Tom Sutton

In most parts of the United Kingdom most failures in public electricity supplies are relatively short in duration and prolonged failures exceeding 24 hours are uncommon. The recommendations in this standard are based on this assumption, and for category M and Category L systems the duration of standby batteries need not therefore normally be capable of supplying power to the system for longer than 24 hours. A greater duration might, however be necessary if the probability of failure of a public or private electricity supply for periods exceeding 24 hours is considered to be significant. As you can see from the extract from the British standard above the minimum is twenty four hours but could longer depending on circumstances.

The property management company usually runs the premises on behalf of the owner and is responsible for the common areas and I would think it is them you should contact. Domestic smoke detectors in the flats are the responsibility of the tenants, unless the tenants agreement says different. If there is a fire alarm in the common areas it should be a BS 5839 part 1 system which doesn't use backup batteries in the detectors, it uses a battery in the control panel (CIE) or a centrally located battery, consequently your situation is a little confusing.

Is it the battery in the control panel (CIE) of a BS 5839 part 1 system which should last 4 years. Is it domestic smoke detectors which could use standard batteries which last about 1 year or you can get ten year batteries. All will give a warning indication when the voltage falls below the optimum level.

For a small shop do you need a fire alarm system, if there was a fire in the shop could people be trapped in any of the other rooms or is there an alternative way out through the rear of the shop? To raise the alarm you could shout providing everybody could hear. The smoke detectors you are talking about are for domestic situations and you would need a BS 5839 part 1 fire alarm system but you could use part 6 smoke detectors in certain circumstances.

Hospitals do this I would suggest you contact the fire officer of your local hospital and ask where they get them from, if he/she cannot I am sure they will be able to help.

Hi Catherine We and the salvage corps used to carry a deodorizing spray for that very purpose and I would think any deodorizing spray should be effective but it is a difficult smell to eradicate. http://www.ehow.com/info_8281007_sprays-deodorizers-stop-smoke-odors.html

There is no set time for evacuation; the post war studies originally came up with a figure of two and a half minutes for a traditional building which later was included in the guides for the Fire Precautions Act. These guides quoted 2.5 minutes from your workplace to a place of comparative safety, an enclosed area protected to a half hour fire resisting standard, and could be an enclosed corridor or staircase. Then 30 minutes in a comparative safe area to outside the premises and finally to the ultimate safe area, the assemble point, with no time limit). Now we are in the age of risk assessment and we use available safe egress time (ASET) which is calculated in six stages, 1. Ignition to detection, 2. Detection to alarm, 3. Recognition time, 4. Response time, 5. Travel time, 6. Tenability limit. Ignition to detection and detection to alarm will depend on the type of fire alarm you have, also if you do not have automatic detectors then training of your personnel will be important. Recognition time and Response time will again depend on training and if you have designated persons to initiate the evacuation. Travel time will depend on the distance personnel have to travel to reach safety. Tenability time is the time the escape routes will remain available and safe to use. Escape time is the time from ignition until the time at which all the occupants of the building, or a specified part of the building, are able to reach a place of safety and this time should be less than ASET. With only 21 employees in an office/warehouse situation you should easily be able to achieve escape time less than ASET and timing your evacuation drills will set a bench mark to check how effective subsequent drill are.

Grant is your house classed as a shared house (does all the students have access to all of the house including the bedrooms) because this will affect my submission above? If it is a shared house then you will only require FD30 doors not FD30s doors and therefore will not require smoke seals. Check out HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing for more information.

I would say 1 cm gap is acceptable but as you require FD30s fire doors, you need intumescent seals to sides and top of door. You will also require cold smoke seals to all the sides of the door which includes the threshold and this will defeat your attempt to increase the ventilation. This is based on a FAQ from TRADA: The recommended leaf edge to frame gap specified in BS 8214: 1990 is 4mm on all edges. Intumescent seals are engineered to react within this size of gap to give optimum sealing and clamping performance. It is through extensive testing of fire rated doorsets, together with knowledge of the pressure regime within a fire test that a larger gap is permitted at the threshold of the door. There is negative pressure at the threshold during test conditions and so cool air is drawn in underneath the door. It is for this reason that there is unlikely to be a failure at the threshold and also why there is no need to fit a perimeter intumescent strip at this location (doorsets below FD60 performance). A larger gap at the threshold is also useful from a practical end use application for accommodating floor coverings. We recommend a gap of 10 mm from the bottom of the leaf to the structural surround.

Green-foam tests after installation, as indicated in the BS, is principally, insulation impedance and earth continuity and earth fault loop impedance does this need access to the full length of the cable or just at the connections? As for the cable fixings it does say "all readily accessible cable fixings".

green-foam all doors required for means of escape are emergency doors and doors with signs are only because they are not in normal use and could be used in an emergency. The second door could be required because of the occupancy or travel distance or an alternative MoE but I don't think it is relevant to the question, as all doors that may be required for MoE should be easily and immediately open-able.

