Tom Sutton

A further reply from AnthonyB. Check the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for the batteries - whilst some liberate free lithium and require a Class D agent, others do not and can be tackled with ABC Powder or Water Mist A new solution is also Aqueous Vermiculite Dispersion (AVD) fire extinguishing agent: Check out http://www.avdfire.com/

As the upholsterer check out section 9 page 19 and as you are providing the materials you are now subject to the regulations. You should have all the records to prove the materials meet the required standards so when the trading standards come looking for information about the material you can supply it. You need to fit two labels, (not the retailer), the display label ( green swing ticket ) and a permanent label. I would suggest you use the shorter permanent label without the batch number which is all about traceability and as I suspect you are not a large organisation, then it should be permanently fixed to the item of furniture. As all the upholstery has been removed the original information and the details of what went before is irrelevant and yes you will need to keep records. Check out Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home - A Guide to the UK Regulations

It appears to be a single chain Perko type Concealed Door Closer which I believe is not able to be adjusted therefore unless you are able to replace it and it will continue to close heavily behind you. Approved Document B, Volume 2, says that all fire doors should be fitted with self closers except doors to cupboards and within flats however the front door (fire door) should be fitted with an approved self closer. Speak to your landlord and he/she may allow you to remove them and make good the holes left but you must ensure the front door (fire door) is fitted with an approved self closer.

Is it a house converted into flats or is it a single private dwelling house because it will decide which approved document should be used?

The meeting stiles require two intumescent strips next to each other on one leaf similar to what you would do on a FD60 fire door. Check it out on ASDMA Best Practice Guide 13.3.

In my opinion you can have locked fire exit doors on certain specific types of premises, providing you have a manual override facility. I accepted glass bolts supported by an intruder alarm on a bonded warehouse, many moons ago, but that is not the norm. Nowadays I hear about management controls quite often but I am afraid I am very sceptical, considering the list of priorities for management, I believe fire safety comes way down the list but many FR assessors do accept it. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/security-and-fire-safety/

If you have to conduct a fire risk assessment, the following link should show you the basics http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-risk-assessment/ and the report can be tailored to suit your premises. What your insurance company requires, is up to them, you have no requirement to send them anything.

I think the arm covers would be under A5.1 Permanent, loose and stretch covers and should meet Schedule 5, Part 1 of the regulations which is the match test and permanently labeled accordingly. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/ all the links are there except FIRA guide which is Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home - A Guide to the UK Regulations

You say it is a FD30s fire doors which would means you are limited to a threshold gap of 2/4mm any increased gap you would require to fit a smoke seal. Why do you require the toilet door to be FD30s is there a fire risk in any of the toilets? What standard is the door from the toilet lobby to the staircase?

Check out the internet and one example is http://envirograf.com/product/animal-door-flap/ which you fit to your fire door from the kitchen to the garage, then fit your existing cat flap to the metal frame, the cat flap from the garage to outside will be satisfactory.

Yes the common areas are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and part of this is you have to conduct a fire risk assessment of the common areas. Also you are subject to the Housing Act 2004 and if you are a HMO you may need to be registered, check out with the local council.

If you fancy your chance as a lawyer you could check out the legislation "The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988," paragraph 14 second-hand furniture and I read it as the regulations do not apply if regulation 4 excludes it and/or the person who sells it does so not for purposes of a business, dealing in furniture. This means to me that if a private person sells it and it is not on behalf of a business then the regulations do not apply. If you have a lawyer friend maybe he/she could interpreted it for you. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/ for more information. also check and contact http://www.fira.co.uk they may help.

Would you be trapped in any of the enclosure if a fire started in the main building, by the sound of it, the answer would be no, so why do you want to know if there is a fire in the main building it's the people in that building that needs to know. If a fire starts in one of the enclosures you would know immediately, shout fire and get out, their own fire protection would deal with the fire. What would be important is property protection, not legally required, but I would give it consideration and if a fire starts in one of the enclosures the panel in the main building should be alerted the enable those responsible to take the necessary action to ensure the fire does not spread to the main building.

It is usual for at least 3 hinges to be fitted on fire and escape route doors. With fire-resisting doors becoming heavier, there is a practice to fit two hinges at the top of the door with the third hinge at the bottom of the door. It is unsafe to alter the “as tested” position of a hinge on a fire door, without assessment from a suitably qualified authority. One reason for a third hinge is not only to support the door but to prevent warping. Check out http://firecode.org.uk/Code_of_Practice_hardware_for_fire_and_escape_doors.pdf

Check out the following although some of the links are out of date most of the information is relevant and you are correct to notify the correct authorities and control any secondary fires.

