Tom Sutton

Local emergency luminaire is only an example there would be others, street lighting and daylight for example, so nothing has really changed.

I am not aware of any regulations that would require you to fit a fire door to the boiler room. However I would be cautious and have a door that provides some fire resistance, a well fitting substantial door would suffice and if you intend providing a vent in the door I would use an intumescent vent. Assuming the garage/boiler room is well compartmented from the rest of the dwelling, the boiler room will not be a life risk, but it could spread to the garage and cause considerable damage.

Your employer is not necessarily committing an offence under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 if he/she has alternative arrangements in place, if evacuation in case of fire is necessary, which all staff should be instructed on. It all depends on the premises involved and the fire procedure adopted. If you are still concerned contact the local fire and rescue service as they are the enforcement authority.

You can start by giving the full details of the fire alarm involved.

Because it is a three story building the whole staircase needs to be protected, therefore all doors from habitable rooms into the staircase need to be fire resisting. Because replacing the doors having a lower fire resistance, you have reduced the level of fire safety, therefore you need to bring the doors up to the original FR standard or higher. I am afraid you will have to follow the instructions of the building control office (BCO)/authorised inspector (AI) because you will not get a completion certificate, however you could appeal his/her decision, but I think with little chance of winning. Check out https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485420/BR_PDF_AD_B1_2013.pdf

I did some further research and it appears to me that the building control compliance certificate only covers gas safety and means of escape is another matter. Because you have to obtain a compliance certificate then if there was other matters, under their control, I am sure they would have made you aware of it, so it looks like you do not have any legal requirements to do anything but if the corridor you spoke of is a means of escape then at least the door should have some fire resisting properties. I would think you need to study HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing and apply there guidance. and apply there guidance

Assuming this door is not protecting a means of escape, then there is no recommended gaps around a door. However when I was involved in the building game many years ago, a general rule of thumb was the gap should be a thickness of the old penny which is about 2/3mm and the threshold gap as small as possible providing it doesn't catch on the floor. For fire doors it is 3mm +/- 1mm for the gap each side and the top of the door also fitted with smoke seals if cold smoke control is required. The threshold gap of 8mm or less is usually accepted, however if cold smoke control is required then it must be 3mm +/- 1mm, providing it doesn't catch on the floor, otherwise cold smoke seals should be fitted.

Fitting a new gas boiler is subject to the Building Regulations and you have to have a compliance certificate when it is installed. Unfortunately I do not know which approved documents are use and does approved document B fire safety apply to the compliance certificate consequently you should contact the local build control department. They should be able to advise you on any actions you need to take.

I am not sure what you mean by fire screen door, I assume it is a FD30/60 fire door to the staircase enclosure. There is no provision for this situation, in fire safety there are no black and white answers, like most things in fire safety it is all about risk assessment and if it is essential that a fire door has to be propped open, you have to make the situation as fire safe as possible. If you are happy to defend your solution with common sense and the occupants will/should be safe in a fire situation then go with it. Without having a full and intimate knowledge of the situation I cannot give a definitive answer also it is up to you to defend it if things go pear shaped.

All premises The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies which means they are required to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) except domestic premises however any common areas are subject. The 5 employees or more rule, you are still required to conduct a FRA but it does not need to be recorded I would still record it as it quite often makes life a little easier. Check out the fire safety order article 6 and 7 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made.

The fire risk assessor could be over cautious but without knowing the full details and a intimate knowledge of the premises it is impossible to say. Check out the guidance for the building if it is a purpose built block then Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats if it is a converted house then http://privatehousinginformation.co.uk/site/files/LACORS RRO guide 08.pdf.

I cannot give you advice on the means of escape(MoE) without having a full and detailed knowledge of the premises. All common areas of the premises require a fire risk assessment(FRA) and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies, enforced by th the local fire and rescue service. Individual flats do not require a FRA but they do need an adequate MoE and are subject to The Housing Act 2004 who is enforced by the local council also check out HHSRS(see below). As for the refuse storage you should check https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hhsrs-operating-guidance-housing-act-2004-guidance-about-inspections-and-assessment-of-hazards-given-under-section-9 and as for a fire procedure I an not aware of a requirement to provide a fire procedure but it is wise the tenants are informed even if it is in the form of written comunication.

It will be 30 minutes giving 60 minutes between floors, 30 mins to break into the riser 30 mins to break out into the other floors.

