Fire Prevention

Hi Can someone kindly point me to the best books/documents to learn about FRA. I currently play a small part in this area as part of my job but I feel like my role will become more and more involved over the next year or so

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help with this. I take water samples and part of the procedure is to spray the tap down with isopropanol (aka rubbing alcohol). I need to carry around 700ml in a plastic spray bottle and around a litre in the bottle provided to top it up with. So in total I am carrying around 1700ml in my van. I have got hold of a 15l metal can with closing clip which makes it very secure for carrying this in the back. I was going to hold the spray bottle and top up bottle in place with bubble wrap. But now I'm wondering if actually that could be super dangerous, if my van catches light and this becomes a bomb. Can anyone help with this, thank you in advance?

Would it be considered as reasonable to upgrade to FD30S the door to a bathroom with an electric shower and containing WC in an HMO. The bathroom opens into the common internal means of escape hallway. All rooms including hallway are provided with hard wired AFD. Upgrade of the door is considered on the basis of the existence of the electric shower in the bathroom. The current door has no FR and is not SC. Any advice appreciated.

It is accepted that doors to toilets need not have any fire resistance when located within protected zones. However in the UK and in Scotland we generally find that WC's are in most cases accompanied by baths and shower facilities sharing the same space or room. Would it be reasonable to upgrade a door to a bathroom to achieve FD30S standard where it contained a bath with electric shower over and separate WC and wash hand basin? The bathroom opens onto a common corridor serving three sleeping bedrooms in an HMO. Ceiling mounted hard wired detection is located in the circulation area outside the bathroom door.

Hi. Question re: securing a new fire door that will be fitted between the house hallway and integrated garage... On the side of the door from the house into garage it will be lockable by key. But my concern is that from the side of the door from the garage into the house, if we just fit a thumb-turn on this side and some urchin breaks into the main garage door, they would also now be able to walk into the main house too via the thumb-turn. Obviously we'll make main garage door as secure as possible, but other than that is there any solution to this that will still be fire-safe?

I have just checked an engineering stores / office. There is one way in and one way out their office area. Their office (6 staff) is on the 1st floor which they access via a concrete staircase with two breeze block walls either side of the stairwell so it appears to be what I would consider as protected stair well. I went into an adjacent room to find out if there is anything stored underneath the stairs and found it to have an unlocked sliding door jam pack with old archive combustible (paper boxes etc..) Although it is a concrete stairwell I could see small gaps through it 10-20mm in various location, there is a distribution board in this cupboard space too I'm unclea…

Hello! I was wondering if you could please help. My company has been supplied upholstery items that are not compliant to the UK Fire Regulation, under a contract with an EU supplier. Could you please advise where a formal complaint could be sent to? Im not sure if Trading Standards will deal with business to business matter. Thank you!

The joys of fire risk assessment you thought you've seen everything and then... Did one the other day where at the end of the building there is a first floor decking area (say 80 m2) which forms part of the roof of a ground floor car park. Is there anything in the guidance /regs relating to this? My initial reaction is 30 minutes fire resistance etc

Hi, My son has just started at a residential school, where they stay in housing in the community. The window of his room has a restricted opening, so he couldn't get out of the window in the event of a fire. The bedroom door is extremely heavy. There is only one discernible escape route down the main stairs, which are close to the door of the kitchen. My concern is what would happen if that route was blocked. It's only a small semi-detached house, with 3 bedrooms on the first floor and a bathroom and a loft room upstairs. Can I ask what should be in place to protect from fire and could someone please advise re some kind of fire-extinguisher for his room? I'…

Hi, could anyone poi int in the right direction to get some further information on the requirements to install intumescent putty pads/boxes to electrical sockets please?

Scaffolding has been put up on my council property blocking all access to upstairs windows they are going to do guttering and facia boards but unable to get air upstairs and concerned no fire escape if a fire broke out downstairs is this safe and how long is reasonable to have this up for

Good afternoon. I am currently in the process of buying a house, and my surveyor has informed me that the loft party walls of the house we are looking to buy are timber (a money saving exercise by the builders 14 years ago) and although technically not breaching regulations, he wouldn't be happy recommending we leave them as is. He mentioned that we would need to get boarding on them to make them more fire resistant. After doing some research it looks as though this sort of boarding is only useful if both parties install it (as their timber side would just knock over our boarding if there were a fire). I also have no idea who to contact about looking at/doing …