The The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 article 14 (f) states " emergency doors must not be so locked or fastened that they cannot be easily and immediately opened by any person who may require to use them in an emergency" I would think your situation does not meet that regulation.

To the best of my knowledge, cabling should be tested on installation or modification, but at the twelve monthly inspection a visual inspection should be made to confirm that all readily accessible cable fixings are secure and undamaged.

The door you describe as general exit is also your fire exit, most doors are fire exit doors, if you required them to enable you to get out of the premises in an emergency. How many exits are required will depend on the number of people in the room, the location of the door, and the travel distance, it all depend on the fire risk assessment. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/basic-means-of-escape-from-fire/ for more information.

You are right about the door seals on final exit doors, but not for the reason you stated it is because final exit door do not need to be fire resistant. The heat required to operate the seals nobody could exist in the area so they would not be trying to get through the door. The width of the door depends on the number of people who would be required to use it in an emergency. For more information on means of escape got to http://www.firesafe.org.uk/basic-means-of-escape-from-fire/

Depends on the results of a fire risk assessment in the bedrooms, if there is adequate borrow light to enable the occupants to find their way out of the room into the corridor safely, then EL may not be required, this also applies to the corridor. I am an old fart and need to go to the toilet a number of times during the night, but I do not need to put the lights on, the same would apply in an emergency evacuation, so I do not need EL. :)

Loose covers for upholstered furniture must comply with Schedule 5, Part 1 of the Regulations and stretch covers must comply with Schedule 5, Part 2 of the Regulations as these are sold separately from the furniture. They also need to have a permanent label attached to them and this label may appear on the underside of the fabric. There are no display label requirements for loose and stretch covers. A copy of the guide to the regulation can be found above and at http://www.fira.co.u...mability-guides a copies of the regulation can be found on http://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/

Sam what are the organisers of the trade show asking for is it a level of surface spread of flame or combustibility or what.

You would and provide other fire safety precautions as stated in the appropriate guide HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing which will show you what fire safety precautions you should be considering. Because it will be a change of use you will need Building Regulations approval.

The only fire risk your cycle poses is restricting the escape route providing it does not fall over and cause a tripping hazard, there should be no problems. The escape route is the door about 700 mm and there is a clear opening of about 2250 mm, but I would consider locking it to the railings for security and prevent it from being knock over.

If it is a domestic premises the you are not subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 therefore not required to consider fire safety precautions other than, those that you should with regards to the safety of you and your family. I think you also have moral duty for the safety of any staff and should consider the following guidance HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing which will show you what fire safety precautions you should be considering. If there is sufficient borrowed light to adequately illuminate any escape routes in the house then you may not need to consider emergency lighting.

Darren there is no simple answer you need to conduct a fire risk assessment to decide if a fire alarm is necessary and if it is, what category will be required, the guidance is Offices and shops. Next step is how to installed the fire alarm, if required, studying the guidance BS 5839-1:2013 will instruct you how to do it.

As green-foam has said there is no legislation that tells you how to install a fire alarm system it just says, "the extent that the premises is appropriate, equipped with appropriate fire-fighting equipment with fire detectors and alarms". It is the fire risk assessment that will decide what is required, the guidance is Offices and shops and BS 5839-1:2013. Fire safety order http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made check out article 13.

The metal bars can be of any colour you choose but it must have a sign. A sign which reads "Push bar to open" or a pictogram should be provided on the inside face of the door immediately above the horizontal bar, or on the bar if it has a sufficient flat face to take the size of lettering required. The surface area of the pictogram should be not less than 8 000 mm and its colours should be white on a green background. It should be designed such that the arrow points to the operating element, when installed.

I think I would rule out equipment fault because your problem only occurs on the first floor and if it was equipment faults why isn't it happening on the ground floor? I think I would be looking at the installation, check out http://www.coopersafety.nl/files/bestanden/noodverlichting_datasheets/easicheck%202%20planning%20guide%20rev2.pdf Which says 2.1 Choice of cable type The cable used to connect Easicheck2 interfaces to the Easicheck2 control panel must be an unscreened 2 core twisted pair cable. The recommended data cable type is Belden type 8471, or alternatively if a LSZH type cable is required, Belcom cables type 4001P1644 (16AWG) can be also used. Other cable types can be used providing they fully meet the following performance requirements: 1) It must be an unscreened 2 core twisted pair cable. 2) It is not acceptable to include additional cores, which are left unconnected or used for other systems or other Easicheck2 panels. 3) The total capacitance of all cable connected to the data loop must not exceed 1µF, this is best verified by calculation, cable manufacturers data should specify the total core to core capacitance per km and this should then be multiplied by the total length of connected cable. So could the wrong data cable or calculations have been used on the first floor or could there be other possibilities regarding the installation, so in my humble opinion you should be checking out the installation using the above Planning Guide, not necessarily the equipment. N.B. I am not an electrician just an ex firefighter trying to apply reasoning to the problem. :unsure: