Tom Sutton

It looks like there is too many coats of paint on the intumescent seals and the paint is breaking off. I am not aware of any chemical reaction between intumescent material and paint. Extract from BS 8214, Decoration Fire door leaves are generally not required to provide a specific surface spread-of-flame barrier, and may therefore be decorated as desired. There is no evidence to suggest that overpainting of intumescent seals has any detrimental effect on the ability of the seals to perform efficiently. There are some benefits in overpainting the seals as they are less likely to absorb atmospheric moisture. However, there are limits on how much paint can be applied without there being a risk of the seal being rendered inoperative. It is recommended that overpainting be limited to a maximum of five coats of conventional oil-bound paint or varnish. When preparing a frame for redecorating, the use of heat or chemical strippers should be avoided if intumescent seals are incorporated. If seals are damaged by either of these processes, they should be replaced in accordance with 13.3. If glazing beads have been painted with intumescent paint, it is essential that they be repainted with a similar paint.

Is it emergency escape lighting and what is your question.

You would most probably require a fire door between the kitchen and the dining room, the rooms in the kitchen, it would depend on the layout and the risks posed by each room. If you are fitting new fire doors then they should be certificated (carrying a certification label or plug) if they are existing fire door then they should be assessed by a competent person who can provide documented proof.

I do not see any way you can you reduce the size of standard fire doors to a size you require and meet the manufacturer's limits. The minimum thickness of a FD30 fire door is 44 mm therefore cannot be hung in a frame designed for 35mm doors consequently you would need to fit fire door sets. (fire door & frame) You could contact a specialists joiner and see if he has any solutions.

What type of fleece is it is it natural or synthetic and you could do an ad hoc fire test on a small strip, if the flame goes out after the ignition source has been removed would indicate low surface spread of flame. Checking how far the flame has burned, the further it has burned the more flammable it is. Better still get this information from the retailer.

Unfortunately the level of risk is subjective and many more considerations which need to be considered to decide what the level is. There is not enough information above to come to a decision and without seeing the premises it would be impossible to give a definitive response. I see you have posted on FireNet where you are likely to get a fuller answer and as was suggest check out DCLG guidance, it has a chapter on assessing the risk.

It sounds like the managing agents does not know what they are talking about. Your front door appears to be a final exit door and only in very rare situations it has to be a fire door, also FD30s fire doors are the norm not FD60 doors.

It would depend on how the job was done and only the upholstery is subject to the regulations. If the timber frame was repaired without disturbing the upholstery or if the upholstery was removed and the same replaced then only a re-upholstering service was provided.When a re-upholstering service only is provided – that is the upholsterer does not provide any fabric or any filling materials for the refurbishment - then this service is outside the scope of the Regulations. If he/she does provide new materials then they must meet the regulations. Although it is recommended that the client is advised of the potential fire safety risks. Check out Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home - A Guide to the UK Regulations page 19.

It all depends on what walls are involved, if it is a circulation area then the wall needs to be class "O", if it is a large room it should be class 1, if a small room it should be a class 3, surface spread of flame. To achieve these classifications it would depend on many things, what the wall or constructed of, which paints are to be used, how many coats on the wall, etc. I would think emulsion or water based paints would be satisfactory, oil based paint would need some consideration. I would suggest you contact the manufacturer and seek advice from him and I am fairly certain fire resistant paints would not be required in most cases.

The minimum width would be 750mm, 900mm if to be used by wheelchairs, the building regulations require, landings must be provided at the top and bottom of every stairs and the area in front of the bottom step must be wider than the width of the staircase, so the minimum must be the width of the staircase.

As far as I understand it is the management responsibility to ensure a suitable zone plan, if required, is provided and kept up to date, but I would give the management all the details, if one is required, to enable him/her to carry out their responsibilities. Check out 47.2 of Bs 5839-1 2013 especially 47.2.(i)

Most probably the double intumescent seals is because the fire doors are FD60s fire doors but you only require one cold smoke seal.

I would think so a good chippy using the same wood as the door and intumescent materials could repair the door.

It depends if the final exit door needs to be a fire door, if it does the intumescent seal would be required but in many cases final exit door are not required to be fire doors. If the heat in that area is raised to a temperature that will activate the intumescent seal then anybody in that area would not survive. The width of an final escape door will depend on the number of person required to use it,

Some doors need to be FD30/60 fire doors some do not it all depends on the fire strategy for the premises and in most cases final exit doors do not need to be fire doors. You need to speak to your line manager and see if she/he can help and maybe a self closer I described above could be fitted.

