Tom Sutton

The duration of an emergency lighting system will depend on the design and category of premises and if that requires 3 hours it should be tested to three hours. Consider the risk, providing you do the test during daylight hours, there has to be a fire, the electricity supply has to fail and the test is once a year, considering these situations has to happen at the same time I would think the risk is low, so I would be prepare to take a chance on the full test for the duration required.

Further to Neil's posting and will he be following the global assessment that should come with fire door blank, also it is the building control officer/Authorised Inspector who signs the completion certificate.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the law which article 8 says the RP shall " in relation to relevant persons who are not his employees, take such general fire precautions as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case to ensure that the premises are safe" and applying the lacors guidance will achieve this ". I would suggest you check the lacors guidance and see what is necessary in your situation and allow them to proceed or they could take out an injunction to allow them to carry out the work, for the safety of the other tenant. A relevant person is any person who has a legal right to be on the premises, except firefighters.

New to me but I will try to do some research to see if I can get an answer.

Fire alarms in domestic premises should be tested weekly according to BS 5839 part 6. Grade A systems should be tested weekly in accordance with BS 5839 part 1. Grade B and C, test in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions All other Grades should be tested at least every week by operating each fire alarm devices in the dwelling and should be carried out by use of a test button on each of the fire alarms in the dwelling. If they are inerlinked then all fire alarms will operate when you test one therefore I would use a different fire alarm to test each week. I would recommend that the test is done at the same time each week so everybody knows it is a test and not the real thing. The guidance for shared houses is FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing.

Who pays is not a fire safety matter it is between you and the Responsible Person. You should consult your tenancy agreement and the fire safety matters you referred to is subject to the fire risk assessment the RP has conducted. The proposed heat detector will not actuate due to somebody smoking, it will need the heat from a fire to actuate and its purpose is to warn the other tenant, if a fire was to start in your flat when it is unoccupied. The reason why the front door of the flat complete with fire seals and skylight above may need changing is if it is not 30 minutes fire resisting, because it is designed to prevent a fire in a flat making the means of escape ineffective. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 only covers the common areas so there is no need to enter your flat but there may be things that need to be done in your flat to protect the common areas. I would not think the premises would meet the required standards for a stay put procedure therefore I would recommend, if there is a fire, get out. Check out FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing which is the guidance for your building.

Fire detection and alarm system to BS 5839 part 6 • Grade A: LD2 coverage in the common areas and a heat alarm in each flat in the room/lobby opening onto the escape route (interlinked); and a Grade D: LD3 coverage in each flat (non-interlinked smoke alarm in the room/lobby opening onto the escape route) to protect the sleeping occupants of the flat. If manual call points are required then they should be located in the escape route out of the premises. Check out FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing

Schedule 1 Section B4(1) of the Building Regulations 2010 requires that: “The external walls of the building shall adequately resist the spread of fire over the walls and from one building to another, having regard to the height, use and position of the building”. Approved Document B (ADB) provides guidance on how to meet that requirement. It all depends on how it is put together, you can get Upvc doors that meet a 30 minute fire resistance so you need to know how it was constructed, the thickness and type of materials used. Then you need to contact the manufacturer to find out how it behaves in fire and any fire tests that may have been subjected to. Finally compare it with Approved Document B vol 2 and see if it conforms to ADB, building control should be able to help.

It all depends on the item being serviced or maintained, most servicing or maintenance should be done by a third party but there are some that can be done in house it all depends. If the mag locks are released when the fire alarm operates, they should be checked weekly at the time of the fire alarm test, (in house). They should be serviced six monthly same time as the fire alarm service, by a third party. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk. Regards to your previous check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-risk-assessment/ where you will find a template. Example FRA.zip

Fire safety guidance recognises the provision of a protected lobby to the staircase should ensure that the stairway is always available during the vertical escape phase of a premises fire evacuation. This is very important when only one staircase is available which should ensure that the staircase will be maintained free of heat/smoke by the provision of “two door protection” between the stairway and the place of fire risk, which will not be achieved by the provision of AFD alone. It is impossible to give a definitive answer without a fully understanding of the premises and you would need to contact building control for their views on your proposals.

It all depends what the assessment form wants and how you record you FRA, if you use drawings then it would be a simple task to use the drawings to calculate any numbers she requires.

Strange to put you on a course, then don't allow you to take advantage, but knowledge is always useful and you may be able to use it in the future.

I am assuming it is in an office, not an escape route and does not increase the spread of flame index for the room then it could be acceptable. What I do not understand, if the poster is A3 why not use an A3 laminated pouch?

I would not think so, providing it does not increase the spread of flame index for the room it is installed in.

I far as I am aware there is no law for the situation you describe consequently I see no problems, providing after use the fire hose is returned to its normal location and made ready for use, in case it is required for fire fighting.

Thanks for your contribution George.

The flood barriers will not be a permanent structure and only used in the event of a flood, consequently under normal conditions, they will not interfere with the means of escape from fire. As for the chances of a fire and a flood occurring at the same time, is not very likely, so I do not see any major problems and as for the need of flood defences that is between you and the powers that be.

I agree it is not a fire risk, but the possibility that it could be an obstruction risk, depending on how it is secured under the stairs. Another problem is, if one person starts using the escape route to store items, others may follow which then causes problems for the Responsible Person (RP). You need to discuss it with the RP and see if you can come to some compromise.

Yes. The corridor from the front door of a flat to the final exit, is a protected route to enable people to escape safely and any fire risks have to be eliminated or protected to achieve a minimum 30 minutes fire protection. So as the electric intake cannot be eliminated it has to be protected to achieve a safe escape route.

All self closer are required to meet the standards of BS 1154 and are awarded a classification code of six numbers which indicate the type of fire door they should be used on. It is very likely that your victorian self closer will, therefore you cannot determine if the self closer is suitable for the fire door it is being used on. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/docs/guide1935.pdf the guide is for Single Axis Hinges but it is similar system for all door furnishings including self closers.

Sorry Samuel any advice on this website is confined to England and Wales with occasional advice regarding the rest of the UK, your question is well out outside our remit.

You can contact the local Building Control but building control approval is not always required.

I cannot see any reason why you cannot turn the keypad on the door of the classroom around so that the keypad is on the classroom side rather than the corridor side providing the door will open on the operation of the fire alarm and manual override device (green box) is installed in accordance with BS 7273 part 4. As for other methods suggested by you I will need time to consider.

There are two types of seal on fire doors, on door installed after 1987 there is always an intumescent seal, fixed in a groove, which expands when heat is applied to it and fills in the gap between the door leaf and the frame, preventing the fire to pass. Also on some doors a cold smoke seal is fitted, which seals the gap between the door leaf and the frame, which prevent cold smoke from passing through the gap before heat activates the intumescent seal and you can get combination seals both intumescent/cold smoke seals. There is gap between the intumescent seal and the frame which will not cause any noise, but the cold smoke seal which is made of rubber or brushes, has to seal the gap, therefore touches both the door leaf and the frame, which could cause a noise when the door closes. There are a number of different types of cold smoke seals you could try a different one to see if it is less noisier.

Check out, Guide to fire safety signs and signing, this guide should show you all need to know and get back if there is specific areas that need further guidance.