Tom Sutton

The building must, of course, have a fire alarm and consideration on the use of Dorgard should be carried out by the employer through a risk assessment procedure. Where to use a dorgard would depend on the fire risk assessment and which category it meets according to BS 7273-4 2007 and the type of premises. The problem with any active fire precaution is what happens if it fails to operate correctly. There are some cases where the use of Dorgard may be inappropriate, e.g. on doors protecting a single staircase building, and doors giving direct access to rooms in a premises that have been risk assessed as high risk, e.g. kitchens, boiler rooms, etc. all will depend on the FRA.

I am not aware of any legal/regulatory requirements or of any third party certificate systems for contractors fitting or repairing fire doors but I think there should be. I would contact the Fire Door Inspection Service they may be able to advise you.

Is it a breach of her tenancy agreement would depend on what the tenancy agreement says, that is between the landlord and the tenant how the landlord enforces it you would have to ask a solicitor. If death or serious injury result from a fire can the landlord or tenant be held responsible, yes and a number have gone to jail and/or heavy fines. I think the final action would be eviction and I just cannot see how you persuade a person who will not listen. You could contact the enforcing authority the local fire and rescue service and see if confronting them with an uniform would work

Because it is a HMO under additional licensing the Housing Act is the principal legislation the local council is the enforcing authority but most enforcing authorities accepted the Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing as the national guidance. You have not provide sufficient information but I would say the fire alarm required is a grade A or D depending on how many floors, which to my knowledge there is no facility to connect a manual call box on a grade D but there is on a grade A. You need to study the attached guide to see which type of fire alarm you have and require according to the guide.

The Fire Risk Assessment is not all about means of escape it is also about preventing fire and a fire spreading. You would have to see the FRA to see what measures the risk assessor had put in place to mitigate the possibility of problems from the gas fired boiler but if you have any concerns you should contact somebody in safety management or the enforcing authority the local fire and rescue service about it.

Most carpet has to have some degree of fire resistance. When buying carpet look out for reference to BS5287 and BS4790 on labelling and informational documentation. Compliance with these would indicate a 35mm radius of fire spread which is the specification for low fire spread carpets to be used in protected fire escape routes or other sensitive areas. In a normal household any standard carpet should have sufficient fire resistance to be suitable for use in most occupied areas. Carpet used in escape route need to pass the hot nut test as described in the above BS's and if you find a fire resistant spray, it would need to certify the carpet to that standard

I is difficult to say without knowing the layout of the room concerned but heating boilers are usually enclosed in a fire resisting enclosure. You should bring it to the attention of somebody in safety management.

Halon is still used on board aircraft but very expensive new, however there are a few floating about second hand (Talking recently to an airport fire fighter and extinguisher buff BS5306-3 doesn't apply and the maintenance regime for on board extinguishers is such there is some extremely old stuff in service!). Whilst some cut off dates have been and gone the small aviation sector still seems to be using halon based on the EU 2025 deadline. http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/2011_q4/3/ http://www.fia.uk.com/resourceLibrary/eu-commission-regulations.html It depends on the type of aircraft you fly but I do accept it is very confusing. Halotron is illegal in the EU, water and halon is the principles in use although Novec 1230 & FM-200 are also available. Whilst FE-36 is the EU's main portable halon replacement it doesn't appear to tick the boxes for aircraft use. UK supplier of Halon portables for on board use: http://www.transair.co.uk/pp+Aircraft-Halon-Fire-Extinguishers-From-FFE+2787 US manufacturer of halon & halon alternatives: http://www.h3raviation.com/products.htm Compose with the help of AnthonyB

There are companies that install and repair maglocks one of those most probably be best but I am sure a competent electrician would be acceptable. But if it is on an escape route and connected into the fire alarm whoever repairs it needs to know what they are doing, then it might require the attendance of a fire alarm engineer.

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.