Tom Sutton

Check article 14 of the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Art 14 (2) (f) emergency doors must not be so locked or fastened that they cannot be easily and immediately opened by any person who may require to use them in an emergency;

Neil I assume you are referring to fire doors sets not fire door leafs or is it the case if you purchase a fire door leaf, then purchase a frame separately and all door furniture based on manufacturers instructions?

It certainly would not meet a certified standard no matter how much intumescent strip you used. You could claim it as a nominal fire door but you would need to consider a good argument for the enforcing authorities. Also both leaves would have to be self closing, so the point of a stable door would be lost unless it is for an information hatch.

Beanbags must meet all of the requirements of the Regulations check out Domestic Flammability Guide. I would think all the material would need to be cigarette and match resistance but you need to talk to the experts at FIRA

All doors are fire exits if they lead to a place of safety and those that are not in normal use, should be indicated with a fire exit sign. You should also be aware, if the normal exit you use is unavailable, you know an alternative means of escape from the premises which should be sign posted with directional fire exit signs. I am interested how do you determine what are fire exit doors?

Have you check out Download ‘Fire safety risk assessments - large places of assembly (holding more than 300 people)’ (PDF, 2.1MB) this DCLG guidance doc includes swimming pools.

Check out www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/FireSafety.pdf there is a section on shared housing.

I was unable to find any occupancy levels for swimming pools for the UK but there are in the USA they quote 50 sq ft in the pool and 15 sq ft on the side but it varies for different states. They also have figures for the number of persons for each lifeguard which is 40 and suggest you could use that, but I am not sure how? Because the fire risk is so low in the pool area I would imagine the chance of major problems is also very low and a good PEEP should be able to deal with it. http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-emergency-evacuation-plan-or-fire-procedure/ I did find a H&S document HSG 179 but nothing about fire safety. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg179.htm

If you are upgrading/refurbishing a premises and need to replace fire doors then you should fit certified fire door sets (fire door and frame) and you will have documentation/certification to prove to the enforcing authority that the fire resistance of the fire door meets that specified. Under certain circumstances, assuming it is a FD30 door, you could fit only the fire door leaf, for instance, if a fire door is damaged and the frame is in good order you could make a case to the enforcing authority that fitting only the fire door leaf would be acceptable. However it would be up to you to make a case that the finish fire door would meet a 30 minutes fire resistance standard. Any FD60 fire doors you need to replace with certified fire door sets (door and frame) and you will find the frame will be made of hardwood. In the case of listed buildings there is a third possible option the use of intumescent materials but that is a specialist field. If you have fire doors installed to a previous British standard (BS 476 part 8) then you can make a good argument that the do not need replacing until they fall into a bad state of repair and therefore need replacing.

EN 60598 is current standard for luminaires which will include illuminated fire exit boxes but the sign is covered by BS EN ISO 7010:2012 which is the current standard for the EEC and will soon be written into UK law by amending The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations. When the HS(SSS)R is amended the so called euro- sign will be illegal and I suspect a period of grace will be given (up to 5 years) to change from the old sign to the current. They should be installed in accordance with BS 5499-4 which require minor amending but should not cause any problems providing you use BS EN ISO 7010:2012 signs. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-exit-signs/ and http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-safety-signs/

There are two types of fire door a nominal fire door, which is a door an assessor considered meets the requirements and a certified fire door set (door and frame) which has documentation that guarantees the door meets the requirements. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/ to understand the difference, because if you are refurbishing an apartment and building control is involved it will be the BCO who decides which fire door s/he will accept. Check out http://www.asdma.com/bpg.html for the best practice guide.

Without details plans and/or a physical survey it is impossible to give a definitive answer but you need to conduct a fire risk assessment to ascertain if the partitioning is required for means of escape and is it load bearing? Checkout ‘Fire safety risk assessments - offices and shops’ (PDF, 2.5MB) for more details.

