Tom Sutton

With recliners they use a large amount of steel which limits the areas to fix permanent label, I found mine underneath fixed to a timber batten. If you still cannot find it contact the retailer who may be able to help by contacting the manufacturer.

The guidance Small and medium places of assembly page 60 is quite clear and I suspect the fire officer didn't mention it because it conformed to the guide.

It is not just a fire escape it could be used for deliveries but it is important to remember it is a fire escape and care must be exercised to ensure it can be used if needed. No blocking the exit with deliveries and in a moments notice it can again be used as a fire exit.

It would depend on the layout of your premises but in many situation a fire door (FD30) would be required.

I am not sure the layout of the premises, are you part of a block of flats although you appear to be independent, and is the areas below you part of the common areas of the flats. You could contact the local fire and rescue service, for a fire safety inspection of your home and if there was any problems they may be able to help. You could also try to contact the owners of the offending premises or local environmental health who may be able to help but quite often there is little you can do other than persuade the offenders to mend their ways. http://www.firesafe.org.uk/uk-fire-rescue-services-details/

As it appears you are in charge regarding fire matters, you can appoint other competent persons to assist you in the case of a fire occurring and you could call them fire marshal's if you choose. Your proposals appear satisfactory, however once the marshals escorting the youths, have left the building they should not return but should report to the person in charge at the assemble point and give a full briefing. The ones sweeping their areas,including any toilets, small rooms, cupboards and such, again leave the building and report to the assembly point and give their report. Remember all the competent persons no matter what role they undertake, such receive adequate training in what they are required to do. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-emergency-evacuation-plan-or-fire-procedure/

I am not aware of any yearly test certificate for either part 1 or 6 systems and yours is definitely a part 6 system Grade D LD3. There are design, installation and commissioning certificates but not test certificate only a logbook for part 1 systems and part 6 grade A system. Make it clear to them you have a BS 5839 part 6 system and show them HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisionsfor certain types of existing housing page 39 shared housing which is what your premises is and show you only require a part 6 grade D LD3 system. You should then ask them which clause in BS 5839 part 6 requires a yearly testing certificate. Hope that will do the trick.

You need to give more information about the premises but under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 only the common areas are subject to an FRA and if your front door opened onto the common areas then this door would be subject but not your flat.

I agree with AB that the licensing officer is no doubt basing this on this clause above but is the clause correct? It assumes no smoke will leak into the escape route if cold smoke seals are fitted and activate the smoke alarm, this is not correct IMO. In my view if the room was unoccupied, sufficient would percolate into the escape route to activate the smoke detector, if occupied then the person escaping would have to open the door which would certainly provide sufficient smoke to activate the smoke detector. If you check Guide to the Selection of Smoke Seals for Doorsets it states, “Currently, for practical reasons, only seals that restrict the spread of cold smoke are specified. The purpose of smoke seals is to limit, but not totally eliminate, the movement of cold smoke from one compartment or space to another. Cold smoke seals are not generally able to prevent the passage of higher temperature smoke which may cause some cold smoke seals to melt. However, at higher temperatures the intumescent seals activate to limit, but not eliminate the movement of hot smoke.” It also indicates the amount of smoke that could leak, for seals that have passed the BS test. Although a personal opinion I stick to my previous posting above which would increase the escape time. I have attended many bedrooms fires in single domestic premises in which we have arrived between 3 to 5 minutes and in most incidents the smoke logging had reached within a couple of feet of the floor of the ground floor .

Sorry I have only just found this one. I am afraid you haven't showed sufficient details to give an opinion, you need to show all doors, windows, smoke detectors, including the grade and the travel distances.

I would disagree with both theories and believe the housing department ideas is based on single domestic premises where the doors need to be substantial and well fitted with no cold smoke seals and any smoke that escapes from the room of origin will percolate through the door and operate the nearest smoke detector. However in this situation there is the head of the household who will ensure everybody is warned and assist them to escape. In a HMO, tenants are not related, every man/woman for themselves, so it is important to ensure the escape route is keep clear of smoke for as long as possible to allow all tenants to escape. The tenants in the room of origin will have to pass through the door to escape, consequently allowing sufficient smoke into the escape route to operate the fire detectors, then when the door is closed limiting the amount of smoke entering the escape route, ensuring it does not become impassable. The idea of tenants remaining in their rooms again is not acceptable if there isn’t a 60 minute separation and it should be a full evacuation. Assuming it is a two storey building the fire alarm should be a Grade D, LD3 system, interlinked mains wired smoke alarms with integral battery back-up located in the escape route at each floor level, additional interlinked heat alarm with integral battery back-up located in the kitchen and additional interlinked smoke alarm with integral battery back-up located in any communal lounge. One exception I would make is heat detectors in the kitchen and common rooms because of false alarms. Check out Guidance on fire safety provisions for more information.

Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/ for more information.

In 1995 you were not subject to any enforceable fire safety legislation other than building regulations and all the guidance was prescriptive. In 2005 the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 was introduced, you now have legal obligations and the guidance moved from prescriptive to risk assessed. Assuming you have employed a competent fire risk assessor he/she will have applied the latest guidance and provided a report which you should consideration seriously. A competent fire risk assessor is on your side and should not be asking for alterations that are not necessary, in many cases fighting the enforcing authority (fire and rescue authority) on your behalf if there is any conflicts.

