Tom Sutton

Does it meet the required standards for B3 section 8 compartmentation of ADB, I do not think so it looks like the architects have come up with an alternative. I had a block of flats and the ceiling to the top eight flats was a concrete slab with access, from the two staircase enclosures. I lost the roof but there was no fire damage to the flats only a small amount of water damage, so I can see their reasoning but would double boarding achieve anything near that standard or what is required by ADB, I doubt it? What's being said on other forums, are we seeing the standards required by some BCO/AI these days.

Yes, having an alternative escape is one method to resolve escape from a inner room (orange room) the other are having a smoke detector on the access room to warn the person in the inner room their escape could be compromised or having vision panels between the two rooms so persons in the inner room what is happening in the access room. Check out https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441669/BR_PDF_AD_B2_2013.pdf page 34 paragraph 3.10.

Depends if it threatens your means of escape which is your hallway.

I see no problems except you will need to destroy the label however the door will maintain its fire resisting standards, you should try to remove it and fix it to the top if possible.

The only problem is, that you have created an inner office situation so you need to consider that.

The department you should contact is the Local Building Control but I would be surprised they would give you good will advice, unless you applied for building regulation approval which I am not sure you need.

It depends on the type of premises you are talking about, if it is a flat front door opening onto a common area then it needs to be a FD30s fire door with an approved self closer, chain self closers are not approved as well as spring loaded hinges all the other door to habitable rooms should be FD20 fire doors without self closers but there can be exceptions. If it is a private domestic dwelling check out https://www.safelincs-forum.co.uk/topic/5163-fire-doors-in-a-domestic-3-storey-house/?do=findComment&comment=13398.

If we are talking about a private domestic dwelling house all the doors to habitable rooms should be FD20 (no self closer) doors, except the door into an attached garage which should be a FD30s fire door with a approved self closer. The front door into the fresh air is a final exit door and doesn't need to be a fire door the door to the kitchen needs to be a FD20 fire door. Pocket doors can be used, you can get fire doors as well as standard doors just depends what you require. Check out Approved Document B (fire safety) volume 1: Dwellinghouses.

It is possible, but without seeing it I cannot say for certain you would have to decide if a fire issuing from this bedroom window could jeopardize the concrete staircase and means of escape. If it does, then the window should meet the necessary fire resisting standard and fixed closed. This could be achieved by fitting a secondary glazing unit behind the existing unit.

If the fire assassembly point is on private land, sue them for trespassing, if it is on common land, then there is not much you can do other than speaking to the owners to see if they can help. This is a solicitors problem you should contact a solicitors and see if they can help but usually its a problem you have to live with.

The common areas of all blocks of flats in England and Wales are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and require a fire risk assessment to be carried out. In most FRA,s the front door to each flat is required a FD30s fire door. How it is financed is not the concern of the FSO that is up to your tenancy agreements so this is a legal matter between the freeholder/owners/management/company and yourselves.

I am afraid this is for the lawyers, the problem is mattresses and bed bases are exempt from the regulations and any headboards are subject to the FFFSR. However the complete unit is subject to the GPSR and to comply with the GPSR it should comply with the low hazard category of BS 7177 and labelled accordingly. In my opinion as this is not clear in law and would be up to the lawyers to fight it out in court, consequently the trading standards are reluctant to take it to court, this is why you will find confused labelling on beds. I think the best solution would be FFFSR labelling on the backboards and BS 7177 labeling on the mattress/bed base, but I wouldn't like to argue this in court.

In my opinion because it is not for sale and the other person is prepared to accept it, then it is not subject to the regulations but I think you have a moral responsibility to make this person full aware that there is no proof that the settee would be safe in fire situation.

