircase and is clearly visible. The occupants of the office will have to pass a BGU on route to the staircase and it will be clearly visible when they approach it. Nobody has to travel more than 45 meters to reach a BGU (less than 10 meters) therefore there should be no problems regarding the BGU's. There will be a sounder in the meeting room so there should be no problem hearing the alarm in the meeting room but you will need to wait until the meeting room is constructed and do a sound check in the office to ensure they can hear the alarm which could mean a new sounder may have to be provided. There are sound pressure levels you have to achieve, 60 db in offices.

You are correct the landlord has to keep an updated fire risk assessment (FRA) in respect of the common areas and should maintain a low fire risk as possible. However the main concern is the walls and ceiling which should meet a class "O" or class 1 spread of fire, this helps to ensure the escape route maintains a low fire risk. Because this area is a low fire risk the floor covering should never be involved and a bigger danger is bad maintenance resulting in a trip hazard. Because of this it is unlikely it would be necessary to include it in the FRA unless the fire risk is increased as the result of other reasons.

Fire doors are designated FD or FDs followed by the degree of fire resistance in minutes. Both types of fire door have always required the gaps on each side and the top to be 2/3 mm and fitted with intumescent strip since the 1980’s. In the past differing gaps at the threshold (bottom) have been quoted, 6 mm was common but the latest guidance FD designated fire doors gaps at the threshold (bottom) should be 3/4 mm or should be in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions for the particular doorset design. For FDs designated fire door it should be the same as above but with cold smoke seals fitted, as well as the intumescent strip, to the sides, top and threshold of the door. When fitted, cold smoke seals should give an even contact with the floor but should not exhibit significant increased frictional forces that could interfere with the closing action of the door. So there will be no gap for air at all. The relevant British Standards are BS 8214 2008, BS 4787-1 and BS 5588-11.

Without seeing the location of all the Manual call points I cannot comment on your particular situation but siting of Manual Call Points should be as follows. Break Glass Call Points should be mounted 1.4 m from the floor, sited where they can be easily seen and on exit route from the building. BGU's should be sited on the floor landings of stairways and at exits to open air. It should be noted that many Fire Officers prefer BGU's to be fitted on the floor side of an access door to a staircase so the floor of origin is indicated at the Control Panel. Where necessary, extra points should be sited so that the greatest travel distance from any point in the building to the nearest call point does not exceed 30 m. A greater number of Call Points may be needed in high risk areas or if the occupants are likely to be slow in movement.

It depends on the premises, system you have installed and the number of units that need replacing to give a definitive response. The emergency exit signs should conform BS EN ISO 7010 and in many cases the so called Euro signs have been used, which are still legal but in the near future are likely to become illegal, and will need replacing. So it is not an easy decision and you can purchase plastic stick on BS 7010 signs to replace the Euro signs which may be acceptable. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/emergency-lighting/ ( the Emergency Exit Light shows the Euro sign) and http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-exit-signs/ (The BS 5499-1 sign is the same as the BS EN ISO 7010 sign)

It would be the same as any other Small and medium places of assembly or Large places of assembly which are the guides for The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which is the law governing fire safety in churches. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/regulatory-reform-fire-safety-order-2005/ for more information.

Yes I would say it is legal but you need more expert advice and I would suggest you contact FIRA at http://www.fira.co.uk/about-us who are very helpful.

You require a permanent label which is fixed to each piece of furniture and examples can be found in the guidance document at http://www.fira.co.uk/document/fira-flammability-guide-october-2011pdf.pdf. If you have a display label as well all the better but not necessary only for retailers.

It all depends on the layout of your cottage whether your premises could be considered to have a satisfactory mean of escape. You do not need an external door from the room you intend to let and only if you replace your window does it need to have an escape window fitted. Without a physical survey (Fire Risk Assessment) it is impossible to give you a definitive answer. However you you should have a domestic fire alarm fitted in accordance with BS 5839-6:2013 for your own safety and anybody else in the cottage also check out https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/11085/payingguests.pdf for more information

I fail to mention the relevant British Standard is BS pt 2:2008 Fabrics for Curtains, Drapes and Window Blinds. Part 2 Flammability Requirements - Specifications.

