Fire Exits

We have a fire escape route that goes through a room to get to the external fire doors. The door into this room needs to be kept locked during the day when it is used by a pre-school. Currently it has a combination lock pad on it. How can we arrange for the door to automatically unlock when the fire alarm goes off?

Background: 1965 purpose built 2-storey block of flats sharing common entrance. Problem: 2018 fire safety inspection recommended LD1 alarm system OR replace existing Flat Entrance doors with FD30s compliant doors. Contract placed for composite doors but after Grenville fire manufacture halted and still unable to contract for replacement. Commissioned new fire safety survey in July 2020 by different inspector who recommends immediate installation of Linked D1 smoke alarms in all Flats and Common entrance AND later installation of FD30s compliant Flat Entrance doors! Question. Can we ignore the second fire safety survey recommendation and continue to seek an …

We are currently renting a property and the back door leads to a garden that is enclosed by the house extension on three sides so solid wall and the neighbours 6 foot fence on one side so their is no exit from the rear of the property. You would be trapped if their was a fire in the kitchen / living room and you couldn't get.to the front of the house. Also the front door won't open if the door to the loft extension is open and same if the other away round. Is this legal?

Can we lock a gate to the side of the block to allow residents entry into the block by given them fb keys and locking the gate. Can this be allowed until the fire safety reg.

should hotel fire exits have belt barriers in the way of them ?

How close can you have someone sit on route to the fire exit on the first floor of a building?

In a large primary school they have fire exits in each classroom, but all the exits have push pads. I thought that any building that has more than 60 people in must have push bars on the doors. As each class as it’s own fire exit door would push pads be allowed as there is 30 people in a class?

Hi, 2 story detached dwelling house with a protected stairway fire strategy, the master bedroom is located on the first floor and has an en-suite toilet/shower room, Is the en-suite classed as an inner room and the master bedroom the access room, if so should the master bedroom be fitted with a smoke alarm? Many thanks in advance

I rent a workshop within an old factory that has been converted into separate units each with their own key. My unit has an entry/exit via a communal corridor and also a final fire escape door to the outside world. Is it legal for one of the other units to have an internal fire door from their unit into mine, there is plenty of room along their corridor wall to have a fire door installed. Thank you for any input.

Two storey Night club with a void between ground and first floor. Void is up to first floor roof, 60m2 Floor space is 200m2 Fire strategy using BS9999 states I can have a variation to exit width based on room /ceiling height >3m because of the void. The height of the ceiling in the rest of the floor is <3m. Therefore majority of floor is<3m. Fire authority state that the room height is not uniformly 3m and the variation can't be applied based on the void as that is not what BS9999 states in 18.3. building control didn't mention it, yet. Fire strategy author states that is not the case. Who is right before I spend more money I don't have …

I have a care home that recently installed maglocks on doors to prevent residents accessing stairs, so obviously a fire escape route. My question is: should an emergency release button been installed at the secure side as the installer has said wouldn't be required due to release designed in the event of power failure or fire alarm activation. I cannot find the code that says it is a requirement, can anyone help? Pretty sure it is a requirement! Thanks

Hello, just looking for thoughts on this, I have been asked to work out occupancy numbers for a restaurant, there are two exits, the one to the rear is a set of secure double doors that release on fire and open outward(clear width 1300mm), and the front entrance which again is a set of double doors (clear width 1180mm). They have seating capacity for around 181 persons with about 8 sitting at the bar, so in theory they should be ok, the only issue I have is, discounting the larger door set leaves the front entrance, which opens inwards. How would that alter the figures? Thanks in advance.

A place free from danger from fire is clearly defined by diagram 2.5 for a dwelling house in approved doc B vol 1 But for a flat at less than 4.5 above ground It is just defined as “a place free from danger from fire” without a diagram to show a precise definition. Are there any experts here that can explain why ?

Hi all, I have an industrial unit divided into two by an OSB wall with one side still in use a mechanical workshop with the other hoping to be an events space. The events space side has it's own roller shutter door with a single exit through it so only allowing for 60 persons which isn't enough. How would the occupancy be calculated if the shutter was up leaving the front of the unit completely open while the event was taking place? I guess the alternative is to rebuild the dividing wall with 30 min protection and use the second exit in the workshop?

Hi all, currently on all of our fire exits leading to the outside of the building are pointed down.(see attached) Ive come across the attached document that states that they should be all facing up as down arrows indicate a change of level ie stairwells or steps. Looking online at various virtual tour of buildings it seems like both are being used. So is it up or down or does it matter? Thanks Steve safetysignsguidance.pdf

Hi, I have an external Fire Door that is not in regular use that opens inwards, now we have been told that the door needs to open the other way which would open onto a footpath, could somebody please tell me what the rules are concerning this please. Thanks Stu_B

We have been required to provide an Glass/Aluminium door with solenoid lock + manual lock. This Door is a fire exit & must be hold open for fire escape. We have a concern about the use of solenoid lock in this condition and we wish to ask your opinion and recommendation for a design in compliance with building regulation. Please note that then we have a option where the same requirement are asked but with a floor mounted automatic device (like Tormax imotion) Alessandro

Hi, I can't understand if the building regulations for apartments blocks in Ireland requires FD30 or FD30S door. It's not clear if FD30S is a good to have or it's mandatory. Thank you

Can someone please tell me is the following statement correct in relation to Part B 2 storey flats with ground floor commercial. TD to furthest point in flat from entrance 9m (not open plan) an AOV can only be requested where the stair lobby is omitted. However, for the stair lobby to be omitted the flats should have a protected entrance hall, which is not the case. Therefore 2 door protection to the stair is not achieved. A protected entrance hall/vestibule should be provided to flats. Thanks

Hi, after changing floor from carpet to laminate, there is a 14mm gap from the floor to the bottom of the fire door. What can I use to fix that? Thank you

A tenant that lives next to me is regularly blocking a fire exit for other people with their bicycle. I've already brought this to their attention on 2 occasions, though they continue to block the fire exit. I don't want a confrontation with the neighbour, though I know it's wrong to block the fire exit. Can you offer me a few suggestions for what I should do?

Hi, I have a small 1/8" passthrough hole in my front door (FD30). Is that something that can be fixed? If yes how? Thank you

Hi, if I have a letter box fit in a fire door, can I remove it and cover the hole somehow? If yes with what? Thank you

I am converting a two storey 5 bedroom house to a residential children's care home. Does the stair need to be protected or can it be open plan if the layout and stair location meet the Small Premises criteria in ADB?

I hope this is the right forum to ask this question. I recently purchased an apartment in a block and the front door is an FD30. Now I know what that means but when I bought the apartment I had almost no knowledge of fire regulations. A couple of friends told me that because there are additional locks on the door (probably retrofitted), now I'm in breach of regulation. May I ask? 1) does it mean that the insurance will not pay in case of a fire? 2) if the answer to 1) is yes, will I be responsible for the entire block? 3) can I remove the additional locks and close the holes with trudoor bolts? or caulk? 4) if there are no open holes in the d…