Fire Risk Assessments

Hi all What would be the minimum requirement fire safety wise, if you wanted to start using the dining room in a 2 storey house into a bedroom? It’s an old council house (built 1950s), Dining room is off the kitchen and has only the one entrance into it from the kitchen. Back door is adjacent to the dining room entrance and distance is approx 3m, but you need to walk past the cooker to get to it. There is a window, in the dining room but it doesn’t comply to current building regs as it only has a small opening window at the top, so there is no other alternative means of escape. There is also a fuse box and gas meter within the dining room. it’s been sugges…

Hi, Where a sheltered accommodation is fitted with a sprinkler system, is there a requirement for compartmentation within roof space to separate flats and common area. I can't find anything on ADB or other guidance. Can anyone please provide guidance on this matter?

We've purchased an apartment in an apartment block that isn't a good current state. It is a duplex apartment on the 7th / 8th floor. We need to replace the very rickety spiral staircase that feels like it might fall down but I'd also like to make changes to the layout as it doesn't work in it's current state. I now know that I need to apply to the BSR rather than building control so I wondered if there were any issues with this plan before I go through the process? All bedroom doors would be FD30 and we would add hard wired smoke detectors in the bedrooms, bottom of the stairs and lounge and a heat detector in the kitchen. Any advice would be greatly appreciated…

3 storey block of flats (25 flats), with stairways and exits at either end. They have a plant wall in the entrance lobby. The width of the lobby is about 12m, with the exit doors in the centre. The plant wall is on the side. Is it allowed?

Where there is a communal services riser in a block of flats, but the riser is fire-stopped at each floor (i.e. there is a concrete floor and ceiling on each level) - is it necessary to have a compartment wall that faces into the flat? I've looked through Approved Document B but I can't find a satisfactory answer. In this scenario, would the whole floor be a compartment rather than the riser itself - or would the riser still have to be a compartment?

Hi, I'm in the process of purchasing a flat that is one in a block of 6 purpose built, all of which are leasehold flats. The building is around 10 years old. We've been waiting for weeks for a fire safety certificate (FRA?) for the communal areas of the building, only to be told today that the management company are saying they don't have one and haven't yet set a date to complete one. What are the legalities around this? Should there be a recorded FRA in place already? Thanks in advance for any advice! Sam

Hi all, In my FRA I am asked the question: "Are the windows leading onto the escape route above 1.1m fire resisting". i am under the impression that windows below 1.1m and less than 1.8m in distance from flat entrances in a block of flats escape route have to be fire resisting. Is this true?

Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone can advise me. I'm risk assessing a number of properties that have existing external fire escape stairs, possibly over 50 to 60yrs old. I'm aware they will require a structural survey if they have had one recently. I was wondering about the gaps between the railings, some of them have gaps of 250mm, big enough for a child or small adult to easily fall through. Do these fire escapes need to conform to the current standard, I think gaps should be no more than 100mm. Or do they have grandfather rights?

Hi, After a fire stopping survey was undertaken in the care home i work for, the fire stopping company advised that a fire barrier was required in the roof space as it is over 20m (im waiting for confirmation as to by how far in excess of 20m) . When i referred this to the Fire Risk Assessor, they did not see a need for this to completed on the basis we have detection in the roof space (unused), fire-rated ceilings below and on the basis it is a relatively new building and the design and construction was subject to building control approval at that time (2016) and had been accepted as is. This hasnt been picked up as an issue in any previous fire risk assessments wh…

Hi. Does a Fire Risk Assessor need to check the roof space of a 1961-purpose-built 3-storey block of flats? The flats have two entrances and two communal areas although it is one detached building. The assessor is saying that a 30-minute fire cavity barrier is needed along the dividing wall between the two sides of the building and above each protected stairwell in the loft. Is this correct

Hi folks A three storey block of flats that I visited last week had external balcony access to the flat front doors accessed by a communal stairway to one side of the building only. None of the flat front doors or windows were fire resistant. Due to only having one route of escape and residents that have to pass various other flats to get there, should the windows and doors be fire resistant?

The door is required to be 1100mm but the evacuation chair in the short landing beyond restricts the width between walls to 880mm. The same crew that widened the door, fixed the evac chair in place!

