Tom Sutton

Depends on the level of risk (high,medium or low) and the number of persons likely to use the door in the event of an emergency. The minimum flat surface distance from the top of the stairs to the internal door before the top step I assume you means a landing? This will depend on which way the door opens. Download the appropriate guide for more information. https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/fire-safety-advice-documents

The common areas of the premises is subject to the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and therefore the person or persons managing the building, (landlord, managing agents, housing association) should have conducted a fire risk assessment in the common areas, which includes keeping the escape route free from obstructions, so they are the first persons to approach. If they cannot help or won’t, you should contact the enforcers of the order, who are the Fire and Rescue Service and also in the case of a HMO the local housing authority. http://www.firesafe.org.uk/uk-fire-rescue-services-details/ http://www.firesafe.org.uk/regulatory-reform-fire-safety-order-2005/

Ideally, final exit doors from all premises should be fitted with locks/catches which are openable by the occupiers from the inside without the use of a removable key. This should always be the case in HMOs, including shared houses. Where security locks are fitted they should be of the type with a suitable internal thumb-turn to facilitate this. There is also a requirement for them to be maintained so both items have to be addressed. Whether or not this is the situation will have to be decided between you and your freeholder. The fire service enforce the fire safety order so they have the last say.

If you mean the normal lighting then by all means but why does the lighting need to be switch on, I would have thought if the lighting is needed then it would all ready have been switch on. The emergency escape lighting is a different matter.

Simple answer NO! a private domestic dwelling is not subject to the order only the common areas which stop at your front door. I am a cynic, if I was you I would inform your housing association and check them out, if they are genuine no problem.

Fire escape routes in common use do not need to be signed because all employees will be familiar with the way out however if you allow access to the general public you may need some signing. All alternate escape routes not familiar to your employees should be signed and any doors on the escape routes that could be blocked accidental should have signs to prevent this. Check out section 6 in Download ‘Fire safety risk assessments - offices and shops’ (PDF, 2.5MB) and http://www.safelincs...eractive-guide/

Scott what sub class of C3, do you fall within a,b, or c. I know you are classed as a dwelling house but could you class yourself as a private dwelling?

For free approved documents especially ADB try http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/

IMO article 32 of the Children's Homes Regulations 2001 has been amended by The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and now you need to conform to the RR(FS)O because you are a non domestic premises. In relation to fire safety this means you are subject to the RR(FS)O and it is irrelevant how many children are involved. Being a risk based piece of legislation it depends on the circumstances of the premises and occupancy that dictates the degree of fire safety required. For guidance try https://www.gov.uk/g...ential-care.pdf and http://www.firesafe....ety-order-2005/

In accordance with BS5839-1:2002+A2:2008 and check out Inspection and Servicing in http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-alarms/

Harry some of the links at the bottom of your link are not working I am afraid all the government sites have been messed about but try https://www.gov.uk/w...esponsibilities

Maths DOH. 1500-1050 = 450 mm Therefore 5 mm / extra person 450/5 = 90 not 150 like I said above.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Like other organic compounds, polystyrene is flammable. Polystyrene is classified according to DIN4102 as a "B3" product, meaning highly flammable or "Easily Ignited." As a consequence, although it is an efficient insulator at low temperatures, its use is prohibited in any exposed installations in building construction if the material is not flame-retardant. It must be concealed behind drywall, sheet metal, or concrete. Foamed polystyrene plastic materials have been accidentally ignited and caused huge fires and losses, for example at the Düsseldorf International Airport, the Channel tunnel (where polystyrene was inside a railcar that caught fire), and the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant (where fire breached a fire retardant and reached the foamed plastic underneath, inside a fire stop that had not been tested and certified in accordance with the final installation). I have seen how polystyrene ceiling tiles behave in fire and its not good but these slabs may have been treated so I would contact Wickes and find out, how they should be used and what precautions should you have taken when using them.

David you need to calculate the occupancy of the room and if it is less than 60 person one door will suffice (750 mm) and it can be inward opening. If the occupancy is more than 60 but less than 600 then you need two doors. The largest one has to be discounted so if the smallest door is 1050 mm it will cater for 220 persons. If you use double doors (1500 mm) then you could increase the occupancy to another 150 persons and you must also consider the 45 degree rule as well. After that its more doors.

I assume you are talking about domestic smoke detectors and testing them is not the problem all you need is a long bamboo cane, its remembering to test them. Testing them remotely would only add to the cost which in my opinion would not be a good thing.

David check out 3.8 Number of occupants and exits in AD B (fire safety) and it only allow 60 persons for one exit, although the door will pass 220 persons.

There are three documents to assist you they are, Download ‘Fire safety risk assessments - theatres, cinemas and similar premises’ (PDF, 2.9MB), BS5266-1:2011, the whole document especially para 9.3.4. non- residential premises used for recreation, and Technical standards for place of entertainment. You need the escape route illuminated to 1 lux on a plane 1 meter above the floor which can be dimmed to 0.02 lux providing in the event of failure of the normal lighting, it can be restored to 1 lux within 5 secs.

From your description I cannot tell if it is a problem but if the flower pot could cause a tripping hazard to people using the staircase in an emergency then it is in breach of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and should be removed. The length of time is irrelevant it may never have been put to the test.

Dan the only mandatory requirement is the fire safety order (RR(FS)O) the rest is recommendation, prescriptive fire safety went out with the Fire Precautions Act. However some guidance like British Standards are considered best practice and you need to be able to justify your decision if you are challenged by the FRS auditor or the courts.

Depends if you are trying to protect from, an arson attack or to maintain the fire resistance integrity of a fire door. Check out http://www.safelincs...on-letterboxes/ and http://www.envirogra...lap_system.html or surf the web there are many others.

A overhead fire door closer and door coordinator device (also known as a door selector) also yes they can be adjusted. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-door-fitting-and-ironmongery/

Dan as I said "You could discuss it with an expert independent fire alarm engineer" and thanks CWEENG for sharing it with us all.

Could they not certify the system with an agreed variation as suggested by CWEENG? You could discuss it with them or get advice from an independent fire alarm engineer. I do not think its about the time, I think they found as the result of the research the smoke leaking from the bedroom only remained buoyant for 1.5 m and any detectors further than that did not activate. But considering all the variables I think that is why they used the word approximately.

This is a matter for Building Control and the current guidance is Approved Document B (fire safety) with the expertise of structural engineers employed by building control. The maximum fire resistance required for Means of Escape is 60 mins and I am fairly certain exposed steel beams would achieve this.

BS 5839 states "approximately 1.5 m" so you could push the approximately in your argument and I agree with you it is code hugging but developing a counter view is difficult. I believe it comes from the 1980,s when they carried out research to determine, how far buoyant smoke leaking from a bedroom could travel to activate a smoke detector, in this case it is leaking from the lift shaft.