Fire Risk Assessments

I've surveyed a couple of properties this morning which are refurbishment projects of flats within three storey Edwardian properties. The flats include some bedsits with kitchen and bed space in the same room, some with poor layouts i.e. with the kitchen area closest to the flat exit door. The properties have a Grade A LD1 alarm system with a simultaneous evacuation policy. The bedsits are fitted with heat detectors in one property and multi-sensor detectors in the other sited in the kitchen area of the room. My concern is about occupants smoking in bed and the risk from a smouldering fire with a relatively slow activation of the heat detector or multi-sen…

I own a Georgian double fronted town house. Either side of the hall are two shops. At the back are two further rooms which I would like to let as a third shop. The stairs rise half way down the hall, protected by two fire doors, one before and one past the stairs, fire escape routes run via the hall passage to the front and back doors. Nice wide staircase, Upstairs are 4 offices with separate businesses, max occupancy expected upstairs at any one time 16. The problem: to access the proposed third shop will require customers to negotiate the two fire doors at the bottom of the stairs. I would like to remove the first fire door, exposing the staircase…

Good evening I am not sure if this is the right place to ask but i have a few questions about an FRA. On the FRA the assessor has listed that there are incorrect locks (budget locks) fitted to 3 of the cupboards in the ground floor area. It doesnt actually suggest what they should be but she explained it to the building manager that the locks installed cannot have a hole through them. So would a digilock with intumescent kit be acceptable. She has listed these 3 cupboards of which 2 are electrical cupboards and 1 cleaners cupboard. But has not mentioned anything about the other 7 electrical cupboards in the building that also have budget locks. …

With the drip feed of staff returning to the work place , what happens if there are a smaller amount of staff back to work but within those staff there are no Fire Wardens/ Marshalls ?? I appreciate it will be in a revised FRA but what are your thoughts for this situation ?

Hi all, I have a PhD in fire safety, I am quite good simulating fire but right now I am trying to move to industry/consultancy. I observed that Fire Risk Assessment and audit is required in lot of positions. Hence, I would like to do a course or to get a certification in this domain. Whar course/certificate would you suggest me? I have found the NEBOSH certificate but I do not know if it is the best option. Thank you very much in advance, Uranio

Hi there, i hope you don't mind me posting this quick question. I'm after some clarity in respect of the difference between a Fire Risk Assessment and a Fire Strategy document. What are the differences between the two and is a fire strategy required before a building is built? Also, who would prepare one? Is this more of a building control thing or do Fire Risk Assessors prepare them? Many thanks for your help. Simmo

Hi Im seeking information on fire safety. We are in a block of flats with a communal garden. There are 3 households in their 70s. One has had a quadruple heart bypass, another has had a mild stroke. I have to use an electric wheelchair. During the covid19 lockdown we want to sit in the garden maintaining social distancing. This is because staying indoors is incredibly stressful. We have been told by our landlord that if we want to sit in a chair anywhere in the garden, we must lift that chair & carry it back into the house each time we finish our sitting out. Our landlord is saying that to leave the chair out is a fire risk because if a fireman needed to ge…

Hi can someone help please. A tenant has installed a boiler in a communal basement of a house converted into self-contained flats. The basement is divided into several small 'rooms' which are all communal. The boiler has been installed in one of these 'rooms'. The room itself is not compartmented properly. The ceiling of the whole basement is due to be made 60 minute fire-resisting shortly. I've suggested a detector to be installed within the room in addition to one located in another part of the basement, all linked to the Grade A system in the main house. They have questioned the need for the additional detector (the cost is high). Any thoughts please?

Hi All, I am responsible for some large student accommodation buildings, all of which are purpose built which appear to support a stay put policy, the buildings have no MCPs. However the head of health and safety post Grenfell has decided to make all buildings 'Simultaneous Evacuation' which I disagree with as the buildings bar some minor breaches have adequate compartmentation. The question is, if this person insists on keeping simultaneous evacuation I have told him the alarm systems will have to be modified. (MCPs at each storey exit and final exit), currently the alarm has been partially modified to sound automatically when a detector is triggered. Is this…

a couple of years ago i insulated my loft roof rafters with polystyrene slabs, puchased from wickes.These are only in the pitched area of the roof ie the highest point.My worry is that these may be a fire hazard. can you advise please. thanks. Richard

Hi there, which guidance would be best for risk assessing a commercial garage? The garage compromises a service workshop, MOT workshop, small office with first floor storage above, WCs, small staff room and several lockable attached buildings such as oil stores etc. Situated behind houses and accessed via a slip road entrance between 2 houses. More than likely 1930s build so as you can imagine, fire prevention/detection is negligible at the moment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

Good Evening, Can anyone please advise, we have a client that has had a FRA completed on a house converted in to 3 flats back in the early 80's. The property consists of Flat 1 which is the main house (occupied by the RP) and Flats 2 and 3 which are rented out to single tenants on long term lease. The Escape route from flats 2 and 3 is a communal staircase which passes through a conservatory area to a final exit door to the main road. The FRA has asked for Grade A LD2 communal with heat detector in the flat entrance within 600mm of the door interlinked. Grade D LD2 within each flat. The RP is adamant that he will not have any trunking or floors lifted within th…

Hi all, Looking for some simple advice as my local council isn't being very useful. The link they gave is just for domestic requests: https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=11065 I am looking to rent out a commercial unit as a cafe in Bury town centre but there is no current secondary means of fire escape. Please can you look at the rough plan to see if I would need to install a secondary fire escape or if one door would suffice?