Hi, I'm fitting some FD30 fire doors to some electrical and riser cupboards in the communal areas of a block of flats. The FRA stated that they should be BS EN 1634‐1 compliant. As they are not used for access they just have to be kept locked shut, with a sign saying 'Fire Door Keep Locked Shut', I had hoped to use Yale 8002 security bolts but realise now that they are not fire rated. I spoke to an ironmongers who recommended I use night latches! I really don't think these are very practical considering there are a number of locks, but also it seems excessive. I therefore wonder if anyone could recommend a suitable simple to fit lock which would meet the required s…

Please can I ask anyone for their thoughts on this one please...?New warehouse has been constructed; approx 500msq footprint. Sub-divided for storage (vertical / high racking); offices; kitchenette; plant room (on mezzanine).Warehouse / storage area is separated with brick wall from floor to apex of roof.But separation between warehouse / storage area and Plant room on mezzanine is stud wall with plasterboard. But, only one side (which is the warehouse side) has plasterboard lining - the Plant Room side is exposed studwork??Should not both sides be plaster boarded (and taped and sealed gaps??) to protect the stud work completely?I've attached photo taken from the Plant ro…

Approved document B (Fire Safety) has been revised is now the the 2019 version. Check out https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b.

Hi I’m a joiner and I’ve been asked by a client to fit a pair of fire doors to a kitchen service hatch in a care home which is 1.5m wide by 0.5m high. They’ve been asked to have this fitted following an insurance inspection (I think) Has anyone ever heard of this before and are there any concerns people have? Surely it would need to have door closers on it in which case it wouldn’t work as a service hatch? Also if I just cut a fire door blank down to make two small doors would that would mean that only one would have an ID tag on it? I’m thinking the only real solution is some kind of roller shutter that is fire rated and connected to the alarm. Would …

The decorative wooden planks along the side of these buildings Are these to be treated as cladding & need to get tested ?Or what would you suggest ? Thanks

Hi All I wonder if you can assist. On the top floor in a care home the ceiling is 12.5mm plasterboard fixed to roof trusses not less than 38mm thick. The plasterboard is skimmed and there is about 150mm of rockwool above. This arrangement covers the top floor bedrooms, escape corridor and elec room, sluice room, clinic room and lounge etc. The roof void above the protected area of 10 beds has cavity barriers and is free of storage. The concern is the escape corridor and risk rooms may not give 30 mins fire resistance at ceiling level. The plasterboard is not fire rated and a fire ie in the elec room, or a bedroom could pass through the ceiling and spread i…

Concierge desks with parcels & lots of paper etc which are often not enclosed or even if they are the window hatch that opens up is normally flimsy & not considered a Fire resistant hatch - What would the recommendation be for these areas as they are almost always directly on the path to the main entrance / exit by their very nature... Same again for waiting areas close to the concierge sites, often with magazines, pamphlets etc right alongside to the main entrance/escape routes what recomendations should be given in these situations ? TIA

Hi I understood the common practise of opening in the direction of the exit, but heard that on a flat, with few occupants, opening inwards is fine. Is this generally not a problem? thanks

I have been asked to fit an intumescent seal to an existing front door which is deemed to be FD30. As it is a tight fitting door I want to router a channel in the door and fit a flush seal. However there will be a gap where the seal meets the door furniture of a lock and catch - probably 180mm long on the opening side of the door. Is this acceptable as there will be no seal over this length of the door?Thanks

Hi! Which guidance/ documentation would be best for a fire strategy plan for a hotel building? Is approved doc B Vol 1/2 appropriate? Many thanks in advance. Julian

Re converted house over 3 floors with communal hallway 3 flats we are installing smoke alarms hard wired behind all flat doors should they be interlinked? also installing Heat Detectors in 3 kitchens = Not interlinked is this correct please It is quite daunting the varying advice given thank you Gillian

Hi. Working in an ageing retail environment there are a number of fire doors we are checking monthly/quarterly & maintaining where possible. A large number we have to assume are nominal as there is no certification. Gaps in the doors vary massively and I understand betweeen 2-4mm is only accepted, a large proportion haven been in situ for years and must of fitted within the regs way back when. Is it acceptable to test the doors as per the schedule and note where gaps are larger and await the fire risk assessment (4yearly) to advise if the door needs replacement. The RA company have advised that’s ok. Where can I get all useful and relevant information rela…

Recently brought a flat that has a lowered ceiling(image 1) part of way down window. Wondering if this would of been done for fire regs, and whether I could put new full length windows in and raise the ceiling on an angle around them. This is a ground floor flat in a converted property. Thanks.