When the premises is occupied all doors required for means of escape, the handle shall release a door at all times in the direction of escape, when the premises are occupied, in less than 1s, by one single hand operation only and not require the use of a key or other similar object. It should enable immediate exit from the inside at all times regardless of any additional locking such as a deadbolt or outside access device. Check out http://firecode.org.uk/Code_of_Practice_hardware_for_fire_and_escape_doors.pdf

I am not sure about the type of lock you are proposing to install but as it is a fire exit it should comply with BS EN 179:2008. The standard says, the handle shall release a door at all times from the inside, when the premises are occupied, in less than 1s, by one single hand operation only and not require the use of a key or other similar object. It should enable immediate exit from the inside at all times and not be hindered by any additional locking such as a deadbolt or outside access device. There is a lot more in the standard but if it meets the above criteria then it should be satisfactory to any enforcing authority. heck out http://firecode.org.uk/Code_of_Practice_hardware_for_fire_and_escape_doors.pdf

A very useful website is the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA) which can be found at http://www.fira.co.uk/ they have many documents, guides relating to fire safety regarding furniture and furnishings that you will find very useful, you can register for free. Check out “Sign up to the newsletter” where non-members can register to access Standards, Technical Information and receive their Newsletter for Free Registration.

You are not subject to The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations because it is not a domestic situation but you are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which requires you to conduct a fire risk assessment. Part of the risk assessment is to identify fire hazards and remove them or lessen the risk. This can be achieved by following the guidance in the Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the contract and non-domestic sectors. This would work fine if you were procuring a number of pieces of upholstery furniture by ensuring they carried the low hazard label. In your case having a single chair re-upholstered is not covered therefore I would suggest you have the chair upholstered in accordance with the FFFSR which would I am sure meet the requirements of the contract sector. Check out Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home - A Guide to the UK Regulations

You must understand I cannot be held responsible for any action resulting from the contents of this advice as the ultimate interpretation of the Regulations rests with the Courts. The guide states “Persons who supply second-hand furniture in the course of business or trade (e.g. auctioneers, charities)” are subject to the regulations. In my opinion you are not in course of business or trade therefore not subject to the regulations. However I believe you have a moral duty to inform any purchaser that the item you are advertising does not meet the requirements of the regulations. Check out Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home - A Guide to the UK Regulations

You do not need a qualified electrician or engineer to carry out the tests/record the results, but the person you assign to the job must be a competent person which is defined as, “A person is to be regarded as competent where he has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him properly carry out the role assigned to him/her” He could get his training from a course or the emergency lighting engineers who maintain the system, plus ongoing training as required. I do not understand the emergency lighting system you have; switching the lights off is not going to test the system unless you are talking about dedicated test (fan) switches installed for the purpose of testing the system. Also if you have to use the fuse board to test the other half system then it must be a very old system. I would suggest you bring in your service engineers to advise you and they could instruct your site service man.

All interested parties should get together and decide the shortest acceptable time to carry out the aims why a delay is necessary. The signal should automatically change to an audible fire warning, in at least the relevant alarm zone, after a pre-set period, unless manual stopped at the control equipment. The period for the staff to investigate (the pre-set time) should not normally exceed six minutes then go into full alarm depending on the evacuation procedure.

Robinlo I am not a fire alarm engineer but I have looked at BS 5839 pt 1 and I believe you are correct if you are using radial circuits, you have to have a minimum of two zones with the first sounder in the vicinity of the CIE. BS 5839 in relation to clause 12.2.2 especially (j) which says “In the event of a single open circuit or short circuit fault on any circuit that serves the fire alarm sounders, at least one single fire alarm sounder, normally located in the vicinity of the CIE, should still sound correctly if a fire alarm condition occurs anywhere within the building.” My interpretation is, if there are more than two radial circuits, and two of the circuits have the first device, a sounder, located close to the CIE that would comply. Also if there is a dedicated sounder circuit and only one sounder is fitted close to the CIE, followed by as many radial circuits as you choose, that would comply. I am sure there are more configurations especially if you use ring circuits you could get away with a single circuit and use short circuit isolators but that is something you would need to discuss with an expert.

What do you mean by open and protected staircase, fire protected but open to the elements? What do you mean by travel distances are above maximum distances,single escape route or more than one and by how much? You say 75 occupants maximum on the second floor which is, 15 above the requirement to have an alternative MoE, what mitigating circumstance would you use to justify the extra? Check out https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-educational-premises for more information. You do have options by reducing the numbers on the 2nd floor and increase the number on the other floors, you can reduce the travel distance by providing lobbies but you need to discuss this with you FR assessor, it cannot be done over the internet it's a hands on job.

Providing a satisfactory fire risk assessment has been conducted then the door in question should be considered satisfactory. I would suggest that people are unlikely to be injured in the stampede unless their egress is restricted which doesn't sound likely in the situation you have described. You would need to have a full understanding of the layout of the premises to give a definitive answer but if you have any doubts you should contact the local fire and rescue service.