Tom Sutton

Further to the above, as I said there is no need to record the FRA in this case but a FRA is required by the RR(FS)O and the significant findings have to be implemented. The recording of the FRA is such a minor thing I think I would record the findings and add how I dealt with the significant findings to assist the enforcing authority and it would keep solicitors off your back. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk and http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-risk-assessment/ ​There are other publications that would help.

Flats are domestic dwelling and not subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 but the common areas are. The owners/freeholders are the Responsible Persons (RP) for the common areas and are required to instigate a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) under the above order. If less than five persons are employed then the FRA does not need to be recorded (by use of a document or other means). House in Multiple Occupation are subject to another piece of legislation Housing Act 2004. As nobody is employed and you do not need to record the FRA I am not sure what the solicitor wants? Does he want you to repeat to him the details of the FRA anything else it would have to be recorded which you do not have to do.

On the basis of the risk assessment conducted, and taking into account both existing fire precautions and those set to be put in place, the evacuation strategy can be determined. I would think horizontal phased evacuation would be the first consideration and maybe vertical phased evacuation could be considered depending on the height premises. Also defend in place should be considered depending on the FRA. Horizontal phased evacuation In hospitals and care homes, floors may be divided into a number of fire-resistant compartments and occupants can be moved from the compartment affected by fire to the adjacent compartment. This may need to happen more than once. Depending on the severity of the fire, it may eventually be necessary to consider vertical evacuation. Because of the extra time this entails, a combination of fire precautions may be required: Voice alarm systems Fire control points Compartmentation of the premises using fire-resistant construction materials Sprinklers in buildings whose top floor is over 30 metres above ground level Defend in place This strategy may be considered in blocks of flats where each flat has a minimum 60 minutes’ fire-resistant capacity, and in hospitals or nursing homes where patients are connected to life-support equipment and cannot be moved. It means that occupants can stay put while the fire services attempt to extinguish a fire. If the fire spreads and cannot be contained, a full evacuation is initiated. In case of patients connected to life-saving equipment, a decision has to be made as to which option is preferable, staying or moving, as there are serious risks attached to either one. Defend in place strategies, phased evacuation schemes and staff alarm systems should only be implemented upon the advice of a competent person and the fire and rescue services. For guidance I would study the DCLG guide https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-residential-care-premises and although not a hospital I would consider HTM 05-02 http://www.checkmatefire.com/downloads/HTM_05-02.pdf

Are you sure, my insurance recommends that I have five lever dead lock on my front door which I lock when I leave the house but I am not required to lock it when I am in the house. If I was required to have a deadlock and to be locked at night I was fit an approved deadbolt nightlatch.

Blame building control or the AI's, which are not only responsible for this situation, there are far more serious situations allowed to happen in new build. Check out http://www.crisis-response.com/forum/index.php?topic=6836.0

Contact the owners or their representives, landlord/managinbg agents and if no sucess the local Fire and Rescue Service check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/uk-fire-rescue-services-details/

A full fire evacuation drill will be done about once annually so it is unlikely to affect trade that much. The purpose of the drill is to train the staff what to do in the event of a fire in the premises and how to evacuate the customers’ safety so having the drill in a quiet time, 2.00 pm or so on a Sunday, seems reasonable for training purposes. I would not lie to them I would tell them exactly what you have done and why. If you wish to reward then for their understanding then that is up to the owner and I would imagine they would be asking when the next fire drill is. :)

Check out http://www.asdma.com/pdf/BPG.pdf page 18/4 you are correct 6" down & 9" up but the centre hinge can be in either of two locations depending on the test/global assessment report.

I have only seen this method to define walkways in large factories and across roofs but if it solves your situation, so be it. I am not aware of any guidance other than common sense and I would make it as wide as the fire exit opening plus additional width to cover any fire points adjacent to the fire exit. The depth would depend on the layout of the premises but about 1 m to 2 m would be sufficient.

I am not aware of any evidence based guidance on the extinguishing a fire in a bed with a resident on fire it would be a case of considering all the alternatives and deciding which would be the most successful and best. The generally considered method for extinguishing a person on fire is to wrap the casualty in a blanket followed by the application of water spray. For a person in bed on fire this would be very difficult but the use of water in the form of spray extinguisher could be successful. I would use copious quantities of water not only to extinguish the fire but to cool the burns and with that in mind you could consider buckets of water. Once you are able to move the casualty you could consider placing in a bath of cool water depending on the degree of burns and how quickly the ambulance arrives. I think the best extinguishing medium would be water and applied in copious quantities as quickly as possible but not on the form of a jet of water.

