AnthonyB

Ultimately it's your decision, not theirs. The standards are only a guide in any case and if your precautions satisfy your licensing authority & the guidance they use, then you are fine as you are. If indeed it's a shared house, then Grade D systems are generally still appropriate, after all whilst not related they are, as you point out, effectively living as if a family group and Grade A systems only kick in when it's a seriously big house! I think they just saw the words HMO - which I did to some extent. Re-reading it it is a shared house and the HMO side shouldn't change that. It doesn't help when different guidance uses different definitions and there really should be consistency!

Yes, the green (or red on older fittings) LED light indicates there is a live mains supply entering the charger - if the mains goes off, the light goes out.

The only thing that has changed is the publication of the 2019 version of BS5839 which would, even for existing premises, recommend the above improvements. Oddly missing from their recommendations would be the requirement at the same time to replace any Grade D common system with a Grade A, LD2 system (i.e. commercial grade system equipment - control panel, manual call points, etc). The cynic in me would think they are holding that off so the job isn't too expensive to put you off then hit you with it next year - the reasonable part of me would counter that they are going for the priority areas (i.e. those with no cover) now and the common upgrade suggestion can wait as at least those areas have cover. There is no longer a statutory bar in fire safety legislation, so the 'it was compliant back in.....' argument no longer holds - but on the other hand it doesn't mean you automatically have to upgrade either - instead the risk assessment process looks to see if the departure from the latest standards holds an unacceptable risk - as a result in premises there are often some legacy arrangements that I consider still provide adequate safety and can wait until a refurbishment or similar for modernisation, whereas there may be others that need immediate change. An extreme example being that in 1974 when fire safety legislation first fully encompassed hotels it was possible to get a fire certificate with a manual fire alarm of call points and sounders and no detection - the statutory bar in the old Fire Precautions Act meant that if the premises didn't change materially they couldn't be compelled to add detection despite it being obviously very important in such a building. The change in 2006 with the commencement of the Fire Safety Order removed this bar so said hotel would no longer be able to argue the system complied at the time it was installed any more as the risk to life without detection would be too great. The lighting is an interpretation of the current BS5266 which, whilst not completely dispensing with borrowed light, makes it an exception rather than a rule to accept due to local authorities reducing street lighting times and moving to more focussed LED lights that cast far less light to areas other than the road and pavement. Should you do all these works? It's down to the risk assessment really. Ultimately they should be done, but this may well be a task that could wait until renewal or at least be done in small stages over a couple of years.

They sound well represented already! 3rd party accreditation isn't yet mandatory but strongly recommended.

You require a fire risk assessment by a competent person as required by fire safety legislation (irrespective of size of numbers of occupiers) which would give you a detailed requirement. Such an assessment would require an electrical fire alarm system designed and installed in line with BS5839-1:2017 to a minimum of Category M, comprising manual call points at storey and final exits and suitable alarm sounders throughout to give an audibility level of 65dB (60dB in small rooms under 60sq.m and stairwells) Your fire risk assessment would determine whether the layout of the premises required Automatic Fire Detection in addition as part of the system and to what category you require - more detail here https://www.safelincs.co.uk/a-summary-of-the-bs5839-1-2017/ Equipment can be hard wired using fire resistant cabling or wireless linked: https://www.safelincs.co.uk/fire-alarm-panels-and-fire-alarm-systems/ The use of residential/domestic detection, even if mains supplied, would not be suitable. Self contained detectors would be useless as they would only alert the room they are in (the alarm must sound throughout the whole building) where the occupants would see it themselves first, but be unable to raise the alarm due to lack of call points. Battery only detectors are not legal for use in workplaces as only having a single power source.

The HMO/converted houses guidance is somewhat older than the purpose built flats guide and is currently under revision. Many local authorities have amended their guidance to only require a fire blanket in the kitchen and in existing premises to remove extinguishers or train residents in their use. Extinguisher suppliers will always baffle you with legalese to provide them, but the trend now is to not provide in these locations and enforcement bodies support it. There is nothing stopping individual householders making their own provision.

https://www.fire-magazine.com/crown-court-sentence-for-fire-alarm-engineer

As a Nursing Home and their fire alarm engineer got convicted for an alarm with a defective fault buzzer and deliberately causing that defect respectively (plus a few other things) I would say that yes, it's critical! You can service it but the service report would obviously need to highlight the defect and no certificate issued. If you don't service it someone else will!

