AnthonyB

As you will need to go through Building Control to carry out these works legitimately your BCO or AI will advise. It may be possible to have a single exit based on travel distance, but without seeing the plans I cannot say for sure.

They need to carry out a fire risk assessment in order to comply with the Fire Safety Order. If you get a competent person to do it they will be able to advise. It's not just about numbers of persons, but travel distances and the provision of the external stair in the first place may well have been due to this. Travel distances, fire alarm systems, fire compartmentation & protection of escape routes, stair and door widths, etc are all relevant factors - if you have a suitable and sufficient FRA it will all be considered.

Electromagnetic locks should release on power failure (but many have back up power supplies to prevent this), via a fire alarm interface and by a green 'break glass' override (looks like a green version of a fire alarm call point, but is a double pole isolator to drop the power to the magnet). BS7273-4 is the relevant British Standard.

The Model E4000 contauins a Nu Swift exclusive extinguishing agent - Uni-Flash liquid and is 75% 1-1-1 Trichloroethane and 25% Bromomethane. It was developed as a cheaper alternative to Chlorobromoethane (CBM) which was the post World War 2 alternative to the commonly used Carbon Tetrachloride (CTC). CBM was less toxic and more effective than CTC, but far more expensive so many customers stuck to CTC - Uni flash liquid was intended to be an option that was less toxic & more effective than CTC without being too expensive. Uni Flash liquid was soon overtaken in the late 60's by the invention of BCF/Halon 1211 which replaced all existing vapourising liquids being far superior in effectiveness and low toxicity, although Nu Swift continued to offer it for many years after until the early 80's. It's main use was for electrical fires, machinery/vehicle fires and small liquid fires. The contents are toxic and teratogenic in their own right and the by products of discharge on a fire are also toxic. The contents are also destructive to the environment and in 2003 general use of these and other halons became an offence as a ban was introduced. Nu Swift were infamous for their silver tongued salesmen who would say all sorts of things to justify their prices and to get a sale and 50 years life is one example (Nu Swift service engineers themselves would have condemned them at 10 years old!) These extinguishers should have been annually serviced and every 10 years discharge tested and recharged and should have be taken out of service many years ago. Where is the farm? If anywhere within my area of work I'd replace them free as I would put them in my fire extinguisher museum.

Fire escape routes are generally required to be 'protected routes' so that they cannot be affected by fire and smoke until well after sufficient time has elapsed for everyone to escape. There are two principles to the protection - that of protection from the effects of fire adjoining the route, dealt with by the use of fire resisting construction and doors to the route; and that of protection from a fire originating in the route itself, dealt with by the route being 'sterile' and containing no ignition sources beyond simple electrical fittings and no combustibles beyond wall and floor linings (which themselves usually should be low or non flammable). Drying machines are a known fire risk and have over the years been involved in many fires, including injury and fatality fires, in domestic and commercial premises and so would understandably be unacceptable on an escape route. Whilst detection is fitted the heat output and smoke that would be in the escape route by the time it activates could well be such that the route is untenable or at least presents a significant risk of injury trying to pass it.

If it's a fire escape window I would remove the restrictor now as otherwise you won't be getting out in a hurry!

Contact your local Council Planning Department as there will be requirements with Planning Permission and Building Regulations. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/

No, only where a repair or alteration is required.

They should all be fire doors including the other flats. The Management Company should be enforcing this to everyone, not just you.

It's not more cost effective for the customer to scrap CO2 at 10 years - there is is still an appreciable price saving on exchanging for an overhauled unit. Suppliers like replacing new as they get the margins on a new sale and unlike other types of extinguisher which they have to pay to legally dispose of they actually can get credit back on old CO2 extinguishers. CO2 extinguishers do not require a 5 year Extended Service and only require annual Basic Services until the 10th year at which point it requires an Overhaul and should be service exchanged. The chances of it being actually an Obsolete Model are extremely remote if it's as recent as you say, unless they are saying it because it's steel bodied, which is completely untrue as well..... If you send me a photo of the extinguisher in question I can give definitive advice: anthony.buck@alcumusgroup.com

If your flats are purpose built the current guidance is actually the LGA Guide Fire safety in purpose-built flats: http://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/fire-safety-purpose-built-04b.pdf The sleeping risk guide remains relevant for hotels, boarding houses, etc. First thing you can do is dispense with the communal domestic single station smoke alarms which serve no real purpose and are non compliant anyway.