I cannot give definitive answers without physically seeing the situation myself but it is useful to know the kind of things a FR assessor would be looking for. Because the staircase enclosure has access from the cafe and the flat it could be claimed that it is a common area and any access a common area has to have protection from heat/smoke, therefore to be ideal, the door to the flat should be FD30s fire door. The letting agency is correct the flat is not subject to the fire safety order only the common area and the commercial premises, which includes the staircase enclosure. The FRA is the responsibility of the Responsible Person (check FSO) and he/she not required to share it with any other person. The floors should be to a fire resisting standard and will be considered when the FRA is conducted. Check out The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

I contacted Lin one of the authors of the guidance books on fire doors found on https://www.asdma.com/knowledge-centre/ and she suggested, That International Fire Consultants (IFC) certification arm does fire door installer certification and IFC (not the certification bit) also run training courses on fire doors. She suggests you give them a call 01844 275500 and speak to Phil Sargent who should be able to fill you in completely on what they can do to help. Check out http://www.ifcgroup.com/ may be worth a look.

This is for fire extinguishers I will respond to your other submission.

The exit route to the final exit door should be a protected route, so the staircase from the front door of the flat to the final exit should achieve a 30 minutes fire resisting standard and the door into the cafe kitchen should be a FD30s fire door, the final exit door to fresh air from the staircase does not need to be FR. All habitable rooms should have an emergency egress window which is an openable window of a certain size check out Approved Document B (fire Safety) volume 2: Premises other than Dwelling Houses paragraph 2.9, which says the persons escaping should be able to get to a a place free from danger. But nowhere that I am aware of does it say how to achieve this, you could be rescued by ladder provided by passers by or Fire Service, you could provide certain self rescue devices or hanging from your fingertips and dropping to the floor which is not ruled out, however for me I would only consider it a last resort.

I still cannot understand why the front door was provided with a protected lobby and in most situations the front door will be a FD30s fire door. The remainder of the doors into your main hallway will be FD20 doors and well fitting, substantial standard doors are quite often accepted. I cannot see any reasons why you require the protected lobby or find any guidance that would require it and if you remove it you will be like many other flats that I am aware of.

There are many things that have to be taken into consideration when designing a means of escape, (MoE) so as I have often said I an unable to give you a definitive answer and that's why you need to visit the site or have detailed architectural drawings to be certain. I will assume the the staircase enclosures is the insecure area and you need a card/key to get into the offices but you only need the door handle to get from the offices into the staircase. This means you have exit from the furthest point in the offices to the final exit door to outside without requiring the need of a card/key. All the offices appear to have more than one escape route, (alternative MoE travel distance 45m) except the office enclosed in green therefore a single escape route is provided. (travel distance 18m) so I imagine you should have no problems. I do not understand the office in orange which appears to have a door that leads into you office and is not secured?

You are quite correct read my first paragraph and ideally it should be fire doors but any door will be better than none.

Without detailed information I cannot give a definitive answer but I cannot understand why you need a protected lobby to your front door (FD30s) unless it is to reduce the travel distance from the furthest point of your flat or to reduce draughts. This is called double door protection and can apply to commercial premises but not flats therefore I cannot see any reasons why you cannot remove the enclosure. How many storeys is the premises and are the doors to your hall, fire doors?

I see no problem with the locks you propose but you need to check the means of escape. I am assuming the premises is a two storey building and it appears that the main office and the office in the top left have an alternative MoE without the need to use a card/key. But the office in the lower left only has MoE in a single direction because of lock 3, so I would suggest you check the travel distances to make sure the MoE conforms.

Without a proper description of the premises I cannot say, but you need to check out what fire alarms are required using HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing. If a cat A type is required, then what you call a fire alarm should remain with a cat D in the flats and this is the situation in most three storey premises.

Without knowing a lot more about the situation it is impossible to give definitive answer, I would think the means of escape from fire (MoE) was designed, taking into account the doors in place, by removing them, it is going to worsen the MoE, even too a dangerous condition. As it is a rented premises then it is subject to The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 which require the landlord to provide smoke and CO detectors.

Assuming this is a required fire door then the automatic self closing device should conform to BS EN 1154:1997 Building Hardware – Controlled Door Closing Devices. Any paperwork with the self closer should confirm this.