Tom Sutton

Question 1. You do not have to but I think it would be wise to employ a fire risk assessor before work starts. Question 2. Check out Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council - Competency criteria for Fire Risk Assessors may be useful.

The boiler will be an ignition risk and if it can ignite material close by then you need to put control measures in place. The server will be vital to the business and should be protected for the sake of business continuity.

Check out HSE guidance at http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/dsear-background.htm#whatdsear any questions you have should be answered.

That's part of the risk assessment and for the fire risk assessor to decide.

It will depend on your fire risk assessment, is there a fire risk in the toilets if not then fire doors will not be necessary, if there is then fix fire doors.

Thanks FRFree for putting me straight I have checked out article 14 of the 88 regs and I can now see how I got it wrong and using private and business was wrong I should have used consumer and supplier which makes it easy to understand. I was always thought that the FIRA guidance was easier to understand, but is it misleading, if so how badly and also the government guidance has been achieved. Again thanks your input it has been most useful.

I cannot give a definitive answer without a full survey of the said premises but what the council have said appears correct and in accordance with building regulations. The FRA,s are for each independent premises (Food outlets) and the common areas of the flats / holiday lets, but they are required to cooperate and coordinate with each other. There needs to be 60 minutes separation between the outlets and the flats and a wooden floor can achieve this. Check out https://www.firesafe.org.uk/regulatory-reform-fire-safety-order-2005/ and Approved Document B (fire Safety) volume 2: Premises other than Dwelling Houses may be usful.

That's how I interpret providing the lower level flats meet the standards of 2.11 and 2.12.

I tend to agree what they have said, as the regulation only apply to manufacturers,suppliers and retailers located in the UK and as I understand both are not located in the UK, one Poland the others head office is in Ireland. As I see it, the purchaser has the control not to buy if it does not meet the regulations, and if the advert does not indicate it meets the regulations, then contact the seller to confirm this. It does have to have a CEN mark and meet European law, which is explained in the link above.

If the item is not upholstered then the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988/1989, 1993 and 2010 does not apply and if it is for a commercial premises then the buyer may require it to meet the surface spread of flame standard, otherwise then no.

Further to what AB has said check out 2.20 of the ADB vol 2.and Diagram 7.

Any such assessment must be reviewed by the responsible person regularly so as to keep it up to date and particularly if - (a) there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or (b) there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates including when the premises, special, technical and organisational measures, or organisation of the work undergo significant changes, extensions, or conversions, and Where changes to an assessment are required as a result of any such review, the responsible person must make them. There is not frequency detailed but most consider 12 months as being reasonable, but it is up to risk assessment.

The HO guidance on cinemas and theatres state, You should ensure that security fastenings such as chains, bars, padlocks, etc. are removed from all doors, gates, shutters, etc. on exit routes at all times the public are in the premises and prior to the building being put to use. No removable fastening should be replaced until the public have left the premises and sufficient and appropriate exits should remain available for staff who may be present. How can a manager achieve this by having a chain board in his office. The legislation simply says all exits should be available and the guidance expands on this, the chain board is just good practice, which may be needed if you end up speaking to the man with the curly wig. It's been around in my experience since 1960's and most probably long before that.

I fully accept that consumers are not subject to the regulations but when you read "Suppliers affected" in the above document nowhere does it say private individuals, who are not businesses, are subject either. Could you please point me to where I could get clarification.

The above guide states "The Regulations apply to all persons in the business supply chain from the supply of materials for use in furniture and furnishings through to supply of the finished article. They affect:" follow by a list of businesses and it doesn't mention private individuals, why.

Most probably your FRA is acceptable but if the insurance company will not insure without a full fire alarm then they have you by the S & C. Who pays will be up to the your tenancy agreement I think it should be the landlord because you cannot take it with you when you leave and it will remain in his/her ownership. However as the Responsible Person (RP) it is you who have a duty to ensure a means of alerting all the employees/relevant persons is available which leaves you between a rock and a hard place.

Many times there will be no specific answer to a fire safety question you have to use your knowledge and common sentence. In this case, under normal conditions, wheelchairs will cause little problems and the staff will most probable assist the person. So have this written as a PEEP and included it in the fire plan.

They can be wedged open and to and insult to injury they often use fire extinguishers.

I depends if it is a private seller or a business, private sellers are not subject to the legislation but businesses are. The enforcing authority is the Trading Standards so if it is a business then contact the local department. Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home - A Guide to the UK Regulations

I would think the brass would not melt into a liquid form at those temperatures it is more likely to soften and distort like steel at those temperatures. Providing the door remains closed, the role of the lock will achieved its aims and it holds back the fire for the given time it will have passed.

From the Home Office guidance Small and medium placesof assembly are the following statements. The effective usable width of an escape route is the narrowest point, normally a door or other restriction such as narrowing of a corridor due to fixtures and fittings. The capacity of an escape route is measured by the number of persons per minute that can pass through it so, to establish the capacity of the route, it is first necessary to measure the width of the route at the narrowest point. The effective width of a doorway is the clear unobstructed width through the doorway when the door is open at right angles to the frame. The effective width at any other point is the narrowest clear unobstructed width through which people can pass. When calculating the overall available escape route capacity for premises that have more than one way out, you should normally assume that the widest is not available because it has been compromised by fire. If doors or other exits leading to escape routes are too close to one another you should consider whether the fire could affect both at the same time. If that is the case, it may be necessary to discount them both from your calculation.

I would use the guidance recommended by the Gov.UK DCLG Home Office. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-safety-law-and-guidance-documents-for-business.

There is no problem in using flammable material in the inside of a protected shaft, in most situation there will be, however if they are ignited then any fire should not be able to pass to the outside of the shaft and in this situation the brick wall will achieve that.

How does a person get from outside to a room in the dead end, if the dead end leads nowhere. Check out Approved Document B (fire Safety) volume 2: Premises other than Dwelling Houses page 39 diagram 17 show what a dead end is.

From what you say it is unlikely the buildings was built to BS 9999 so why are you using it for your calculations, it looks like cherry picking. Either way common sense would dictate the narrowest part of an escape route should be used to calculate maximum numbers in that escape route.