A good place to start is BAFE's SP101/ST104 covering Contract Maintenance of Portable Fire Extinguishers and Registered Fire Extinguisher Service Technicians Scheme and check out ST 104 - This part of the scheme is somewhat different from the other schemes in that BAFE has placed the emphasis on the individual technician rather than the organisation which is what you are looking for.

Best advice I could find. Fire-retardant fabrics have been treated with chemicals to lower or limit their ability to burn. You can find fire-retardant curtains manufactured from cotton, polyester, fibreglass, wool and linen. Curtains labelled as permanently fire-retardant, inherently fire-retardant or durably fire-retardant have fire-retardant properties woven into the fabric that will not dissipate with cleaning. If your curtains bear a label that says they are merely fire-retardant, they have likely been sprayed or coated with a fire-retardant chemical that will gradually wash or wear away. The chemicals used to make fabric flame-retardant can dissolve with both water washing and dry cleaning. If you wash fabric marked flame- or fire-retardant, you will need to re-treat the fabric after washing to restore the fire retardancy. Instructions 1. Read the label on the curtains. You can usually find the label attached to a seam inside the lining, or near the top or bottom of the curtain panel, inside. The label should contain instructions to tell you if the curtains should be dry-cleaned or may be washed. The label will also tell you the fire-retardant designation of your curtains. 2. Vacuum the curtains to remove dust and surface dirt. Use the upholstery attachment of your vacuum cleaner and move from the top to the bottom of the curtain. This is easiest to do while the curtains are still hanging. 3. Wash washable curtains in cool water with a mild detergent, using a delicate cycle. For large curtains, use a large-capacity washing machine at a coin laundry, instead of your home machine. This will help prevent wrinkling. 4. Dry-clean non-washable curtains. Be sure to let the dry cleaner know that the curtains are fire-retardant. 5. Spread the curtains flat to dry. If you hang them while they are still wet, you could stretch large or heavy curtains out of shape. Hang the curtains once they are dry and steam them lightly to remove wrinkles. 6. Spray or dip curtains labelled fire- or flame-retardant in a product designed to restore fire-retardant properties after washing. Follow the manufacturer's directions for proper application of the fire-retardant treatment.

The fire alarm may be required it all depends on the fire risk assessment of the common parts and who pays will depend on the agreement you have with the management company.

The minimum width of an escape route should not be less than 750mm (unless it is for use by less than five people in part of your premises) and, where wheelchair users are likely to use it, not less than 900mm. Check out DCLG guide for offices at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-offices-and-shops page 67 or Aproved Document B (Fire Safety) at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partb/bcapproveddocumentsb/bcapproveddocbvol2/ page 36.

I see no reasons why a fire compartment cannot be divided but dividing a large staircase by creating a fire wall? How is this going to affect the means of escape. I think the proposals need to be considered very carefully and much more information is required before any reasonable response could be given.

Without a lot more information and viewing the fire strategy plan/fire risk assessment it is difficult to make any comments. Check out http://schools.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/Assets/designing-and-managing-against-the-risk-of-fire-in-schools.pdf and http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partb/bcapproveddocumentsb/bcapproveddocbvol2/

Is this a permanent situation or is it only temporary while the refurbishment is being undertaken.

I am not aware of any model evacuation procedures, each one is bespoke to each individual premises and fire certs are a thing of the past, but there are other certificates for various purposes. The guidance for Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats should provide you with all the information you require.

Assuming the room is not a bypass room where people enter the room and leave by another exit as part of the means of escape form fire, a standard 750 mm width door is more than adequate. Check out approved document B (Fire Safety) Vol2, page 36 at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_B2_2013.pdf

Assuming it is not a fire resisting door and a final exit door the there is no reason that the door cannot be left open other than for security reasons. Ask the Health and safety person where does it say that it is illegal because I am not aware of such rule.