AnthonyB

I would strongly suggest you take specialist legal advice on this matter, especially as a landlord who claimed they had no liability after letting to a primary tenant who then sublet was recently successfully convicted for fire safety offences. Warren Spencer at Blackhurst Budd is a specialist lawyer in the fire safety field having both successfully prosecuted on behalf of fire services and defended on behalf of Responsible Persons for over 160 cases. http://www.blackhurstbudd.co.uk/fire-safety/

BS 5839-1:2013 13.2 Recommendations 13.2.1 Recommendations applicable to all detection zones b) If the total floor area of the building is greater than 300 m2, each zone should be restricted to a single storey. d) For voids above or below the floor area of a room, these may be included within the same zone of the room, provided that the voids and the room constitute a single fire compartment. Depends whether you class it as a void or a floor. If the space is used and has an access ladder/stair I would be leaning towards calling it a floor, if a disused space more likely a void, but in the case of the latter would want remote indicators fitted.

They are mixing up the general floor calculations in BS5306-8 for general normal risk cover by Class A extinguishers. Hot works are by their nature anything but normal risk and require extinguishers immediately available (certainly within 10m). No extinguishers no permit, no permit no work, leave the premises, don't expect to be paid for your time. Many buildings that are normally very safe suffer devastating fires during hot works - the risk is too great to let them get away with this misguided statement. If they can't be bothered to spend the very small amounts on having & maintaining a stock of extinguishers for hot works I'd be suspicious of what other corners they will cut in both safety and workmanship.

Yes there are and they are going to become recommended as a standard provision for public or high misuse risk areas in the new 2017 edition of BS5839-1 so fitting them wouldn't require a risk assessment and variation as currently.

It's most likely to be your responsibility as the landlord under the Housing Act.

Upgrading work is preferred to the frames - you can get adhesive smoke seals from Envirograph, but there would be no test certification for the upgraded installation.

CO2 is an asphyxiant, but in the real world the size of room (or more accurately cupboard!) needed to be at risk from discharging a CO2 is so small the combustion products of the fire would be more likely to get you first - plus starting no nearer than 1m to the fire would usually put you outside the area anyway. Powder is still very useful and it's not an absolute no-no indoors if justified by a Health & Safety assessment. However for your usual place of assembly, office, shop, hotel, healthcare premises, etc it's not appropriate - it's usually industrial type risks where the need for it's rapid knockdown properties outweighs the secondary damage and health risks where it can remain. CO2 is not the only replacement for powder - depending on the risk to be covered then Wet Chemical, Water Mist, Triclass, Foam, Water Spray are all possibles as powder extinguishers can be found covering all sorts of risks!

Legally each item should retain it's permanent label

Full rated discharge, if it's a 3 hour system it should be tested to 3 hours. The lighting standards do still refer to certain building types only needing one hour (despite it being decades since 1 hour fittings were discontinued) however the same standard says that the annual test must be to the full rated duration (inevitably 3 hours). Note that there is a difference between escape lighting, emergency, lighting, standby lighting etc so whilst 1 hour may meet escape requirements your installation may be intended for other purposes in addition where 3 hours is needed.

The only reference to seal width I can find is purely based on door fire resistance and nothing to do with size. The recommended seal size for most modern 30 minute doors, other than doorsets, is 15mm X 4mm. The recommended seal size for most modern 60 minute fire doors is 20mm X 4mm, or 2 No. 10mmX4mm. This is from BWF-CERTIFIRE who are the fire door industries' Scheme to ensure the correct standards are used in relation to fire doors and their installation

Water Mist is pricey, but the best all round action as the others have disadvantages: Water or CO2 gas: Not even worth considering, too many disadvantages Foam: Great for solids and liquids, but no good on cooking oils and only 1 manufacturer approves them for electrical fires Wet Chemical: Great for solids, liquids and cooking oils, not for direct electrical use, slightly messy Powder: Good performance on solids and liquids, safe for electrical equipment but not the most effective, Not suitable for cooking oils, no longer recommended for indoor use as the powder will obscure vision, affect breathing and is very damaging to surfaces and equipment Water Mist covers the primary domestic risks to a high standard (solids, cooking oils and electrical) with no mess or damage or adverse effect to the user. It's also safe on liquid fires, just can only deal with very, very small ones, but as this is for the house not the garage that isn't an issue

You can't use an electromechanical lock on an exit route where the release of the keep is required for exit and electromagnetic locks are not normally allowed on doors from places of assembly (such as your hall) where panic proof (push bar) exit is required. You need to buy a panic bolt with compatible outside access device - if you prefer code access to keys then Briton Panic Furniture has a coded version: http://www.safelincs.co.uk/briton-digital-code-lock-outside-access-device/?fGB=true&gclid=CM_Q_bOr99ECFcLGGwodT-MHkQ