Hello, I'm after some advice please. I was employed to carry out an FRA for (what I thought was a communal block of flats), with office space on 1st floor to also be assessed). On arrival I found the property was the following: -5 storey, believed to be converted office -Ground floor -cafe with basement - no access from residential premises. Communal area with elec box and stairs leading to: First floor- open plan office space for rent Second floor: Self contained flat used for holiday lets Third floor - Self contained flat used for holiday lets Fourth floor- Self contained flat used for holiday let. The bu…

Hello, Yesterday I visited a residential block to conduct an FRA for the communal areas and a rented office on the first floor. This was a 5 storey block with a cafe on the ground floor (no shared entrance), office on the 1st floor and flats on the upper floors. On arrival I was told that all flats on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor were now holiday lets owned and managed by the same people as the communal areas. My question is, do I just assess the common areas as normal using LACORS, with the CLG guide for the offices (it is converted and not purpose built and does not appear to conform to building regs) with a mention of the use? I did advise the cli…

Hi A block of flats we manage has been inspected by the Fire brigade. Its a 3 storey terraced house converted to 3 flats (one on each floor). It was converted in 2017 and was signed off by building control and local fire service also approved. After a fire audit last month, a notice has been issued by the fire brigade with a list of recommendations, incuding improvements to flat entrance doors and emergency lighting. One of the recommendations is to install a communal fire alarm system on top of the fire detection already inside each flat. I have since had a fire risk assessment done by an independent fire consultant who has advised that as the flats have…

since the property was built in 2005 the AOV system for the hallways ( 6 floors small communal hallway) was never commissioned. previous fire safety reports never flagged any issues. new management company has alleged to a fire safety inspector that the AOV system was broken. we now have a section 20 notice and have to have the windows open 24/7 until its resolved. is this compulsory or can we keep it has its always been (not commissioned) ? There is an AOV working in the communal staircase they have just never been commisioned in the small hallways. I wonder if it wasnt required so never actioned

I am in the process of buying a 2 bedroom leasehold flat in south London. The block is a purpose-built 60s block of 4 stories/under 11 meters and not a relevant building under the Building Safety Act. I have received the Fire Safety Assessment that was recently conducted and being a layman, understanding it, and if it's cause for concern, is not straightforward. Overall the buildings rating is "moderate" with a series of recommendations. The majority of them look relatively easy/cheap; but I am concerned about the below recommendation around roof compartmentalisation - based on some research i found from 2021, roof compartmentalisation could be significantl…

I've been asked to check the occupancy factor and suitability of fire exits for an existing soft play centre. The only specific guidance that I could find was on the ROSPA website which references BS EN 1176-10:2023 and BS 8409:2009. Can anyone advise if I should be looking elsewhere? https://www.rospa.com/policy/play-safety/services/advice/indoor-soft-play "Child user capacity is calculated using Table 1 of BS EN 1176-10:2023. A minimum of two fire exits for up to 100 users with an additional exit for every 100 extra users of the building. This includes staff, parents, and carers as well as the children". Also, does the reference to a minimum of two f…

Hello My daughter has just moved into a halls at university, on the ground floor. She has safety restrictor on the window, which I presume is to stop intruders. But I am concerned how she would get out in the event of a fire, if she could not get out the door. The window is double glazed so would be hard to break. Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks Nicky

If a 6 storey residential building is built on a gradient and one side is over 18m, but the other side is not (but both sides are accessible to the fire service), is it considered a high-rise building as far as the new fire regulations are concerned? Thanks

We are leaseholders & all members of a management company. some of the leaseholders were nominated to be directors. we had a fire safety report carried out & the directors are refusing to provide the report to us citing privacy issues. we have agreed that they should redact any personal information but they are still refusing to provide the report yet as leaseholders themselves, they have seen it.

Hi folks, We're a specialised housing company catering for people with learning difficulties & enhanced care needs. We have some purpose-built blocks which contain flats shared by two unrelated tenants - do we need to do FRA's on these flats?

I am of the opinion that in a two story single stair building with two flats on GF and two flats on FF, all with internal protected hallways, no smoke vent is required at the head of the stairway enclosure. ADB clause 3.50 specifies 'Except in buildings that comply with Diagram 3.9, the corridor or lobby next to each stair should have a smoke vent'. Dia 3.9 specifies 'If the flats have protected entrance halls, the lobby between the common stair and flat entrance is not essential'. The flats accord with Dia 3.9, therefore, no smoke vent is required because there is no lobby to install it in. The Stair enclosure only has a landing with flat entrance doors d…

Two maisonettes with a common entrance, staircase, landing on the ground floor and 1st floor. One of the two maisonettes has the common entrance, staircase, landing as part of the demise of the property (I.e owns it) and the other has the right to use the common entrance, staircase, landing. Who is responsible for the fire safety, asbestos survey, EICR etc for the common entrance, staircase, landing?

• The internal stairway discharges into the ground floor commercial area and the travel distances are excessive. The escape route would quickly become impassable in the event of fire originating in the basement, ground or first floor • The structure between the basement, ground and upper floors provides insufficient fire and smoke protection. This would allow heat and smoke from fire to pass from the basement to the floors above • The external fire exit does not have sufficient fire resisting construction from a fire originating in the building. Would anyone be able to help us suggest ideas on how we can prevent the above for our shop. We use to have…