Safelincs

Hi Sarah, switching the alarm off at the fuse makes things worse as the alarm not only has a low battery warning but also ants to tell you about the power interruption. The best approach is to either change the backup batteries once a year as a pre-emptive step or to change your alarms to smoke alarms with trickle charging of the batteries. If you currently have the Ei140 series (with alkaline batteries) you can buy new Easichange Ei160 series alarm heads which slide staright onto the existing base and have trickle-charged backup batteries that last the entire life of the alarm. Harry

Hi Heather, sadly, there are no more Ei alarms being produced with the same base plate. You will need to upgrade with this replacement kit, using the same wiring plus a plate that covers the unsighly mark left by the old alarm. Harry

Hi Graham Just for information. Safelincs offers nationwide fire door install by certified installers. Harry

Hi, if you need quantity info you could either message me your plans for our engineers to have a look at or you could post the siteplan in the forum for us to answer the question in the open. Harry

Hi, what alarms are in your system. I assume these are simpy mains powered interlinked smoke alarms? Please send a photo.

Hi, as long as it is a water mist extinguisher with de-ionised water it can replace both the foam and the CO2 and would actually be more appropriate in an office. Please remember: You still have to have certain minimum numbers per floor in accordance with the British Standards. Benefits: - It is a very easy to use extinguisher and staff only require training for one type of extinguisher which reduces the risk of confusion - Water mist extinguishers (with de-ionised water) do not conduct any electricity and are safe even on live electrical equipment (up to 1000V) - De-ionised water does not leave any residue (foam, on the other hand, is hard to clean up and lightly carcinogenic) - Water mist actually clears the air of smoke and builds up a heat buffer in front of the user - The environmental impact is reduced, as de-ionised water is, well, just purest water. There are no chemicals in de-ionised water mist extinguishers I hope this helps Harry

Hi Shree Wedging fire doors is a huge No-No at any time, as you never know when a fire could break out! Fire doors help to compartmentalise and hold back fires and allow the safe evacuation of people but will only work if they are closed when the fire starts. However, there are simply ways to hold fire doors open in a legal way. Fire door retainers hold fire doors open during normal operation and allow the door to close in case the fire alarm goes off. If you want the fire doors to behave like normal doors (without the closing pressure from the overhead door closer) you need a free-swing fire door closer. These closers are fitted instead of the traditional overhead fire door closers. Again, when the fire alarm goes off, these free-swing devices will close the door. Harry

Hi Emily, smoke and heat alarms love to go off in the middle of the night when the temperature is at its lowest and the backup battery voltage drops as a result of the low temperatures. If your battery is on the end of its lifespan, this is one way - but a very painful way - of finding out. I would recommend that you pro-actively exchange batteries every year or two to avoid this. You ought to check the age of the heat alarm. The alarms need replacing every ten years otherwise they can become erratic. See here how to remove the alarm and check the age. There is a replacement alarm for the Ei144 heat alarm. Harry

Hi Jenny, while I cannot advise on whether you have a CO leak or not I can state that a few years ago most CO alarms had only life expectations of 5 to 7 years. It should state on the side or back of the alarm when it needs replacing. Once expired, CO alarms become unreliable and might go off for no reason. These days most CO alarms come with 10 year life. Harry

Hi, unfortunately, you need to replace the unit AND the base. The good news is that there is a compatible replacement kit with a pattress that covers the unsightly stain left form the original alarm's footprint. Harry

Hi Liz, I would say that your sensor chamber got somewhat contaminated. Try to vacuum around the slots of the alarm with a soft brush attachment. If that does not help you ought to replace the alarm head which can be done easily without an electrician. Harry

Hi Georgia, make sure there were no fuel burning appliances on in your house or in the neighbouring property (carbon monoxide can leak through cracks and shared chimneys). If these were not the cause of the CO alarm, then this first cold night might have triggered a low battery alarm. Harry

Hi A 2ltr foam is fine, however, with regards to the type of smoke alarms or fire alarms this depends from whether you are letting, whether this has been a renovation and so on. I would consider maybe a water mist extinguisher (maybe a 3ltr) instead of extinguisher+fire blanket. It is more versatile and a lot cleaner to clean up after. Harry

Hi, this is not a legal requirement but a best practice recommendation. There still needs to be a degree of common sense deployed. Harry

Hi Peter, Safelincs does supply two potential non-staircase escape solutions. a) an externally fitted fold out escape ladder system, called Saffold b) an evacuation chute that is located on the flat roof and is deployed over the edge of the parapet Both are only deployed in an emergency. Harry

Hi The connector and baseplate are different but the alarm will work with the rest of the existing system. The existing cable has to be inserted into the new alarm. Harry

Hi, This Kidde smoke alarm is the official replacement Harry

The batteries inside will keep them going fo a while. Why don't you replace the mains alarms? They are easy enough to replace. What model alarms do you have?

Hi, one of the most common ecacuation chairs is the Evac+Chair range. We checked this out for you: Evac+Chair don’t state a recommended mounting height but they do make an official floor stand which is around 70 cm tall making the chair hang 5 – 10cm from the floor. When hanging the chair on the wall with brackets we would recommend to hang the chair with a clearance of 10 to 30 cm underneath, to avoid contact when cleaning the floor, with an absolute maximum of 50cm from the floor, so that the weight of the chair can be comfortably handled. Also, the lower the chair is mounted, the lower the chances of damage should it be dropped while someone is picking it off the brackets. Harry

Hi Angie, here is a link to a page about cleaning up after an extinguisher has been discharged. Harry

Hi Amanda The alarm could be triggered by dust of very small insects. Try to vacuum it out with the brush attachment to remove particles. Also check that the smoke alarm is no older than 10 years. After 10 years the alarm should be replaced. Harry

Hi, the closest instruction video for a removal of a Kidde Firex smoke alarm is here Harry

Hi Tamzin You probably could get away with powder, although my biggest worry would be the impact on your operation if it was ever set off (accidentally for example). I assume that the powder would cause you major issues with your clean up and the next few painting jobs. I would go for foam or de-ionised water mist. The latter, while not as powerful as some foams, is the one with the broadest application (burning gas, liquid, electrics) and leaves no deposit whatsoever. https://www.safelincs.co.uk/ultrafire-water-mist-fire-extinguishers/ I cannot see the use of CO2 in your specific case. Kind Regards Harry

Hi Meady, if you cannot explain why it is important to commission extinguishers, you cannot expect the customer to follow your recommendations. The FRA man is correct, it is only regarded as best practice to commission extinguishers. Harry