stuartd01

Where a building contains two or more domestic dwellings, a fire risk assessment is required as the external walls and structure must be considered. This is regardless of any internal common areas. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-act-2021/fire-safety-act-2021-factscheet-information-on-commencement-of-sections-1-and-3-of-the-fire-safety-act

Hi, The basic fire safety provisions for sleeping accommodation are adequate levels of compartmentation, a protected route to the final exit point, and (as the premises is being used as temporary sleeping accommodation), it will require an interlinked fire alarm system. A caravan in a workshop is obviously not going to provide any of those basic provisions; it is essentially an inner-room arrangement with no fire safety control measures, within a high-risk environment. I also very much doubt that the organisations indemnity insurance covers them using their premises as temporary sleeping accommodation! https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-factories-and-warehouses https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-sleeping-accommodation

Hi Joanna, I'm presuming that the fire risk assessment has recommended a heat alarm be installed within the hallway/entrance to each of the flats, and that these heat alarms are linked back to the communal fire alarm system? Fire risk assessment is a holistic process, so the assessor would have considered a broad range of hazards within the building along with their associated risks to occupants. It is likely the assessor has taken into account the fact that the building is a conversion (and not purpose built), that it is listed (and therefore may not comply with the Building Regulations) and may have inadequate levels of compartmentation (so is unlikely to be able to contain a fire in the place of origin). These are are just some of the potential reasons why a fire risk assessor may have come to the conclusion that interlinked detection is required within individual flats within your block. This conclusion would ultimately be based on the fire risk assessor's (a competent person's) professional opinion. There is nothing prescribed in law stating that a communal fire alarm system is required in a block of flats, however there is a "Duty to take general fire precautions" under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In existing buildings (of which yours is), it is a fire risk assessors duty to assist the responsible person so that they can comply the requirements of the Fire Safety Order (see https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/article/8 & https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/article/4) - They do this by applying the principles outlined in various forms of guidance to each building (premises) they assess, in order to determine what measures (fire precautions) are required to be implemented to ensure the safety of occupants. Installing an interlinked heat alarm within each flat would ensure that in the event of a fire within any of the flats, early warning is provided to occupants of the premises (whether they be inside their own flat or in the common areas), and they can then safely evacuate. Note: If the responsible person decides not to implement the recommendations of the fire risk assessment then it is entirely at their discretion, however, they would need to demonstrate how they have complied with the Fire Safety Order in some other way which then places a significant amount of (criminal!) liability back on the responsible person.