To the best of my knowledge, all storage/pressure tanks shall be checked for externally for corrosion ever 3 years and drained, cleaned as necessary and examined internally for corrosion. Also shall be repainted and/or have the corrosion protection refurbished, as necessary. At 10 year intervals, all storage tanks shall be cleaned and examined internally and the fabric attended to as necessary. You should check out the BS yourself the local reference library may be able to help.

Generally the sound pressure level should be 65 dB and 60 dB in small rooms or areas (less than 60 m2). Where the background noise is above 60 dB then the sounders should 5 dB above that. Where people are asleep the sound pressure level should be 75 dB at the bedhead and not be not greater than 120dB anywhere. This is very basic and you need to check out BS 5839-1:2013 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of systems in non-domestic premises. As a fire alarm engineer you should have a copy but if you only have use of it occasionally you could try your local reference library who may have a copy.

Under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the person or persons defined the Responsible Person (RP) is responsible for the fire alarm. First you would need to establish who the RP or RP's are, using article 3. If you are an employer then you are the RP for your workplace and all the other employers would be the RP of their workplaces and you would have to co operate with each other to provide a fire alarm for the building. The owner or his agent may take over this responsibility but it all depends on your tenancy agreement, as does the costs. I would suggest you contact your solicitor and get them to sort it out with the landlord.

Depends on what you intend to make, for instance curtains in the domestic situation is not subject to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989, 1993 and 2010) but scatter cushions are. If you study the guide it will detail all the items that are subject to the regulations and to what extent, also the labeling/testing that is required. Check out http://www.fira.co.uk/document/fira-flammability-guide-october-2011pdf.pdf

I am not certain but I do not believe they would be subject to Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988/1989, 1993 and 2010 because they are similar to curtains or carpets which are not include. If I was to test their fire safety properties I would use, BS EN 13772:2011 Textiles and textile products. Burning behaviour. Curtains and drapes. Measurement of flame spread of vertically oriented specimens with large ignition source or, BS 5867-2:2008 Fabrics for curtains, drapes and window blinds. Flammabililty requirements. Specification, either would be suitable.

As the simpson's would say Doh ! :unsure:

Latest from BS 5306-8, the discharge of a powder extinguisher can cause a sudden reduction of visibility, which could temporarily jeopardize escape, rescue or other emergency action. For this reason water-based extinguishers should ideally be specified for use indoors so I think this rules out ABC dry powder. However water mist maybe an answer because it has a class B rating and water is miscible with alcohol, but if there is any electricity involved I would isolate the supply before extinguishing the fire, despite the claims for the water mist extinguisher. It would be interesting to see how it would behave in such a situation maybe SafeLincs could help out here?

Also DK by adding cardboard you have destroyed the fire resistance how would you maintain the integrity of the FD.

Sorry Leighton I should have read it more carefully but Harry answered your question anyway.

Peter, A flat is not subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 only the common areas which is the responsibility of the owner/freeholder, who is the Responsible Person as defined by the RR(FS)O. As the RP he/she has to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment by law and it can be recorded (written document) or not depending on the circumstances. So I am not sure how you intend to include a FRA in your selling pack other than an assurance that the common areas meet the requirements of the RR(FS)O. If you got the authority to carry out a FRA in the common areas who is going to pay for any work that needs to be done, as required by the FRA and the cost could substantial. You could contact the local Fire and Rescue Service who are the enforcing authority and get them to conduct an inspection which should chase up the freeholder. http://www.firesafe.org.uk/uk-fire-rescue-services-details/

I have never heard of fabric radiator covers please enlighten me?

Hayfever An interesting point. Article 5 is about duties not defining RP’s and as they are not RP’s or employees then they have no right‘s to see certain areas of the FRA. Also the flats are exempt from the RR(FS)O other than the front door and there has been cases where the tenants have refused to allow the landlord to work on their front door. However London FRS was not prepared to fight and one London borough has taken a tenant to court and won. Charging is subject to the tenant agreements but I agree it does seem unfair and I am afraid this is one for the lawyer’s to fight about. What does surprise me is why they are reluctant to show the FRA.

Jonathan he had to remove the yale lock because there would have been two locks which is not acceptable for an emergency exit. The rest is a disagreement between you and the landlord nothing to do about fire safety.

Curtains, carpets, lampshades and wooden furniture with no upholstery do not have to carry permanent labels as defined by the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988/1989, 1993 and 2010, only upholstered furniture. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/

Have you purchased intumescent paint designed for structural steelwork and have you follow the manufacturer's instruction to the letter?