Tom Sutton

The legislation refers to using competent persons to assist the Responsible Person to meet the requirements of the Fire Safety Order and the definition of a competent persons is " A person is to be regarded as competent where s/he has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him properly to implement any necessary measures ". Bearing that in mind I would say a specialist electrician in fire alarms/emergency lighting is the right person. Assuming the luminaries you are referring to are self contained type then this information should be available with your logbook, certificates and specifications issued by the installer. If not, you could have the luminaries open up and check the type of battery installed or contact the manufacturer for the specifications for the appropriate luminaire.

This applies to any fire and more because as it is very likely there will be plastic products in the premises. This is why we say smoke kills, if the concentrations are heavy enough and advise people to escape as soon as possible when a fire threatens. Fire-fighters have to enter thick smoke and need to wear breathing apparatus with its own air supply it should not be necessary for the occupants as they should be clear before the smoke is too thick and toxic levels are reached. This is why fire-fighters will always advise any person who has breathed in smoke to visit the hospital for a check-up.

I am with you on this one but it depends on the door that is being propped open if it is a fire door, which is unlikely on this occasion, then it could be an offence under the Fire Safety Order but if it is any other door then it is very unlikely to be an offence.

It is difficult to keep abreast of fire safety standards in the UK and every country has its own fire safety legislation so it is almost impossible to advise you other than to say try Google for " Barbados fire regulations " and what comes up.

Reg 5 is the requirement for a cigarette test and certain covering materials do not need a match test but do require an a fire-resistant interliner (fire barrier), so the label confuses me. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/ which has links to all the necessary sources of information. I would suggest for an expert view you should contact FIRA and/or your local Trading Standards who are the enforcing authority on the The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations.

Fred Check out http://www.firesafe....gency-lighting/ you may it useful for the task you have set yourself.

The The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 does not require you to have glazing in a fire door however if your Health and Safety risk assessment requires it then it must be fire resisting glazing. What is the glazing needed for and where does it need to be positioned in the door is a matter for the H&S risk assessment but if it is needed in a fire door it needs to be fire resisting and as small as possible. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/

The guidance for conducting a fire risk assessment in an office is Offices and shops and for evacuating mobility impaired staff the guidance is Means of Escape for Disabled People (Supplementary Guide). As for relying on the fire and rescue service to evacuate the premises this is your responsibility and you should have procedures in place to effect a full evacuation without the need of the FRS to assist.

First try to understand the legislation check out http://www.pat-testing.info/legal.htm. PAT is required by The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and failure to comply is a breach of the Consumers Protection Act 1987 so I would suggest you contact the local Trading Standards who should be able to assist you.

More info as it gets more confusing. http://www.hantsfire...s/pd-6-40-8.htm please note BS 6661: 1986 ‘Design, Construction and Maintenance of Single Skin Air Supported Structures’ has been withdrawn but Approved Document B still refers to it..

For the sake of you and your family I would say yes and to conform to Approved Document B - Volume 1 if you were building it today. The lower floor level in the garage allows any flammable liquid spills to disperse through the garage doors and prevent it entering the bungalow. If a fire starts in the garage (high risk) it would allow the occupants to escape before the fire entered the bungalow. Any openings in the wall between the bungalow and the garage should also meet a half hour fire resisting standard. Check out page 32 of the above guide.

I have found a guide that may suit your purposes, check out http://www.performan...re/mutamarq.pdf and remember once the structure is erected you will need to conduct a a risk assessment as required by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

For means of escape it would depend like any other building on the size, layout, how fast a fire would spread but with one major different consideration, how would the structure behave in a fire. Would the building collapse on the occupants, is the material used fire retardant, I know there is guidance on inflatable structures but I cannot locate at this moment and if and when I do, I will get back to you.

Providing the hinges are suitable for fire fire doors in accordance with BS EN 1935:2002 then coating them with copper should not affect their performance as you are not changing their properties just the appearance.