It all depends on the layout of your flat for instance would you have to pass the door of the kitchen to get to the front door to exit the premises. Without details plans and/or a physical survey it is impossible to give a definitive answer but I am afraid it is the building control officer who will decide if you need a fire door or not. I would suggest you study the document below and put yourself in a position so you can have meaningful discussion with Building Control Department. Approved Document B - Fire Safety: Volume 1 - Dwellinghouses

A particular door leaf design will have a maximum permissible size of glazing aperture based on full-scale test evidence on that specific door construction. It must not be assumed that this maximum approved size may be automatically applied to another door leaf construction. Each door assembly requires its own specific test evidence, or assessment evidence related to test data. There is no standard for the minimum width of a fire door vision panel it all depends on the test data when the door set was tested.

It sounds like some form of testing you should check it out with the maintenance engineer or the manufacturer.

There are three types of ventilation systems, automatic, permanent and those operated by the fire service so you would have to speak to the fire risk assessor or the installer which type is in your premises. When a Fire Risk assessor conducts a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) s/he assumes one staircase will be unusable due to fire or smoke logging and there should be an alternative means of escape for the occupants so the smoke logging problem you speak of should not occur. http://www.local.gov.uk/web/guest/publications/-/journal_content/56/10171/3369777/PUBLICATION-TEMPLATE

The 'Break The Glass Tube' system is still acceptable and break glass bolts of today have been modified to use Ceramic Tubes for safe and accurate semi-automatic mechanism of panic bolt open system. The old type of break glass Redlam panic bolt using glass tube is no longer fit for today’s fire safety standards in Europe. If the stairwell is full of smoke then there is something seriously wrong with your fire risk assessment because you should have access to an alternative means of escape. The push-bar solution is easier, quicker to operate but is more likely to be abused and the Ceramic Tube is more secure, so it depends on the situation which is best.

Your premises are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 regulation 17 Maintenance, and the emergency lighting is subject to this regulation. The problem you are having needs to be sorted out so the emergency lighting functions efficiently and correctly. The local Fire and Rescue Service are the enforcing authority. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/regulatory-reform-fire-safety-order-2005/ and http://www.firesafe.org.uk/emergency-lighting/ http://www.firesafe.org.uk/uk-fire-rescue-services-details/

There is no legal requirement that fire exits doors should be only used in an emergence, they can be used at anytime but must be available for emergencies. This is a management decision and it is them you have to persuade.

I see no problems as far as fire safety is concerned but there could be a security concerns.

This will depend on the possible fire risks in the premises. There is bound to be a class A risk The minimum quantity of extinguishers with an A rating should be calculated as follows: a) for any storey with a floor area less than or equal to 400 m2 there should be: 1) at least two (2) extinguishers with a class A rating; having 2) a combined minimum total fire rating of 26A; But I believe one class a extinguisher with a similar fire rating would be satisfactory. Unlikely to have a class B risk but if one is present the appropriate extinguisher should be provided. Class C risk should be dealt with like electrical fires by isolating the supply and deal with a class A extinguisher. Very unlikely to have a class D risk. Finally class F which is a possibility, which is most likely to be small or could be a pan of food and a Fire blanket should be sufficient. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/portable-fire-extinguisher-general/

As green-foam has said, in such a situation "what do you expect his carer to do about it" but for peace of mind you could get the local fire and rescue service to conduct a fire risk check, most do carry them out. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/uk-fire-rescue-services-details/ which will give you the details of your local FRS.

A couple of documents you may find interesting. A Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor http://www.fia.uk.com/en/info/document_summary.cfm/docid/E6479C4F-E267-4DD4-8B55A6930C685F13 Competency Criteria for Fire Risk Assessors http://www.fia.uk.com/en/Information/Details/index.cfm/FRA%20Competency%20Criteria

A document you may find useful http://www.fia.uk.com/en/info/document_summary.cfm/docid/E6479C4F-E267-4DD4-8B55A6930C685F13 or http://www.bafe.org.uk/uploads/DOC510BF23245044.doc

We now have one standard for safety signs which includes fire safety and fire exit signs and it is an International (ISO) European (EN) and British (BS) Standard, BS EN ISO 7010:2012. It is envisaged The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations will be amended soon and the new signs will become law and the so called euro-sign will be no more. It appears anybody with BS 5499 pt 4 signs will conform to the new standard.