AnthonyB

Yes, but it will limit your occupancy to 60 in the building.

In most buildings the main 'everyday' entrance is used as part of the means of escape capacity.

LABC usually require fire grade Rockwool stuffing suitably sealed in, there is also an intumescent foam designed for frames called Blue 60, which if used within manufacturers instructions and parameters will also suit. Pink aerosol fire foam is a waste of time as it doesn't work for 99% of the things people ignorantly use it for - it's actually only tested and OK for a very finite number of situations, usually very narrow and deep linear gaps between a concrete wall & floor slab and not much else (regardless of the complete fantasy on most cans and supplier websites)

Not usually, no, the preferred solution is to build a cupboard/store room out of the space using 30 minute fire resisting construction & fire doors. Sprinklers are the slowest means of detection and your stair could be smoke logged before activation, plus with the storage you will not get the 500mm sprinkler head clearance to the understair head so it won't be effective and you will loose the escape route - likewise if there is no understair head the nearest ceiling head discharge will be obstructed by the stair rise and you will loose the escape route. If you are a large retailer you ought to have a Primary Authority arrangement - if you put a FRA proposal together with suitable fire engineering calculations that justify your case you can run it past them like Sainsbury did with fire alarm weekly testing going to monthly.

Are you going upstairs (or going to the corner of a large open area)? If not then you do not use the up/left arrow. If you have to pass through a doorway it should have a compliant sign with an up arrow above it. If you need to turn left there should be a compliant sign on the wall with a left arrow on it (although if it's a very small lobby/area such that as soon as you pass through the first door you can clearly see the next door and sign I might be tempted not to need the sign) Change in direction, passing through a door and changing level all require their own signs, there are no shortcuts by putting anything other than an up arrow* above a door * a lot of people put a down arrow above a door to point at the door to show 'this door' which is technically wrong, but a debate all in itself as to how much of a real issue it is.

Yes, get a competent qualified fire alarm engineer in to install, commission & service your system.

No it can't, you are putting relevant persons at severe risk and it's one of the few cases where a Fire Service inspector would likely jump straight to a Prohibition Notice and if not complied with prosecution. Sleeping risk cases that get to court often have custodial sentences, both suspended and actual imprisonment. Depending on the size, nature and layout of the premises a temporary solution might be possible.

Are they competent to an evidence provable standard that would be upheld in a court of law and able to carry out the work using the correct materials in the correct manner so they would perform as designed? If so then, yes. Whilst using Third Party Accredited specialist contractors is always the preferred choice it isn't (yet) law. A middle ground that some places use is that they carry out the work themselves then have the TPC contractor inspect and sign off the work which still works out more cost effective than just handing the whole job over.

Simple answer - yes.

Ideally not for health & safety purposes, but with some of the older building stock in the UK it can be unavoidable. Of course 'road' can be anything from a low traffic volume side street to a major arterial route - a risk assessment would be needed to balance the issues of escape v live highway risks

It's simple - once you are out you are out. Any plan to sweep the premises should ensure that it is done as part of initial response and evacuation. Once someone is outside the building and at a place of ultimate safety it would almost certainly be considered a risk to relevant persons to make them re-enter. In theory, with an addressable fire alarm system, knowing the exact location of the incident you could argue that you could ensure you were avoiding the risk area, but I've never heard of this, plus without radio communications and someone monitoring the progress of the incident on the control panel you wouldn't know if it (or more importantly smoke/combustion products) was spreading your way If you are in a unionised workplace then it's certainly one for your union H&S rep.

Without seeing the premises I cannot give a definitive opinion. Depending on the age of the flats the doors may be notional fire doors, that is to say doors that are of a solid construction, ironmongery & framing that would have met fire doors standards of the time (for example smoke seals and intumescent strips didn't exist until the 1980's, fire doors used a close fit into a rebated frame instead) and in a small block these can be accepted under current guidance as long as self closers are fitted. Also it sounds like you have a premises with a site wide fire detection & alarm system of the coverage needed as part of a full evacuate policy as oppose to stay put. And thirdly you have an independent secondary escape. Taking all these into account it would not be considered essential for modern specification fire doors to be fitted (but desirable as even if everyone can escape in time in the current set up there is a risk of greater smoke and fire spread and consequent damage)

This is the ACOP to the regulations which should help you assess the set up, usually an enclosure is vented if used. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pUbns/priced/l56.pdf

Most seem to avoid this issue by not accepting items unless they are in good condition & fire labelled.

It's not your responsibility. The Fire Service enforce the regulations. Don't go into that much detail in advice or you could be liable - domestic smoke alarms are not usually suitable for commercial environments, just remind them of their obligations and point them to this guidance: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities

Do you mean drawings marked with fire protection equipment & exits marked on? Whilst there are several professional providers who do an excellent job as long as the plans are accurate and correct anyone can. I usually use a professional provider because they are good at CAD & quick, but for small jobs I've created my own.

Are you sure it's really a heat detector? Post a photo of it (the forum has the facility to do this) so we can check. I've only once had a premises where heat detection triggered in a domestic kitchen where it was located so that when the oven was opened it got a full on blast of heated air, which because it was a 'rate of rise' detector it alarmed (this type reacts to any rapid change in temperature). As the kitchen layout precluded moving the detector we switched it for a fixed temperature heat detector that ignores the rate of rise of temperature and only reacts to a fixed level

It would have been likely to have needed some old style fire doors as far back as 1963 and the Offices, Shops & Railway Premises Act, but if it fell under the occupancy numbers needed to require a Means of Escape certificate it is unlikely to have been inspected, with a similar situation when the Fire Precautions Act came in. Over the years I've been to a myriad of small old building offices that have been like stepping back 50 years in time because despite them having a legal duty to comply they escaped inspection meaning they have had to play catch up under the Fire Safety Order and implement what seems like a lot of work but simply reflects what always should have been.

AFD cannot completely replace passive fire protection including fire doors. In the environment you describe if the doors met the standard of the time and are still in good order, coupled with the other fire protection enhancements, then there may be an argument not to modernise, but you will still need fire doors of some description

The bare minimum for active records I advise is the year you are working through and the whole of the previous years entries as most PPM are at least annual (e.g. annual emergency lighting, annual lightning protection, etc). There are of course certain tests that would need to be kept longer due to their interval (e.g. 5 yearly EICR) but for most routine records the 24 month cycle would cover it, although you may wish to keep archived records for longer before disposal say for 5-7 years

To be fair to give you a correct answer I'd need to carry out your Fire Risk Assessment - it's quite possible that you can let out your building in a compliant matter with the right precautions based on the existing stair layout, but I'd want to see it to advise correctly as there are a variety of aspects that need checking.

Who was the manufacturer? Worth knowing in case there's other poor stuff out there.

Is that the new door & hinges? Looks completely useless to me with the gaps, lack of seals and weird hinges. Did they fit a self closer?

A usual rule of thumb is if the route is used by 60 or more it needs to be panic proof (push bars) otherwise any normal emergency exit device (which includes lever handles as well as push pads) will suffice

What were the faults? Some are easier to check they are resolved than others. A decent fire alarm engineer would issue a detailed report on the worksheet even for reactive repairs, this is why specialists should be used for life safety system works