The enforcement authority is the local Fire and Rescue Service and contact them who will arrange an inspection. Depending on the results of that audit they will take the necessary action and if you ask them I am sure they will keep you informed. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/uk-fire-rescue-services-details/

Assuming it is a steel external fire escape staircases, this issue has always been a subject of much debate with various property managers and I suggest a more pragmatic view as to whether the inspection frequency is ‘mandatory’ or simply guidance, however I think it is mandatory because, The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states “Maintenance 17. 1. Where necessary in order to safeguard the safety of relevant persons the responsible person must ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices provided in respect of the premises under this Order or, subject to paragraph (6), under any other enactment, including any enactment repealed or revoked by this Order, are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. Therefore, in the absence of any more prescriptive guidance I would default back to BS 8210 – 2012 entitled – ‘British Standard Guide to Building Maintenance Management’ – which recommends a structural survey of the external fire escape of no more than 5 years. However I see a lot of FRA's still state 3 yearly checks, where does this information come from I do not know. BS 8210 is still current, why not simply use that as your benchmark and increase or decrease the frequency if the risk demands. Perhaps where the escape staircase provides the only secondary MOE from sleeping accommodation - esp. Hotels and 'sleeping unfamiliar' premises - and the stairs/building is very old, upping the frequency of the BS to 3 years maybe valid. On the other hand, a nonferrous (aluminium) escape staircase to 'awake familiar' (office) could be stretched to 7 years. In the absence of any other benchmark, I reckon you could justify using the guidance within BS 8210. Apart from structural survey’s you need to consider inspections and checks on a more frequent basis. If an external staircase is used every day then the time between checks could increase because minor issues would be picked up on a day to day basis. Certain issues like how the structure is secured and issues that aren't likely to get pick up with day to day use, should be checked on a more frequent basis. For an external staircase that is only used in an emergency then I would look at 6 monthly inspections for someone to open the door at the top of the stairs and walk down them looking for obvious faults. Suitable times to do this may be before a fire drill which generally most would expect to be carried out twice a year. I see it as a risk assessment situation with unfortunately little or no guidance. If you google the net you will find a company that could do the structural survey. The inspections and checks could be done in-house with training.

Just B1 is not sufficient information to give a definitive reply but it could be that the board has been tested for the degree of flammability and combustibility in accordance with the German DIN 4102. DIN 4102. The following are the categories in order of degree of combustibility as well as flammability: Rating Degree of flammability Examples A1 100% non-combustible (nicht brennbar) A2 98% non-combustible (nicht brennbar) B1 Difficult to ignite (schwer entflammbar) Intumescents and some high end silicones B2 Normal combustibility wood B3 Easily ignited (leicht entflammbar) polystyrene A more recent industrial standard is the European EN 13501-1 - Fire classification of construction products and building elements - which roughly replaces A2 with A2/B, B1 with C, B2 with D/E and B3 with F. B3 or F rated materials may not be used in building unless combined with another material which reduces the flammability of those materials. This would indicate the board would be satisfactory as a notice board but more important is the items and how you attach them to the board ideally they should be under glass to prevent them from being easily ignited.

What do you mean by fire exit staircases do you mean steel external fire escape staircases?

The only question I can see is " Can the door be changed to a lighter door or does it have to be a heavy fire door"? If the door is marked fire door then it is likely it will be required as a fire door, to find out you need to speak to the Responsible Person as defined by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. If it is a fire door, then no it cannot be changed for a lighter door and although I accept fire doors are heavy they can be opened relatively easily, it’s the self-closer (S/C) which can make fire door more difficult to open. S/C can be incorrectly adjusted so the first thing is to have it checked and if it is still difficult to open, there are a number of self-closers and other devices that can help to solve the problem. a. Free swing which allows the door to be open without the S/C having any effect until the fire alarm operates and the S/C changes from passive mode to active mode, closing the door. b. Cam Operated which allow the fire door to open relatively easily but is still effective in closing the door to maintain its fire resistance. c. Fire door retainers which keep the door open until the fire alarm operates and then allows the door to close. However this may not be acceptable for security reasons. Another point to consider, is your work colleagues playing about with the adjustment of the self closer?

Not all exit doors require panic push bars they are usually used in place of public assembly but can be used where considered necessary. All doors required for means of escape are require to be easily opened and available during the time the premises is occupied, bars and bolts are a strict no, no during working hours. The relevant legislation is The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and check out article 14.

Three millimeters plus or minus one millimeter between the door edge and the frame. The intumescent strip should be fitted into a groove cut in the door edge or the door frame and be flush. However if smoke seals are required they should seal the gap between the door and frame, to prevent cold smoke from passing through.

Could he mean a grade D system and he/she needs to give a more detailed description of the system.

As far as I am ware that's a load of garbage, who is telling you this, you can become a specialist and be able to modify fire doors, which allows the door to keep its certifire or trada Q status, check it out with the appropriate organisations. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/.

There could be situations where the final exit door may need to be FR rated but in most situations they do not. All doors can be made of many different materials including steel and if a fire door is required it has the be meet the required standard, preferable with documented proof. All doors need to be easily negotiated and opened to allow people to pass unhindered.