Guest Paul Bagpuss Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 Hi all. I've recently been to look at a fire alarm system in a school. It was built in 2003, when the recommended minimum category of fire alarm system recommended under BS5839 was L4. However, current schools guidance is L3. 4 years ago the fire alarm panel and detection was updated on a like-for-like basis. Should the system have been upgraded to L3 at that time, or is it acceptable to stay with the original system design? Quote
AnthonyB Posted Tuesday at 20:46 Report Posted Tuesday at 20:46 Guidance is not retrospective, it's up to the fire risk assessment to determine if an upgrade is required due to a change in risk or where the protection under old standards has been proven unsuitable (unusual as injuries and deaths from school fires are virtually unheard of). If the school is in England then both the Government new build and existing school guidance (BB100 & DCLG Educational Guide) still accept a Manual System as minimum, with L4 if used out of hours and L2 (or higher) as compensatory measures (e.g. for CLAP/SCOLA build schools or where other guidance departures exist). BS5839-1 suggests M or M/P2 or M/P2/L4 or M/P2/L5 Quote
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