I live in a block of nine owner occupied flats and the building is self managed by the owners. In relation to a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) of the building, please can someone let me know: Does the FRA only involve the communal areas of the building, or will each individual flat need to be inspected? Does the FRA require a Gas Safety Certificate for each flat and/or a Domestic Electrical Installation Condition Report to be prepared? How long is a FRA valid for? Many thanks, Roy Taylor

If a fire door frame is fitted with fire/smoke seal should the gap between the door and frame be taken from the door to frame or smoke seal to frame?

Hello, I have recently purchased a building with 35 flats and has come to our attention that the previous builder did not fit compartmentation between existing flat walls. The building has now been emptied to rectify this issue. Looking for recommendations that would be the quickest and cheapest option to fit compartmentation to bring the building upto standards. Thanks

Hi, Can anyone explain the reasoning why cold smoke seals are not required on openings in protected shafts forming a service shaft (i.e. riser cupboard doors) according to Approved Document B of the Building Regulations? Thanks Jonathan

Hi, I have a house converted into small flats, it’s a 3 storey building. it already has mains heat and smoke detectors, but should it also have a control panel ? If so is there a certain spec it would need to be ? also would it need call points ?(break glass) ? if it makes any difference the communal area is only 2 storeys of stairs, with the top flat having its own private stairs. thanks

I live in Housing Association property. I'm one of six shared owners in a small three story block of self contained two bedroom flats. We've emergency lighting and a fire alarm to the common areas and previously also had fire extinguishers in this area. There has always been a stay put guideline in the event of fire. The entrance doors to the individual flats are probably not good fire doors as I can see daylight clearly through one of them. Many of the smoke detectors in the flats don't work as they are very poorly fitting and it's impossible to open them to replace the batteries so many of us have our own for safety reasons. Recently a fire risk assessment was carr…

Hi I purchased and fitted a fd60 door and frame today. The top and bottom of the door had no hardwood lippings and the chipboard core was visible. Is this ok, I thought it should have 10mm hardwood strips top and bottom. The frame was double grooved .for intumisent s If the door itself was to be grooved would grooving through the chipboard be ok ? Would appreciate your comments

Hi, Looking for advice or recommendations on software used for conducting fire risk assessments. ultimately I believe the way forward is to use a tablet to gather information/evidence whilst on the premises but then also utilise this time efficiently by completing sections of the report whilst on site. Whenever complex or significant findings are highlighted, these will always need a greater level of detail however these can be edited back at the office. what I would want is a system which is user friendly which allows for multiple templates to be used dependant on the premise (block of flats / factory or process risk) and reduces the time spent report writ…

I have just surveyed a three storey property converted into 3 flats. There are gas meters and pipework in the single protected staircase. My instinct is to recommend enclosure with 30 mins FR. However, the building regulations states that gas service and installation pipes or associated meters can be incorporated within a protected stairway if the gas installation is in accordance with the requirements for installation and connection set out in the Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996, SI 1996 No 825 and the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 SI 1998 No 2451. Does enclosing it break the requirements for ventilation? Can anyone offer advice on this? Thanks in …

Hi, Please could someone give me a steer on guidance to use for fire safety in mix occupancy (shop / office on ground floor and residential flat on first floor). Not purpose built - was a 1900's dwelling converted approximately 1950's. I've been looking at LACORS and DCLG/HM Guidance for sleeping accommodation - is there anything else? Due to the fire separation between the commercial unit (Hairdressers) and first floor being uncertain, I wanted a guide to show what compensatory features we could use, in particular early warning, linking in to flat. But didn't know if Heat detectors in ground floor were permitted to prevent false alarms in the flat d…

When applying the LACoRS guidance to houses converted to self-contained flats (prior to 1991) is the extent of the shared internal communal area irrelevant when counting the number of storeys (section 37)? For example, a three storey property has only a small communal lobby at ground floor level only with two flat entrance doors located within this lobby. Flat A occupies the ground floor only. Flat B occupies the upper two floors and the stairs are entirely within this flat (technically flat B is over three floors as its entrance is at ground floor level). As this is a three storey property, then Case Study D11 applies and a Grade A LD2 system (with control pane…

I've been asked to carry out an FRA for a single tenant in a warehouse that's been converted to provide managed office spaces for quite a few tenants. Essentially, the first floor has been fitted out with partition walls and a suspended ceiling to 'void' the height of the original warehouse. There are two means of escape (23m and 32m) and an L1 fire alarm system (as far as I can determine), but I'm convinced compartmentation between different occupancies should be 60 minute walls and 30 minute doors. The building was built before the war, extended in the 50s and converted to this in the 70s. Any comments? Thanks