Fire Risk Assessments

Hi Do all acetylene bottles need to be stored in a locked cage away from the building when not in use? If so where is the guidance for this? We only have 1 small oxy/acetylene setup, will this need to be caged off outside when not in use e.g night time? Thanks

Hi Do small boiler rooms and server rooms have to have automatic fire detection? Is there anything written down saying it’s a must or it’s strongly advised, if so where? Thanks

Hi, I have been to a pub today with accommodation above. The pub only has one door which opens out to the street. There is a second door which discharges into a garden, where no further egress can be made. Currently, occupants of the pub, the function room (on the first floor) and the accommodation on the 1st and 2nd floor can only escape and make their way away from the building through the front door in the bar. The height to the highest floor is approx 7m with the length of the garden being approx 18m. The previous FRA has suggested that the occupants can escape from the building into this area, as long as the local fire authority are made awa…

Dear Tom I live in a converted Victorian house. It is divided into three flats ground, first and second floors. We all own and have identical leases however I live on the ground floor and am also the freeholder. I live with my husband and two children, the first floor flat is rented to three girls and the second floor flat had a married couple living in it. The second floor are selling and their lawyers have asked me for a fire risk and asbestos survey. Do I need one of these and how do I go about getting one done. Also who is responsible for paying for this. Am very worried about all this and would appreciate your advice Thanks

Hello, bit of a strange one so here goes... A store that I look after has asked me to put up shelving in a largeish cubbyhole underneath the store escalator, I said no way thinking back to the Kings Cross fire and I also sought advice from our in house H&S team who also said no. However the store are pushing this again, so I was hoping someone might know of some legislation that I can push back at them and say no to it once and for all. The room itself is difficult to access as its through a non fire door which has a high step into it, the door is only about 18 inches wide, inside there is no fire curtain between the suspended ceiling in the shop and the sto…

Hi I’m trying to calculate occupancy for a 4 storey building. There’s 2 escape routes, both protected stairwells. All rooms on each floor are used for either office space or function rooms. We are restricted with occupancy due to the size of the exit doors, both protected stairwells have fire exit doors of 750mm that lead into the stairwell and this is the same from the 1st floor to the 4th floor with the ground floor having a fire exit door of 1050mm, this is the final exit. Am I right in thinking that each floor occupancy is restricted to 100 people (normal risk) due to having to take off 1 exit for a fire situation? Also are we then restricted …

Hi everyone, I would appreciate some advice. I've just completed a self build house in North Wales. As part of the decor I left beams in the lounge and kitchen exposed and build wood panelling to one meter around the kitchen/diner walls. I used a product, Timberex Hard Wax Oil, for the finish and was very pleased with it. Unfortunately I had Building Control around for their final inspection last week and they expressed concern about this product and it's fire safety properties. The exposed joists must be capable of withstanding 30 minutes fire resistance via charring effect and the panelling must achieve at least class 1 surface spread of flame. There is nothing on the t…

We live in a building converted into 5 flats (three storeys, plus a basement flat). The flat owners have share of freehold, and have appointed a managing agent to manage the property. Our managing agent recently organised a FRA, and now says there are costly upgrades 'legally required' to meet the fire safety requirements. He charges a percentage of the total cost for organising such works. We don't want to invalidate our insurance and more importantly are concerned that the building is safe, but the upgrades he is recommending total thousands of pounds. I have attached a copy of the report. Can anyone advise? Fire Assesment Report.pdf

I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of some accurate information i need about housing legislation re fire safety. I have a 2 story house with a loft conversion that opens up onto the upstairs landing, I wanted to change the layout so the bedroom is larger which would mean the loft which I plan to use as a study rather than a sleeping space would open into my bedroom. I've seen conflicting information about this on the internet, I just want to know the legality of this layout

Is it a legal requirement to have Lightning protection fitted to buildings? The industrial unit I am in was built sometime in the 70s and I cannot see any lightning conductors.

I've read this forum a lot over the past year and have decided to join in as its a fantastic source of information. What are fire risk assessors recommending where mid rise residential blocks (6-7 storeys) have Upvc windows/Upvc panels covering in what used to be the external walkways which effectively form part of the escape routes?

I have carried out fire risk assessments for each area of the building where I work but our H&S practitioner says I need to do one for the whole building she has given me quite a lengthy assessment form to fill out what I can ready for her next visit where we will go over it and finish it off. One of the questions is, number of exits from the building (single or multi) are these the exits that lead immediately the the outside?