The official guidance states: " In order to provide a facility for extinguishing small fires in their early stages, a simple multi-purpose extinguisher is recommended on each floor in the common parts of HMOs and buildings containing flats. It will not usually be practical to train tenants in the use of these, but basic advice should be offered at the start of each new tenancy. Fire blankets are recommended as good practice in kitchens of all premises covered by this guide, including single household occupation and bedsit rooms." Traditionally that would have meant dry powder extinguishers, but since the publication of this guidance the use of powder has fallen out of favour and newer standards depricate it's use indoors due to the health & safety risks from inhalation & loss of vision as well as the fact it's exceeding damaging. So the use of Water Mist or Britannia Triclass extinguishers (foam extinguishers marked for direct electrical use, both in traditional steel variants and Kevlar P50) would be better options - a powder extinguisher would be cheaper......until it gets set off!

Not all brands of twinwire system operate the same way - which is why installers & maintainers who are not competent in fire alarms wonder why they can't get twinwire devices of different makes to work on the same system. Many twin wire systems use reverse polarity but Apollo Alarmsense uses voltage changes, in a quiescent state 12V runs through the system, device activation causes the panel to raise the voltage to 24V to activate the sounders. Polarity is unchanged. I think a competent fire alarm engineer is required for this situation.

The same as any potential ignition source - liklihood of ignition, proximity to other combustibles, effect of a fire on escape, etc, etc. Spontaneous fires in parked vehicles do occur, but are relatively rare and a complete ban is not always necessary or practicable

If it's part of a domestic electrical installation then it would be the householders responsibility with a 10 year recommended test interval. But in rental accommodation the landlord retains responsibility, the recommended interval drops to 5 years and if they fail to keep the installation in good order they commit an offence and enforcement action can be implemented by the local Council. An installation for common areas is the landlords responsibility with a 5 year interval. If you are concerned you should contact your local Environmental Health Department: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/how_to_complain_about_an_unsafe_home Useful info source: https://www.rla.org.uk/landlord/guides/responsibilities/electrical_inspections.shtml

You tick the two main boxes - technical knowledge to equal or greater standard (far greater in your case) than you are teaching and adult teaching qualifications - this would be suitable for training commercially, so for an in house course you should have no problems at all!

How warm was the room when you went in? Environmental controls are primarily to stop damage to the server, although it is an ignition source and if it's not installed to spec (e.g. manufacturer requires an air con environment) there is a risk. Too hot and you break it, too hot and you may have a fire. A dedicated room is usually preferred and storage should be minimised.

Try here: https://www.jactonesigns.com/fire-safety-signs/means-of-escape/luminaire-overlays.html

It's like any sector of the fire industry, plenty of demand, but plenty of competition and like the rest of the trade there are lots of different skill levels plying their skills (or sadly lack thereof in some cases) Your specialist knowledge will set you ahead of many offering fire safety consultancy and risk assessments, but a baseline fire risk assessment qualification is highly recommended such as one of these: - NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management - FPA C05 Certificate in Applied Fire Risk Assessment or C06 Fire Risk Assessment - CS Todd 4.5 day Fire Risk Assessment Course

Asbestos surveys have been required for a very long time - your duties under the current version of the regulations are summarised here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/duty.htm It's usually necessary for an accredited specialist to carry out the work. As Tom says Fire Certificates ceased to be over 10 years ago and an FRA is required. You need to include the offices as being vacant isn't an exemption, they are still subject to the legislation.

Keys are usually not acceptable except in exceptional circumstances such as lawful places of detention. A similar premises I have dealt with secures the fire exits where the students who are at risk of absconding with magnetic locks. These are linked to the fire alarm to release and in place of the usual green break glass overrides are key operated switches, the fire alarm break glasses are provided with hinged covers to prevent misuse and the fact that the alarm releases the locks is not advertised, the keys are used instead. The premises are also sprinklered. You should ask your fire safety adviser or risk assessor to look into this and produce a risk assessment that justifies a suitable solution. Consultation with the fire and rescue service may be advisable. Your suggestion may end up being accepted, but as it would be exceptional you need to go through the right process to justify it.

This is the official fire safety guidance applicable to your flats: http://www.local.gov.uk/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=1138bf70-2e50-400c-bf81-9a3c4dbd6575

If studying design you should be aware of the three approaches to compliance with the functional fire safety requirements of the Building Reglations: Standard Approach: Following the prescriptive guidance in Approved Document B Advanced Approach: Following the flexible design guidance in BS 9999:2017 Fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. Code of practice Fire Engineered Approach: Bespoke design (including computer modeling) using BS 7974:2001 Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings. Code of practice These will all help you with definitions and solutions.

Find a quiet time! Shopping Centres, Leisure Complexes and similar have to do them and turf paying customers out once a year (or twice if best practice). Alternatively explore this alternative to the traditional drill https://www.ioshmagazine.com/article/whats-drill