It's a requirement if your fire risk assessment deems it necessary.....

Lift control fire alarm interfaces are required in the BS EN for lifts, but it's never been a specific requirement in most fire safety guidance, just a very useful extra.

A competent fire risk assessor should be able to specify extinguisher requirements in detail - it's the FRA after all that determines what provision is required. All to often when the extinguisher engineer, whose living is based on supplying extinguishers, is asked a premises often ends up with excessive numbers and inappropriate types, which we then have to get changed and removed. If deciding to use a third party risk assessment provider and they can't specify your requirements related to extinguishers, fire alarm systems, etc then walk away - they shouldn't be doing the job. If the RP is trying to do the FRA in house then there is basic guidance in the Government FRA guides, but for complex risks you either can either use an FRA consultancy for an independent survey or through yourself on the mercy of the extinguisher engineers (who do 'free' surveys, but then claw it back in extinguisher & sign sales)

Does the block of flats only have a single direction of escape and a single stair? If so no exit signage is required. Otherwise it should conform with BS5499-4 for positioning and size and of course should include the BS EN ISO 7010 'running man' pictogram in white on green with a suitable white on green directional arrow. See http://www.safelincs.co.uk/fire-escape-route-signs-from-jalite/ as it includes info on sign sizes for different viewing distances

The door between house and garage is one of the few places you have to have a self closer, the other being front doors of flats. The requirement to fit is part of Building Regulations - once fitted and approved what happens thereafter is up to the householder in a single private dwelling - you can remove it if you want you aren't subject to fire safety legislation

As it would be an electromechanical lock there are some restrictions, however if, from your description, the door can be unfastened from the inside just via the panic bolt and not the electrical keep you wish to fit it would be fine.

Fire engineering in this situation usually means automatic suppression. As an alternative to domestic sprinklers you may find this system easier to fit: http://www.plumis.co.uk/Fire-refurbishment-building-regulations.html Fire engineers can help with this, there are fire engineering companies in their own right as well as fire safety consultancies like ours who have a couple of fire engineers on the books for jobs like this. Some Approved Inspectors (private alternative to going through Council Building Control) have fire engineers available with the advantage they can sort out your Building Regs certificate at the same time, e.g. http://www.approvedinspectorsltd.co.uk/services/fire-engineering/ (not an endorsement, but the fire engineering company they partner with is competent) Make sure who you use is suitably qualified and experienced or you may end up wasting money!

There should be no gap for a smoke seal otherwise it fails to perform it's job of stopping cold smoke passage prior to the activation of the intumescent seal underneath.

If it's not a hospital there is no need to use the elusive NHS Estates Symbol and just get the more readily available ISO 7010 pictogram, loads of maintained exit boxes with this pictogram available (but check as some suppliers are still trying to offload fittings with the discredited EC pictogram)

It's as the above states - If you want to eliminate the science what happens is a CO2 extinguisher maintains an almost constant pressure until there is no more liquid CO2 in the cylinder (when it's just about empty), so even if a pressure gauge was fitted it would still show full even if the extinguisher is almost empty.

Jactone will make to order, their ex stock overlays are only ISO ones. It's been decades since I've seen NHS Estates symbol overlays sold ex stock, might be easier to use a standard non illuminated sign with a EL fitting no more than 2m away.

Not completely as you can't inspect it correctly otherwise. If you can block the glare that faces the bed, but still allows it to be seen from other angles that might be OK.

There is no need to check dB readings unless there has been a change in layout. At least once in a 12 month period every sounder should have been checked at least once for operation. Most fire alarm systems are not serviced to (& thus do not comply with) BS5839-1 as engineers are often made to test with sounder outputs isolated. The only way around this is if the user ensures that all sounders are gradually checked over 12 months during weekly tests - this still does not require dB testing, merely it works and doesn't seem too quiet (as can happen sometimes with bells).

25mm stops date back to the days before intumescent seals and smoke brushes existed and were a rudimentary way of forming a seal on a door - if your doors are correctly fitted with intumescent seals (and if on an escape route smoke brushes) the 25mm stop is not required and a 19mm stop should suffice.