Hello I have recently carried a one day coarse set out by the BRE in which it allows me to fit and repair firedoor. Is this certificate any Good as my employer put me on it and now have told me not to fit anymore doors.

Hi, my questions is that does a fuse box / electrical intake in a corridor in a building with two flats in it need to be covered with some fire retardant material in order to provide 30 minutes fire separation between the fuse box / electrical intake and the common corridor and the flat above?

Hello, I'm having problems with the FRA. I'm buying a flat in a high rise tower (lots of communal areas) and my solicitor is requesting a copy of the FRA. The management company is not providing it for reasons unknown. I understand that the legislation doesn't require the FRA to be formally written down but I know the management company has one because the London Fire Brigade conducted a fire audit on this building in the last 12 months which involved reviewing the FRA hence a hard copy must have been produced. My first question is: why is my solicitor requesting a copy of the FRA when it is not necessarily a written document? Shouldn't they be content wi…

Hi I've purchased PAS 79 and wondered if I can add a front sheet with my company's details and add photos and plans. BSI weren't helpful at all !! Any advice greatly accepted.

I know of a factory which is 20000 sq foot split into 2 parts by a concrete block wall, one side is the production area making plastic component's and the other is warehouse space where only 1 man works for approx. 1 hour per day in a wooden grinding room. In the production area there are 15 workers. There is a very old manual fire alarm system and both ends of the production area but never serviced, in fact the owners are unsure whether it still works although a red light is lit at the side of the break glass point Both areas are open areas and with a high roof, any fire in the production area would be immediately seen by the workers. But the lone worker wouldn't k…

Good afternoon, I was hoping you could give me advice on a couple of things please. I'm writing a risk assessment on a building that is a day service for disabled people. They have a fire door that is the only exit out of the building other than the main entrance. This is currently locked with a key turn. However this is also behind another door that must be kept locked at all times as in-between that door and the fire door are all of the electrical panels which the service users may gain access to. Can you advise if that one door must be kept open to access the fire door and if the fire door is ok being opened by a key or if we need to get a push bar? Also it is mainly o…

I am secretary of a residential management company of a mill building converted to flats in the late 1980s. There are 7 flats 3 of which have entrances directly outside, the other 4 open out onto short corridors 10m long (2 flats on each of 2 levels). I understand the need for a fire risk assessment of these corridors but wanted confirmation that 10m is a short enough distance not to require an additional route out of the floor (to be fair there is no cost effective option for us). Each corridor is open at the entry end and open on one side and non combustible.

Hello Can help me with a question? I'm hoping to sign a lease on a property in London which I wish to open as a small theatre - the space is in the basement and accessed by a single staircase 1055mm wide. Assuming we have the usual signage and extinguishers in place - how many people people am I allowed in the basement? Are there guidelines nationally for these this or do they differ from local council to council? Many thanks, Dominic

Could you please tell me how often a fire risk assessment needs to be done to be law abiding Can we carry out the assessment ourselves or should it be done by a qualified person I write from a thirteen bedroom hotel

In line with BS5839 a hotel group brand standard requires the fire alarm to reach 75db at the bed head. Auditors require evidence of this so employees measure (using a smartphone app) and record the sound at the bed head to ensure it reaches 75db. The hotels undertake a weekly MCP/sounder test and 100% of the fire alarm is serviced at quarterly intervals but this is done without the sounders operating (at the hotel's request) to avoid disruption. Does the absence of sounders operating during the service and the resulting inability to hear the alarm in each bedroom lead to the employee sound test at the bed head being necessary? The brand standard doesn't specifically requ…

How do people generally regard the translucent, adhesive escape signs that are commonly found on emergency luminaires? I frequently recommend that these are removed (and replaced with a standard sign in lieu) if the luminaire(s) concerned constitute the only maintained or non-maintained emergency light fittings, given that they reduce the emitted light and thus may compromise the intended lux levels. Where they've been used as a cheaper alternative to a dedicated illuminated sign, then I'm generally happy with this providing there's another emergency light source in the same vicinity. Do people here generally concur with this view? Interested to hear other views a…

I am selling a flat. They are purpose built privately owned flats. 18 flats in all with three entrances, 6 flats in each block. They have fire extinguishers which are checked and refilled each year. Does there need to be a fire risk assessment.

Hi I live in a block of 4 flats with communal hall and stairs, the council have just posted a letter saying we must move these within 7 days due to it being a fire risk , is this a regulation now in place ?