Tom Sutton

Check out Approved document B (Fire Safety) Vol 1 my understanding is it requires 30mins FR between an attached garage and the house. Two overlapping layers of 12.5mm plasterboard skimmed will give you 60mins, one layer skimmed would give you 30mins. I would suggest you contact your building control officer as you appear to be between two stools. Check out http://fire.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5055.0 for more info.

All mattresses are subject to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988/1989, 1993 and 2010 ( Guide to the Regulations ) and the The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 so providing it meets those regulations then it should be safe.

I am not aware of councils discouraging extinguishers in HMOs some have in purpose built blocks of flats which is a different matter. The guide for HMO's is the Lacors guide which has been accepted by all authorities.

The legislation that covers residential care homes is The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 like all health and safety regulation is all about risk assessment and the Responsible Person is required to conduct a fire risk assessment. The guides are Residential care premises and the additional guide to residential care homes which will assist you to conduct a FRA or you can employ a FR assessor to assist you. How you achieve it will depend on many factors and the guidance should assist you. It all depends on your fire evacuation plan what equipment you will need to implement the plan. Check out http://www.firesafe....ety-order-2005/ and it may help.

Its 6 years from the date of manufacture or 5 years from the commissioning date which ever comes first. Providing they are not condemned they can be refilled. Section 9 of BS 5306 part 3 : 2009 show the procedure for deciding if an extinguisher needs replacing. Please note that BS5306 is only one of the guides available.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 like all health and safety regulation is all about risk assessment and the Responsible Person is required to conduct a fire risk assessment. Offices and shops is the guide for the FRA and saying there's no room for interpretation is far from the truth it all about interpretation. A quick and safe evacuation is first principles but quite often it is not possible to leave immediately, switching off machinery for example, sometimes, other actions may have to be done before leaving and its for the FR assessor to make that decision. Assuming you are the RP (employer) then the decision is yours with the help of a Competent Person, if required and the above guide. Check out section 7.2 Emergency plan and contingency plans in the guide, which is relevant to this problem. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/regulatory-reform-fire-safety-order-2005/ it may help.

I am assuming the scooter is not a motorized scooter, if so then it does appear to be a over zealous fire risk assessment. Is it possible for the bikes to be secured to the wall so they cannot fall over this would help your argument but I would contact the fire service who are the enforcement authority for the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and ask their advice. Most Fire and Rescue Services will do a free home FRA and you could ask them do they consider the bikes an obstruction/tripping hazard.

It is unusual to require fire doors for toilets unless there is a fire risk in the toilets however if fire doors are required then the self-closing devices can be adjusted or swing free door closers could be fitted. It may well be a privacy problem and not fire safety one check it out with the manager. If it is fire safety one I would suggest you get a fire risk assessor to check it out to see if they are required. Check out http://www.safelincs...g-Door-Closers/

I will revise my first posting slightly I should have said mostly liquid in fact it is both. The bulk is liquid with a vapour layer in the ullage space providing pressure. Liquid fill is to 2/3 of the capacity of the cylinder, unless using tropical fill. The pressure will vary depending on the temperature the higher the temperature the higher the pressure and visa versa. If you wish to research it on the internet try, http://www.warpig.co...ynamics.shtml#2 although it is about paint balling the much of the CO2 Physics will apply to any co2 cylinder including fire extinguishers.

Cannot access the link harry

According to BS 8214 2008 it states the gap should be in accordance with the manufacturers instructions therefore I would suggest you need to contact the manufacturer for their advice.

Harry I must beg to differ check out http://en.wikibooks....ed_Correlations I accept it is a little more complicated but at NTP it is more liquid than gas.

Every year and at commissioning to test level of contents if more than 10% loss, replace or recharge.