A magnetic lock has two means of operation one is an electro/mechanical device that uses the normal electric supply, backed up by a battery and if the electricity supply, (mains/battery) fails the lock will fail to an open situation. The second is a connection from the fire alarm and if the FA operates, the connection will override the lock and open the lock. If the connection fails as the result of a fault on the fire alarm the lock will remain closed because the normal electricity supply will not have been interrupted, which is the case in most fire situations. If the door is not fitted with a manual override then a green manual call box has to be fitted to override the lock using a secure method. The short answer is the green manual call box cannot be removed because persons could be trapped by a locked door, depending on the situation. The problem you are having maybe solved by using some sort of security device like an alarm that will operate if the door is opened and alert people in charge or CCTV a dummy if necessary. Check out http://www.safelincs.co.uk/fire-exit-door-security/ for some ideas.

There is no requirement forbidding the use of carpet on a means of escape staircase but it is likely to cause many problems for you as Responsible Person. A means of escape staircase has to have a very low fire loading and this means the carpet would need to be fire resisting (hot nut test). Being on the staircase it is likely to receive a high degree of wear and this would mean regular inspection to ensure the carpet doesn’t create a tripping hazard. If the carpet did not cover the whole of the staircase enclosure, tenants could enter the staircase on concrete then carpet then concrete which could be very disconcerting and may create a tripping hazard. I would suggest you try to convince the tenant against the proposals, which would be safer and easier to maintain remember the staircase is part of the common area and you responsibility.

I know of three ways to having proof that a fire door (FD) meets the required fire resistance, fit a certificated FD, it will come with the necessary documentation, fit a fire door that has been constructed in accordance with a global Assessment, it will come with the necessary documentation, finally have it checked by a qualified fire door assessor who should provide you with a report. The last suggestion you need to contact the Fire Door Inspection Service and obtain the necessary information and you should also check if the buyer's solicitor will accept a FDIS report, if not, then its a case of fitting new fire doors, best of luck.

Under the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 only the common areas need a FRA but if it is registered as a HMO under the housing act then this covers all the premises, flats and common areas and you will need to contact the local housing authority who enforce the act.

If you have a full 60 minute separation between all the flats and shop with no common areas you only require a fire alarm in each flat to BS 5839-6:2013 they do not need to be interlink with other flats. You may or may not require a fire alarm in the shop, dependent on the situation.

Yes it can providing the fire exit sign is visible when the curtains are closed, they run freely, a 150mm gap between floor and the bottom of the curtain. Also in the event of an emergency a steward reports to the the door, opens the curtains and usher the patrons through the door as should happen in all theatres/cinemas.

It is possible that one exit for the building is acceptable and an alternative exit would not be required it would all depend on the means of escape (MoE) being satisfactory. The MoE is dependant on the layout of the premises, the travel/time distances, the number of persons using the exit and other conditions. Without a physical survey it would be difficult to determine if the MoE is satisfactory however the government has decided that studying the guide for Offices and shops you may be able to do it for yourself if not then you would need to employ a competent fire risk assessor.

Point Smoke Detectors: 1 Ionisation chamber Smoke Detectors which are very sensitive to smoke with small particles i.e. fresh cellulosic smoke and the source of almost invisible smoke one gets with burning paper and spirit. They are relatively insensitive to smoke with large particles for example, smoke produced by burning plastics or stale smoke. 2 Optical Smoke Detectors are sensitive to optically dense smoke i.e. smoke with large particles and they are relatively insensitive to optically thin smoke. 3. CO fire detectors detect the CO from a deep seated smouldering fire and give an alarm, not to be confused with CO detectors that give an alarm when the CO reaches dangerous toxic levels. 4. Multi sensor detectors which are detectors that combine a number of sensors and give the alarm when all reach a positive state. Some countries i.e.: Italy, Japan, Qatar only uses Optical Smoke Detectors and within parts of the Middle and Far East, only Ionisation Detectors are used. Within the UK systems can comprise of a mixture of the two. Optical Detectors are normally used on escape routes such as corridors and stairwells. Ionisation Smoke Detectors are normally fitted within office and other general areas. All fires will produce elements that can be detected by all three detectors but in my experience domestic fires produce a great deal of thick smoke which is best suited to optical detector and as the principle aim is to warn the occupants before the escape corridors become untenable, also they are also less subject to false alarms. Using multi sensor detectors with ionisation and optical sensors may be a better solution, depending on false alarms but it may not be feasible in your situation.

The common areas are subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and it is stated in article 14 (h) emergency routes and exits requiring illumination must be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in the case of failure of their normal lighting. So if the escape route requires illumination if the normal lighting fails then emergency lighting is required.

AB I stand corrected but would BR apply for a rewire?

The style of door is not a fire safety matter you can get fire doors on many different styles. However, do you need a fire door to your kitchen, is a fire safety matter but without knowing the layout of the flat it is impossible to give a definitive response. Fire safety in flats is subject to the Building Regulations and guidance is contained in Approved Document B (Fire Safety) Vol 2 Section 2 page 21 covers the layout of flats and you need to study this section to understand if a fire door to the kitchen is required and if it is then a fire door has to be fitted but the style is another matter.

Check out article 2. Interpretation of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 "workplace" means any premises or parts of premises, not being domestic premises, used for the purposes of an employer's undertaking and which are made available to an employee of the employer as a place of work and includes - (a) any place within the premises to which such employee has access while at work; and (b) any room, lobby, corridor, staircase, road, or other place - (i) used as a means of access to or egress from that place of work; or (ii) where facilities are provided for use in connection with that place of work, other than a public road; My interpretation is that the workplace includes the route out of the workplace but ceases when it reaches a public road.