Annex I I.7 (e) would seem appropriate (annual) - they operate similarly to mid duct shutters

Emergency lights- monthly function (as you do) and annual 3 hour duration (which you could do too). Reference BS5266-1 Assuming from your description you have Grade D1 or D2 residential smoke alarms then the service regime is only a monthly test using the test buttons on the alarms - unless you are sheltered housing or a similar scheme with detection linked to the telecare/warden system there is no requirement for external servicing (principally as there is little they could do that you aren't each month) Reference BS5839-6:2019 If you are a purpose built block of flats and the common detectors don't operate smoke vents then they shouldn't have been installed in the first place and should be withdrawn. References: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/937931/ADB_Vol1_Dwellings_2019_edition_inc_2020_amendments.pdf and https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/fire-safety-purpose-built-04b.pdf

Answered duplicate question.

Many buildings have only one entry/exit and are perfectly legal. The size and maximum permissible numbers that form a typical Portacabin are such one exit is more than adequate. Is it an open framed generator or an enclosed cabinet one?

As people won't naturally starburst to each exit equally there's a chance you will have an excess number using a door with a strong risk of crush and the door being blocked - the Station Nightclub in 2003 was an example - there were multiple exits but people went for the familiar ones, which opened inwards and so one of the leaves got shut under pressure and the other got blocked with bodies. Also the doors cannot have panic fastenings if inward opening. Options are: - Re hanging doors - Having Stewards at each door to be able to bolt them open in an evacuation - Do nothing, accept it on occupancy against unit exit width only and keep your fingers crossed that there is never a full house evacuation under panic!

You've sort of answered your own question! If the zone plan is a decent one with the actual layout rather than just a shaded outline it still has value, otherwise it ticks the BS box with little benefit.

Hardly mitigating the effects of fire as required by the legislation although it could secure escape. If you are unfortunate to have a fire that isn't controlled, the damage and disruption bill and investigation by the loss adjuster as to why it wasn't put out will no doubt see you do have them next time!

Due to the quantity stored it appears to need to be treated as a dedicated store (otherwise the storage amount permitted would be less) so shouldn't have anything else - are you sure it's six hundred and thirty litres as it would have to be a pretty big cupboard? Guidance: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg140.pdf https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg51.pdf

If it's an high risk then it's recommended for indemnity purposes to tell the client as once, both verbally and in writing (we have debrief forms for that purpose) rather than leave it until the report. Imminent risk to life is a moral choice rather than a legal obligation - do you tell the client and leave it or, if you believe they aren't actually going to act escalate it? The public interest test and whistle-blower's legislation would indemnify the data breach, but you would (if they found out) loose a client. It's a judgement call really - there is no single answer.

There hasn't been a 6 monthly emergency lighting test for 16 years other than a means to make more money by out of date or unscrupulous contractors, the monthly test has been around for decades as has the annual EL test. Depending on the type of detectors and their purpose the service interval could be 6 monthly, annual or nothing at all !

Despite them being perfectly legal at the time of install I know recently some local authorities have wanted them removed, certainly if nothing else they are a burden on the service charge.

If you were going to ban any it would be the battery only ones, where there have been multiple deaths over the years due to flat or missing batteries - this is why the law has, for many years, required the mains ones in new or refurbished premises. If you don't know what you are doing, get an electrician to fit them.

As long as the code isn't required in the direction of escape there would be no automatic issue with doing that.

The biggest issue with no common electricity supply is where the tenants are all on prepayment meters as there is the risk of an extended period of power loss to the system where a resident cannot afford power. However the answer to that is to provide extended back up power supplies beyond the 72 hours normally provided. As you aren't prepayment there isn't this issue and whilst using a landlord supply is preferred it's not a legal requirement and a tenant feed could be used as long as they are recompensed for the usage. As for spurring off your feed that's one for an electrician to answer!

Simple answer - it doesn't! If you immersed the plastic extinguisher in reverse osmosis filtered water, especially warm water, and left it there in the water then gradually tiny amounts of plastic would 'leach' into the water (why you are only meant to use most plastic bottles once) but this has nothing to do with a plastic extinguisher in service.

Sounds like it's a CLASP building for which there are limited practical improvements that can be made to the passive FP issues as they are endemic to the means of construction (they were meant to be temporary and all demolished after 10-15 years). The usual approach is L1 fire alarm, get everyone out and sacrifice the building. The various editions of BB7, the predecessor of BB100, may deal with this, I would have to check my copies in the office. There are some sector guides dealing with what you can do to improve CLASP buildings fire protection, it would be worth casting your eyes over those too.

If all the distribution boards and meters are new and compliant with current wiring regulations they should all be made of non combustible housing material and not need further protection. If not then they would need the required fire resistant enclosure, which could be a traditional plasterboard and stud enclosure or a purpose made electrical board enclosure https://envirograf.com/product/electrical-consumer-unit-and-distribution-board-fire-protection-system/