Since carbon dioxide is a gas at room temperature, in order for it to exist in liquid form, the gas must be stored at extremely high pressure. When the pressure is released from the extinguisher, the gas expands, cooling the air and shooting out a white cloud resembling snow. Because the gas is so pressurized, dry ice may stream from the extinguisher or form around the horn when in use. That is why you should never touch the horn it can take your skin off, nasty. :unsure: Because it is in liquid form that is how you are able to test the contents by weight. You have the net weight stamped on the cylinder, (weight of cylinder empty) weight the cylinder with contents, the gross weight, deduct one from the other gives weight of contents. Maximum weight of contents is also stamped on the cylinder. More than 10% loss then replace or recharge, usually replace. Read more: How Do Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguishers Work? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/...l#ixzz1nrMjUx4Q

The guidance says " The Regulations do not apply to furniture intended for export and furniture manufactured prior to 1950." As the furniture was manufactured before 1950 I would say it is exempt from the regulations therefore I would suggest you download the guide to the regulations for domestic furniture and confirm it for yourself. Download the guide at http://www.fira.co.u...mability-guides

No I am not saying that, fillings for seat pads are subject to the regulations and do need permanent labels, rented accommodation is also subject to the regulations, all I told Gemada was where the information is available. Go to http://www.fira.co.uk/publications/flammability-guides and download "Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the home - A Guide to the UK Regulations" all you need to know you will find it there.

Sara my understanding is you have a staircase at the rear of the building leading from the basement to, I assume the ground floor which opens onto a platform in the open air. From this platform another door opens into the main staircase which then leads to the front door. 1. When you get on the platform why can’t you disperse to the assemble point? 2. If you cannot disperse then how would an intruder get on the platform? 3. The door which apparently releases when the fire alarm goes off, is most probably fitted with mag-lock, why can’t the door into the main staircase be fitted as well. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/security-and-fire-safety/ it may be worth a read.

Sorry Sara I cannot visualise the situation can you re-phase the question or can anybody help who is less thick than me.

If you use cold smoke seals they will make excellent draught excluders for sides and top. If it’s the threshold and there is less than 10mm between the door and the finished floor then I cannot see any objection to fixing a conventional draught excluder providing it doesn't interfere with the operation of the door.

The sensors in a smoke alarm will degrade over time. This along with years of exposure to dust and contaminants will cause detector performance to falter. Thus smoke alarms should be replaced periodically in accordance with manufacturers’ recommendations. Whether isolating a zone will up speed this process up is debatable and I would suggest you contact the manufacturer for their recommendations. As to isolating a zone this is not a good practice, you could be removing the protection of a concealed area. I would suggest you consider changing the affected detector heads with a more suitable head that is not sensitive to the smoke machines. Your fire alarm engineer should be able to assist you with this.

The premises will most probably be subject to The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. You will be subject to RR(FS)O if you occupy the premises and you will need to conduct a fire risk assessment. Without a satisfactory means of escape to a safe place then you cannot complete a satisfactory FRA and will be in breach of the RR(FS)O. The landlord could also be in breach of the RR(FS)O therefore you need to discuss this matter immediately with him to resolve the situation.

It has never been a requirement it all depends on your fire safety strategy and your fire evacuation policy. The most important consideration is that it works and should be tested by practical methods. (Fire Drills) Check out http://fire.org.uk/f...hp?topic=5132.0 for a discussion on this very matter.

The appropriate British standard is BS 5266-1- 2011 Emergency lighting-Part 1: Code of practice for emergency lighting of premises clause 6 Emergency Escape Lighting Design. For an overview check out http://www.firesafe....gency-lighting/.

The Responsible Person is the employer (art 3) i.e. the CEO or if it is a Limited company then it’s a corporate responsibility of the board. The RP is responsible for conducting a FRA (art 9) and guidance on written FRA can be found in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Guidance Note No. 1: Enforcement, which states, Clause 57 “The Order contains a requirement to record the “prescribed information” if five or more persons are employed in order to maintain consistency with health and safety legislation. The prescribed information comprises the significant findings of the risk assessment (including the measures taken or to be taken, e.g. training and maintenance, consultation and co-ordination) and any group of persons identify as being especially at risk. Under the Order, the threshold of five or more persons includes those employees who may work from or in another place away from the premises concerned, for example an employer with three shops, each of which has two staff would employ six people and thus be under a duty to record the risk assessment for each shop”

I would suggest it depends on where the detector is and the type of detector. If it is in a clean area then it would be less likely to require cleaning than if it is located in a dusty area. A heat detector would require less attention than an optical detector. All BS 5839 pt1 says is it should be at pre-determined intervals and I assume its for you to determined what they are. You could check out manufacturers instructions which may help and I think it would be better to clean them at shorter than longer intervals.