It sounds very much that you will involved in a material alteration which will be subject to the Building Regulations 2000 and you will need to consider fire safety matters under the those regulations. Go to http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-safety-in-new-extended-or-altered-buildings/ for the basics and for further information go to http://www.firesafe.org.uk/

In the event of a fire and the electric supply failing could the housemaster find his way out of the property if the answer is no then emergency escape lighting is required. I do not have EEL in my home because I have a street lamp outside my front door and at 2am I can find my way around easily. Being a person with prostrate problems I have plenty of opportunity to test it. <_<

In my opinion answer is no if a smoke detector has been installed as required by the fire risk assessment then replacing it with a heat detector will reduce the response time, to a fire alarm, putting lives in danger. Have you considered bringing in a fire alarm specialist to look at the problem and maybe s/he could provide a solution.

You have the normal lighting circuits in the commons areas to enable persons using the the building to move about the building safety when the area is in darkness. I cannot see why they should not be operated by motion sensors but this is a health and safety matter. You may require under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 require emergency escape lighting and the guidance is Sleeping accommodation which should assist you in deciding if you require EEL. If you do need emergency escape lighting then non-maintained should be used which only illuminates in the case of a fire.

Yes you are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and you can get further information from http://www.firesafe....ety-order-2005/. The guidance is Small and medium placesof assembly which covers Smaller public houses, clubs, restaurants and cafes, village halls, community centre’s, libraries, marquees, churches and other places of worship or study accommodating up to 300 people.

I am not aware of any minimum gaps between furniture however when considering the travel distance you must consider the actual route, around desks, and other furniture, not the direct route. The OSRA require a minimum space for each desk and there is guidance in the new metric book, on gaps between work stations. Check out http://www.docstoc.c...rategy-Document (you do not need to download the document just go to section 14.) In this these days of risk assessment I would think its up to the FR assessor to decide if the gap is adequate.

The guidance for fire door installation is BS 8214:2008 Code of practice for fire door assemblies and includes the following note, "Approved Document B of the Building Regulations 2000 [6] recommends that the installation of fire-resisting products be covered by product conformity certification or by independent registered installer schemes, where such schemes are available. Also in the above BS it gives guidance on how to fill the gap between the frame and wall and suggests suitable packing, intumescent material as a preformed strip seal or Mineral or glass wool packed to a depth of at least 10 mm or Intumescent paste, mastic or other suitable material. For more guidance check out "Guidance on Fire Door Installation" click here

Your premises are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and it requires you to conduct a fire risk assessment. The DCLG considers the sleeping guide as being to onerous for small premise like yours and the guide to use is "Do you have paying guests?". You should study the whole document but the reference the fire extinguisher is as follows, " Should I provide fire fighting equipment? One extinguisher on each floor near the stairs and a fire blanket in the kitchen should be enough in most small premises. You will need to make sure that the instructions on how to use them are clear and that there is a warning to people not to tackle anything other than a very small fire. Evacuating the premises is the safest thing to do. You can buy suitable multi-purpose extinguishers, guaranteed for five years, from a range of larger DIY outlets. You should check the gauge regularly to make sure the ‘stored pressure’ has not leaked.

Check out the advice from the Isle of Wight Council on domestic fire alarms. Then check the situation in your home and decide which would be the best solution but you should not disable your fire detector it could cost you your life. Can't you keep the kitchen door closed when you are cooking as an interim solution while you are sorting out the problem. There will be a solution depending on the layout of your home and using a combination of the three types of detector. You can check the ambient temperature at ceiling level using a domestic thermometer. Finally have you considered getting a free home check and advice from the local fire and rescue service this should help. http://www.firesafe....rvices-details/

Harry I stand corrected the 1ltr version doesn't have an A or B rating therefore I would not consider it, on reflection you would have to use the 6ltr as a minimum if you require a multi-rated extinguisher.

I have done a little research and assuming the extinguisher is for public order policing where police officers can get flammable liquids on their clothing. For a class “B” fire in a container then I would not recommend a dry water mist because of the rating but the above scenario is more akin to a spill type fire and the method of rating is calculated differently. It says the recommended minimum rating = 10 X the amount of flammable liquid spilt in litres. Therefore the contents of a petrol bomb are likely to be about 0.25litres X 10 = 2.5 and the 1litre water mist extinguisher has a rating of 5B then in theory it should be adequate. Having said that, I would still be cautious and conduct some practical tests, using a dummy dressed in riot gear to prove it would be effective.