Linda

I have just carried out a six monthly three hour test on our EML, we have one room approx. (26x26ft) where two walls are 50% large windows, the two ceiling lights have failed test, one fire escape door has a luminaire above it, there are double doors with viewing panels in another direction that does not have a luminaire above it but leads to other escape routes that could be used. The building is occupied from 8.00am until 5.00pm Monday to Thursday then by a cleaner until 7.00pm and on a Friday from 8.00am until 3.00pm. Is it necessary that the two failed lights are replaced as batteries are no longer available?

I have an internal fire exit door which doesn't fully close and one final exit door which has been damaged due to having the self closer mechanism removed, as these are fire exits and not fire doors, does this pose a problem?

We are currently relocating our stores warehouse into our main factory building, so there will be about four rows of ceiling height racking approximately 200M in length with fork lift access between. I'm undecided whether or not additional fire exit signs are needed, what is the rule of thumb for this?

Is there a required time limit in which failed emergency lights should be made good again? I have one in a room with windows which has been out of action for two months and still the site services manager is doing nothing about it, the batteries for the type of lighting are no longer available so both lights in the room need to be replaced.

When you speak of door sets, does this include the door frame?

I have looked at the 1980s fire doors again, some have stainless steel hinges but some have brass, I notice that where one fire door was replaced during refurbishment that the old brass hinges were used, should these have been replaced hinges to suit modern day requirements?

Some of the fire doors in the building where I work which was built in the early 1980s, have three hinges but have no BS or CE markings, is this a problem?

I am severely deaf and wear a bone anchored hearing aid, though I can hear our fire alarm without my hearing aid due to the high tone. When I first moved to my company in 1990, a manager had a flashing light fitted in place of an alarm and end of shift buzzer without discussing my needs with me, only it was a clear 60W light bulb so proved useless, a bright coloured beacon would have been better but would have been a problem for a member of staff with epilepsy. Since a factory refurbishment and change of role the alarm is back in place. We also had a profoundly deaf women here who worked on production and had a buddy to alert her.

How often should fire doors be checked in an industrial unit?

Is it a legal requirement to have Lightning protection fitted to buildings? The industrial unit I am in was built sometime in the 70s and I cannot see any lightning conductors.

Is there a requirement to have signage in refuge areas?

There is a question on my Fire risk assessment form; 'Are there arrangements for servicing and maintenance of fire shutter doors, magnetic catches etc. (6 monthly)?' We inspect our doors as above monthly as was recommended in the log supplied by the company who fitted our system originally, do we need to do it this often or is six monthly sufficient? Is there any requirement to have a third party do any routine checks or maintenance?

I have carried out fire risk assessments for each area of the building where I work but our H&S practitioner says I need to do one for the whole building she has given me quite a lengthy assessment form to fill out what I can ready for her next visit where we will go over it and finish it off. One of the questions is, number of exits from the building (single or multi) are these the exits that lead immediately the the outside?

Yes my concern is that it is systematically being removed from its wall bracket and being left in random places in the area, this morning it was very close to the door where anyone going through the door would have walked into it if they were not looking down, door wedges are provided if there is a need to prop the door open but this is rare.

There is an on going problem within the company I work for where somebody is systematically removing a wall mounted fire extinguisher and leaving it on the floor, sometimes in a place where it becomes a trip hazard, apart from the obvious risks is this breaking any fire regulations?