Tom Sutton

The gap between the door frame and the door leaf on both sides/top of the door is 3mm +/- 1mm, this also applies in the area of the lock. The gap at the threshold of the door should be 3mm or a smoke seal fitted as well as the sides and top. Check out ASDMA Best Practice Guide

Yes you do, as the Responsible Person (RP) you are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which apart from other duties requires you to conduct a FRA for the common areas. Depending on the contract and duties of the letting company they maybe the RP with the appropriate duties.

There is emergency standby lighting which is emergency lighting which may be provided to enable normal activities to continue if the normal lighting fails but I think you are talking about emergency escape lighting, which is emergency lighting which is provided to ensure that the escape route is illuminated at all material times if there is an emergency and the normal lighting fails. Emergency escape lighting is designed only to be used when there is an emergency and provides light for about three hours, using batteries, standby lighting usually uses generators.

BS 7175:1989 Methods of test for the ignitability of bedcovers and pillows by smouldering and flaming ignition sources Uses the ignition sources in BS 5852 to assess the ignitability of pillows, quilts, mattress cases & covers, sheets, pillowslips, blankets, bedspreads & quilt covers, individually and in combination. BS 7177:2008+A1:2011 Specification for resistance to ignition of mattresses, mattress pads, divans and bed bases BS 7177 is a British Standard which specifies requirements for the resistance to ignition of mattresses, mattress pads, divans and bed bases when tested in accordance with BS EN 597-1, BS EN 597-2 and BS 6807 including those used in areas vulnerable to arson. It does not apply to mattress protectors. The levels of ignition resistance have been set after careful consideration of the fire risk of the particular end-use environment involved. These levels do not necessarily reflect the behaviour of the mattress, mattress pad, divan or bed base in a fully developed fire.

You should check out HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing there is advice on fire alarms page 23.

There is a lot of conflicting views on the best location to install a CO detector but IMO the manufacturers instructions would be the best to use. For instance Kidde instruction for Model 10SCO is https://www.safelincs.co.uk/templates_safelincs/files/datasheets/2777_kidde-10sco-user-manual.pdf and page 8 details the fixing loction.

No, he should read article 6 of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 domestic premises are exempt and article 2 definition of a domestic premises which states the common areas of a block of flats is not exempt so the RR(FS)O applies consequently a FRA is required.

The previous legislation, the Fire Precautions 1971 had a clause known as the Statutory Bar which meant once the building control had issued a completion certificate you could not ask for additional work, but under the new legislation The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 it allows for upgrades to ensure the premises is fire safe. There has been court cases to force tenants to comply and who carries out the work or pays is a matter for the tenants agreement.

Who is the Freeholder/Owner of the block?

See your first submission.

If you consider the electric shower as a fire risk then your actions would be correct but I am not at all certain, I would accept it is a possible ignition source but considering the contents of a bathroom, could they result in a serous fire?

I would say the rim lock should have the thumb turn should be on the hall side and the lockable by key should be on the garage side. I do not think the FD30s door between the garage and the house is for means of escape but to protect the house from the garage because it is a high fire risk and in your case it protects the hall which is a protected route.

Assuming it is a brush seal and if is not fixed in the gap then I would think it will not effectively prevent the cold smoke passing through the gap resulting in leakage greater than what is required, therefore not acceptable. However without testing or documentation, that should have accompanied the seal, it is difficult to be certain. Check out the ASDMA Best Practice Guide section 14.

Loose or stretch covers are removable covers which are supplied by a producer other than the manufacturer of the furniture. These are designed to be placed on top of an existing finished piece of furniture which is already fitted with a permanent cover. This distinction is made because only the manufacturer of the furniture concerned will have detailed knowledge of how it complies with the Regulations. Loose covers for upholstered furniture must comply with Schedule 5, Part 1 of the Regulations and stretch covers must comply with Schedule 5, Part 2 of the Regulations as these are sold separately from the furniture. They also need to have a permanent label attached to them and this label may appear on the underside of the fabric. There are no display label requirements for loose and stretch covers.

The red LED flashing every 2 seconds could be described in the manual as flashing rapidly, which would mean a fire or false alarm. In that case you should, when the alarm operates and there is no sign of smoke, heat or noise to indicate that there is a fire, you should get your family into a safe place, before you start investigating. Check the house carefully in case there is a small fire smouldering somewhere.Check whether there is some source of smoke or fumes, for example cooking fumes being drawn past the Smoke Alarm by an extractor. When sure that it is just a nuisance/false alarm, simply press the test/silence button briefly on the Alarm to silence the unit for 10 minutes, and then it will reset itself. To prevent false alarms you should check for fumes, steam etc. from the kitchen or bathroom. Paint and other fumes can cause nuisance/false alarms. Clean your Alarm regularly, particularly in dusty areas. Use the narrow nozzle attachment of your vacuum cleaner to remove dust, insects and cobwebs from the sides and cover slots where the smoke or heat enters. To clean the cover, wipe with a damp cloth. Dry cover thoroughly with a lint free cloth.

All routes and exits from a building can be used for normal ingress and egress, there is no legal restrictions placed on them, it is only when there is an emergency, they become emergency exits. Under normal use of the exit routes the management could place rules, if they choose, limiting their use but they all require to be available in the case of an emergency.

This is not a fire safety matter it is more a solicitors matter, it would depend on your tenants agreement. I assume you pay a service charge for all upkeep of the common areas maybe it is included in the terms and conditions of that document, as I have said you should contact your solicitor.

Further to my above submission you must run it past the building control to see if they will accept it, they may require fixing new fire door sets, for you to get it signed off.

Yes I would agree with you to remove the old lippings and replace them with new, however the maximum dimensions of lippings length and depth, will depend on on the size of door but the width is controlled by the fire test data/assessment which will vary depending on the test and if you do not have it, it may cause problems. Also if the fire doors are certificated they will lose it, if you are not an approved contractor to that association. (The British Woodworking Federation or BM TRADA.)

Is the fire door the front door of a flat and is it a converted dwelling house or purpose built, because not all fire doors need to have smoke seals. Also I cannot work out the location of the seal from the photo. Check out ASDMA Best Practice Guide at https://www.asdma.com/knowledge-centre/ and https://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/ for more detail information.

As the label is named permanent it should be fixed so it will survive to life of the piece or pieces of upholstered furniture but it does not indicate how this can be achieved, stapling is a common method. Permanent label should be fixed to each item, in your case to each chair or in the case of a settee there should be one on the base with one on any detachable cushions.

Do you or your landlord own this land, if not you should have an legal agreement with the owners which should detail the do and don'ts. If you do own the land you should make arrangements the prevent parking in that particular area or conduct a FRA to see if an alternative means of escape can be arranged.

Check out The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 article 21 Training. It details when training should be carried out and it does not indicate a period of time that retraining should be carried out it just says periodically where appropriate and I am not aware of any changes. Ask to person who told this for chapter and verse.

Is EN 13501-2:2016 or EN 15998:2010 what you are looking for?

The common areas are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 so what the building regulations say is irrelevant and CP4 does not apply , the guidance is Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats, You would need a far more detailed description of the premises to make any serious comments PS. I wrote this at the same time as AB but decided to allow it to be submitted.