Tom Sutton

Single Axis Hinges Hinges and latches have an important role in ensuring the integrity of the door. The fire door hinges must remain adequately attached, in spite of the charring of wood in the vicinity. It is common to use three hinges although tests have shown that with some doors two hinges may be adequate for a 30 minute fire door (FD30). Steel and brass hinges are effective for a half-hour door, but only steel hinges will be satisfactory for a 60 minute fire door (FD60). For the latter, it may be necessary to use hinges with extended flaps (broad butts) so that fixing is maintained even when severe charring has taken place. BS EN 1935: 2002: Building Hardware Single Axis Hinges is the current European standard for single axis hinges and being able to understand the CE markings, provided when purchasing hinges, is of some importance. Guide to Interpreting Markings for Single Axis Hinges. CE and BS marking simple tells you the the hinge has passed BS EN 1935 and may be suitable for fire doors, you need the documentation to decide if the they are suitable for fire doors by checking the coding system.

I assume we are talking about steel hinges and in the 1980,s they did not need to be BS or CE marked but if new hinges need to be fitted, then they should meet the modern day standards.

I am assuming you are using the DCLG guide for offices and shops. The travel distances are based on an arbitrary time, accepted by most as 2.5 minutes and in that time 200 will have reached safety, allowing others to fill the staircase which provides 30 minutes of comparative safety. So it all depends on the capacity of the staircase, which if it is two hundred persons then as first stair full reaches safety the remainder will be filling the staircase, so they will all be in the staircase, a place of comparative safety within approx 2.5 minutes. So you need to consider the capacity of the staircase and if it falls short then you may have to consider a two stage alarm.

Depends how he sectioned off the garage from the house, if the partition and ceiling meets a 30 minutes fire resistance between the garage from the house then my interpretation would be the door could be changed, if not then the door should remain. If you cannot achieve this you could use fire resistant glazing in the fire door. You should speak to building control as they are the enforcing authority and you may require approval.

I cannot advise if the means of escape is satisfactory without a full survey but only escape routes/stairs that lead to a place of safety should be signed with fire exit signs because when you enter the staircase you should remain in a protected route until you reach ultimate safety.

I would suggest you contact Envirograf who are the top men in this field also I know they have a primer that can be used on wax finished wood but no mention of hard wax oil.

The guidance for this type of premises is FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing and you have not given sufficient information to establish where your premises falls within the guide. What I can say a roof ladder would not be acceptable and there should be protected route from each floor level to the final exit. (front door)

If you have a category A,B, or C fire alarm the door lock will be linked to a fire alarm system but you still need a manual override and also you will need the means of opening the door during normal time. You could have a "push to exit" button fitted with a plastic cover which you need to lift up before you can press the button which could be sufficient to prevent your aunt from operating the button? The plastic cover is designed for manual call points but if you can get a "push to exit" button the same size then it could work.

Check out The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 all the information is in those regulations. Does the premise conform to FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing which is the guidance for this type of premises.

Was he an operational bod or a fire safety officer either way that's his assessment but I would get in writing before you consider acting on it.

You need to seek British Gypsum guidance (White Book) check out http://www.british-gypsum.com/products/gyproc-fireline?tab0=2. What yo are trying to do, is make do and mend, the only way to get a definitive answer, is to rip off the old and replace it with a new, BG will provide the guidance. Have you spoken to Building Control?

You have two types of lighting the normal lighting which should be available at any time it is required and emergency escape lighting, which should come on, when the electricity supply to the normal lighting fails. The emergency escape lighting should only be illuminated when the electricity supply to the normal lighting loses its supply and it has a very low level of illumination (1 to 2 lux), you can check this with an app on your phone, but it should be sufficient to enable the occupants to find their way out of the premises safely. If the Responsible Person wishes to automatically control the switching of the normal lighting it should be on when required, and there are ways to design a system that can achieve this.

You can buy paint, varnishes and coatings that the supplier will provide a compliance certificates that will provide proof that suitable items if treated according to their instructions will provide a class "O" standard. I would suggest you surf the web with "How do you achieve class O" and you should get a response from one or more of these retailers.

