Heat Alarm recommendation

[Joanna]

Just had a FRA done on leasehold/ freehold owned apartments & recommendation of heat alarms inside private dwellings

The building is grade 2 listed with the conversion done in 1999 with 8 apartments over 2 floors. All communal areas have wired smoke alarms as do private dwellings. Fire doors are in place

 

The report have us 82% safe with recommendations on removal of items in communal areas, boxing in pipes, electrics etc all of which have been done

 

If the heat alarms are a recommendation does that mean they are mandatory as I don’t particularly want one in my property - I am happy with smoke alarms & fire doors ?

 

[stuartd01]

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.

Edited Tuesday at 10:11 by stuartd01
Slight amendment.

[AnthonyB]

If the conversion, usually due to the age/layout/listing, cannot meet the guidance in Approved Document B with respect to compartmentation and smoke control it cannot operate a 'stay put' policy and needs to evacuate as a whole in the event of fire.
It is vital in such vulnerable properties to raise the alarm before the fire breaks out of the flat and affects the common parts thus endangering everyone else in the building. To this end the communal fire alarm requires a heat detector & sounder in each flat to raise the alarm whilst the fire is still in the flat and for the common alarm to be loud enough to wake everyone even if asleep.
It's not there to save the life of the person in the flat where the fire starts as it uses a heat detector (so if you burn toast or leave the bathroom door open with a particularly steamy shower you won't tip out the whole block) hence why you still have your own local smoke alarm - it's there to save everyone else's lives.

Fire safety legislation is functional with broad general requirements supported by guidance that has legal standing and which the FRA should be based on. Unless they can demonstrate how safety can be still maintained then by not following the guidance (which from your information the FRA has followed) that tends to prove that the legislation has not been complied with and this would be presented in court.

So the alarm is likely to be required to meet the function requirements of the law - with the increased use of wireless technology it's not a disruptive or messy thing to install.