There is no fire and H&S regulations that will give you a direct answer, it is likely you are subjected to The Housing Act 2004 and The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which does require the RP,s to conduct a fire risk assessment(FRA) and the guidance for that FRA is the Lacors guide which should answer your inquiry. It does appear the present situation is acceptable but check it out with Lacor,s guide.

You should pursue your problem with the local Fire and Rescue Service who are the enforcer for The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and get everything documented.

I cannot help you as I do not have the experience with sprinklers in care homes but I do have an issue with door retainers in individual rooms, what do you mean from retainers, devices that are connected to the fire alarm and hold the door open, which shouldn't be a problem or do you mean retainer and the self closers. If I was you I would post this question on Fire Net Forum it is likely to get a better response.

From your description it is hard to visualise the layout of the building but what I can say is the fire detectors in the flats are separate from a fire alarm in the common areas and fire detectors and CO detector are required in your flat which is subject to The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015. It sounds like the entrance lobby is in common with the flat above therefore is subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Responsible Persons (RP) has a duty to conduct a fire risk assessment.(FRA) If a fire alarm is required the FRA will inform you and the RP,s should act upon the findings. The guidance for building is http://privatehousinginformation.co.uk/site/files/LACORS RRO guide 08.pdf and information on FRA,s can be found in https://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-risk-assessment/.

It depends where you intent installing the detectors and the conditions in each room.

Am I correct in thinking you have a hallway which leads to a lobby which leads to another lobby and then to the staircase. Which is your front door and is the staircase a protected staircase with FD doors at each floor level?

Part B, came into existence in 1985 and the relevant part is B3 which shows the minimum fire resistance of floors in all types of building. Ceilings provide an important barrier that helps to prevent the spread of fire and noise between the floors of a building. Installing recessed downlights punctures this barrier and can reduce the effectiveness of this safety barrier. Installing fire rated downlights helps to protect your premises from the effects of both fire and noise pollution and aids compliance with building regulations governing the installation of downlights. Made from intumescent materials, fire rated downlights seal the gap between the ceiling and the fitting to offer up to 90 minutes protection against the spread of fire into the void spaces within your ceiling / loft space. For the work to need building regulation approval it has to be a material alteration which makes the means of escape worse and changing halogen bulbs for LED bulbs, is going to reduce the risk, not make it worse, so I think ADB is not relevant. We need to know who is asking for it and why.

Understand I am no an expert in this field but my interpretation would be, you first statement is correct. How do I find out which fabrics are schedule 3 compliant, you speak to your supplier, who should be able to provide document proof or have it tested yourself. If you study schedule 3 it says The fabric shall be made of 100 per cent flame retardant polyester fibre. Its construction shall be woven to a plain weave. The yarn in the warp shall be of 1.6 decitex fibre, spun to a linear density of 37 tex, Z twist at 420 turns per metre. The fabric shall be woven to 20.5 yarn threads per centimetre in the warp and more. Consequently the Curtain lining fabric you have would not be suitable. Check out https://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/ and study the regulations, especially schedule 3.

BS EN 1935:2002 Building hardware. Single-axis hinges says that all fire doors fitted with self closers or hold open devices should have three hinges of group 12,13,or 14. This is to prevent the door warping in use or in a fire, preventing the door closing properly. The manufacturer may in very exceptional circumstances suggest only two hinges may be suitable. Two hinges may be fitted to fire doors not using self closers , but could be subject to warping in a fire so it is wise to fit three hinges, so other than fire doors to very small cupboard doors, all fire doors should have three hinges. I think the problem is the british standards they try to cover all the eventualities which adds to confusion, I would always fit three hinges unless I have documentation evidence to the contrary.

Without more details it is impossible to give a definitive answer but it does appear that the wooden staircase would not be required depending on travel distances and other considerations. Also it could be argued that this could be material alterations and building regulations would apply, therefore contacting the local building control would be necessary. Having your FRA reviewed would be necessary and the assessor would be able to give you a definitive answer. He/she would be able to advise if you need to contact the BC.

Is it a two storey building and why was the external wooden staircase provided in the first place?

How have you converted the halogen downlight to a LED downlight, this is important, because it is not about electrical safety its about breaching a fire resistance membrane with a number of reasonable large holes and they need to achieve the required fire resistance of the ceiling.