A carbon Monoxide (CO) detector will not detect natural gas which is principally methane (CH4) but you can get detectors that will recognise methane and carbon monoxide. Natural gas can be detected by smell but carbon monoxide cannot so it is very important that you keep your CO detector in good working order. I think this incident was a coincidental but nevertheless the outcome was great.

To do this you would need to get building regulations approval and Approved Document B (fire safety) volume 1: Dwellinghouses says that on the ground floor all habitable rooms have to open onto a hall, leading to a entrance or other suitable exit. Your proposals would not achieve this and consequently it would not get approval.

It sounds like the large label you cut off was the display label which is only required when it is on display in the shop, the label you need to look for is permanent label which will be fixed permanently to each item of furniture. If this is a one off sale and you are not a business then you are not subject to the regulations but I think you have a moral duty to inform the purchaser that the permanent label is missing , if it is, and allow the purchaser to decide. Check out Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home - A Guide to the UK Regulations

You have said Secured by Design asks for the battery backup facility and also they have outlawed the use of a green BGU where can I find this guidance?

Check out https://www.asdma.com/knowledge-centre/ and select Risk Assessment Considerations for Timber Fire Doors ASDMA Guidance for Responsible Persons which will provide a lot of useful information, but you need an expert to inspect the doors and tell you what you need to do, i would suggest you check out http://fdis.co.uk/ . I also assume you are in purpose built flats and you could also study Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats.

As far as I am aware you can.

Twenty people, 3 bedroom house sounds a little optimistic but as far as fire safety is concerned until you have got your proposals on paper nobody can give you any advice; it will all depend on the layout of the premises. When you are working out the fire safety provisions required you should consult Approved Document B (fire Safety) volume 2: Premises other than Dwelling Houses which is the document you will need to meet, at the alteration stage.

Check out https://www.labc.co.uk/sites/default/files/EXT.SCA-Guidance-on-Smoke-Control-to-Common-Escape-Routes-Oct2015.LSt_.v2.151116.pdf its the Smoke control associaton guide on flats, may be useful.

I cannot see a small difference on the date due will cause a significant problem providing it does not develop into a much bigger difference.

My interpretation a 1m2 free area ventilation is required by Approved Document B (fire Safety) volume 2: Premises other than Dwelling Houses (item 2.26 page 29) at the head of each staircase. To measure the free area you need to check out appendix C 5 free area of ventilators. You have two choices and I am not sure you will achieve 1m2 by either, you need to speak to somebody who specialise in NSHEV systems.

If they are absolutely necessary, it's about the best solution and should be considered also there must be an alternative means of escape situation.

Décor and surface finishes of walls, ceilings and escape routes The materials used to line walls and ceilings can contribute significantly to the spread of flame across their surface. Most materials that are used as surface linings will fall into one of three classes of surface spread of flame. The following are common examples of acceptable materials for various situations: Class 0: Materials suitable for circulation spaces and escape routes • Such materials include brickwork, blockwork, concrete, ceramic tiles, plaster finishes (including rendering on wood or metal lathes), wood-wool cement slabs and mineral fibre tiles or sheets with cement or resin binding. Note: Additional finishes to these surfaces may be detrimental to the fire performance of the surface and if there is any doubt about this then consult the manufacturer of the finish. Class 1: Materials suitable for use in all rooms but not on escape routes • Such materials include all the Class 0 materials referred to above. Additionally, timber, hardboard, block board, particle board, heavy flock wallpapers and thermosetting plastics will be suitable if flame-retardant treated to achieve a Class 3: Materials suitable for use in rooms of less than 30m2 • Such materials include all those referred to in Class 1, including those that have not been flame-retardant treated and certain dense timber or plywood and standard glass-reinforced polyesters. The equivalent European classification standard will also be acceptable. Further details about internal linings and classifications are available in Approved Document B.24 Appropriate testing procedures are detailed in BS 476-732 and where appropriate BS EN 13501-1.33 Notice boards are acceptable in escape routes if fitted in a cabinet and it advisable to use poly carbonate and not glass for the frontage. Loose paper should not be fitted to the walls of escape routes but could be acceptable in class rooms on the back wall furthest from the door. Check out DCLG guidance document for schools and BB100 fire safety for design of schools depends if its new build or existing building.