Tom Sutton

There should be a periodic test certificate record in the possession of the RP of the premises and the first company should have completed it or provided a new one. The second company should have completed the emergency lighting fault action record. Example of the model periodic test certificate and the fault action record can be found in BS 5266-1:2011 Emergency lighting. Code of practice for the emergency escape lighting of premises appendix H.

An escape window may be a requirement depending on the age of the property but not a ladder and surely if you lock your doors then it would be easily enough to open them to escape in case of fire. If you are asking is the means of escape satisfactory then a full physical survey would be required but you could check it out yourself by using "HOUSING – FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing" to get some ideas.

Most fire door sets are a composite construction and finished with a timber veneer so visually they all appear to be the same. Its the construction that achieves the fire resistance and the manufacturers will not reveal this for obvious reasons. The only way to determine the fire resistance is to purchase certified fire door sets with documentation, labels or in some cases plastic plugs. The thickness of the leaf of the door may be an indication but not always and sometimes what appears to be a timber fire door in a metal frame can indicate a two hour fire door. I am afraid its all about third party certification and of course you can have metal or glass fire doors. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/ for more information.

Check out the American point of view at http://www.homesafe....lert/detect.htm worth a look.

How can it detect a mains failure if it is not connected to the mains? You can get combined domestic fire detector and emergency light which will illuminate if a fire is detected whether the emergency light is required or not.

First of all only mandatory fire warning signs should be fitted to the door fire escape signs should be fitted preferably above the door, check out, http://www.gai.org.u..._Section_10.pdf. If you are concerned about using screws then by all means use adhesive. Testing the fire door is a non starter because the test is a destructible test and the cost would be very expensive. You need to understand how fire doors are tested check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/ and

For a new house to receive approval and receive a completion document the local Building control should ensure it complies with Approved Document B Fire Safety which require a fire alarm to be fitted in accordance with BS 5839-6:2004 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for the design, installation and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in dwellings. Once the dwelling is occupied it is up to the occupier or the landlord/owner to maintain the fire alarm in accordance with any agreements made, like a tenant agreement. Testing is important and any defects remedied, like replacing the battery or the detector if necessary. The life of a detector is about tens years and should be replaced if you have no way of testing the sensor.

It doesn't appear to be an ideal situation for normal use let alone a fire situation. I would suggest you contact the local fire and rescue service and make them aware of your concerns. For details of all UK FRS's check out http://www.firesafe....rvices-details/

Is your door a certified fire door, been certified by a third party, like the British Woodworking Federation Certifire fire door scheme, if not, it is a nominal fire door and you will not have documented proof. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/

I wouldn't think so, a fire door is full of screws and although they are in place when the fire door specimen is tested I am sure a couple of 12mm screws holding on a sign is not going to affect the integrity of the door to any great extent. If you have certified fire door, the attached documents would indicate what is acceptable and what is not. I cannot see any enforcing authority objecting to your proposals.

In relation to housing there are other guides fire risk assessors use. The Lacors guide "Housing – Fire Safety: Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing" http://www.cieh.org/...guidance_08.pdf and, "FIRE SAFETY IN PURPOSE-BUILT BLOCKS OF FLATS" http://www.local.gov...CATION-TEMPLATE both worth a peruse.

He/she is, the only suitable fire extinguisher for cooking fat fires is wet chemical. Tests have established that a 6 litre wet chemical extinguisher is capable of extinguishing a fire in a 75 litre capacity deep fat fryer, a simple calculation to work out how many extinguishers you need. Check out http://www.firesafe....uisher-general/ and http://www.firesafe....-extinguishers/ for more information.

The staircase enclosure is part of the circulation area and is required to be a low fire risk, consequently a sterile area. All surfaces, walls and ceilings should meet a "Class 0: surface spread of flame" standard which means any varnish or paint you apply should meet that standard. When you purchase the paint or varnish the information you receive from the manufacturer should state that when applied in accordance with the manufacturer instructions it will achieve the above standard. If you contact the supplier or the manufacturer of Blackfriars varnish they should be able to inform you if it meets the above standard and how it should be applied.

I am assuming you are the Responsible Person in accordance with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (Art 3) and consequently are required to implement article 8 to 24, in your workplace. Your workplace is defined in Art 2 which states workplace” means any premises or parts of premises, not being domestic premises, used for the purposes of an employer’s undertaking and which are made available to an employee of the employer as a place of work and includes - (a) any place within the premises to which such employee has access while at work; and any room, lobby, corridor, staircase, road, or other place - (i) used as a means of access to or egress from that place of work; or (ii) where facilities are provided for use in connection with that place of work, other than a public road. If you have control of the common area and are not restricted by the landlord or the tenancy agreement, you are responsible. This type of situation is for the lawyers to determine who has control, and not a fire safety matter other than if an emergency lighting is required or not.

I would suggest you contact Intumescent Fire Seals Association they should be able to help you.

The previous fire safety legislation, the Fire Precaution Act was prescriptive and very clear all new floor coverings in circulation area had to conform to "BS 5287:1988 Specification for assessment and labeling of textile floor coverings tested to BS 4790" and of course "BS 4790:1987 Method for determination of the effects of a small source of ignition on textile floor coverings (hot metal nut method)". However the new fire safety legislation, The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is risk based and not as clear. The general consensus of opinion is all circulation areas have to be sterile which means they have to be a low fire risk, however each fire risk assessor will interprete that in the light of his own experience. IMO carpets conforming to the above British Standards will certainly help to reduce the fire loading and consequently the fire risk. You will need to consult with the Responsible Person (RP), the fire risk assessor, and maybe the Fire and Rescue Service being the enforcing Authority will also have an opinion.

Further to my above submission check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/ for more information.

Upgrading a fire door IMO is not a material alteration therefore not subject to Building Regulation control, check out page 20 of Approved Document B (Fire Safety) or talk to your Building Control department. If a fire door has the intumescent strip under the lippings then they should not be routed as this is part of the fire door specification and the cold smoke seals should be stuck on using self adhesive seals. You can upgrade fire doors in certain situations it all depends on your Fire Risk Assessment, have you spoken to the your FR assessor and the responsible Person?

I am assuming you live in a block of apartments with common areas and consequently the premises the premises are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and will be subject to a fire risk assessment. The FRA will be conducted by the Responsible Person, in this case most likely will be the owner or the managing agents and that person or persons should be able to assist you. They will have to reassess the FRA in light of your proposals and decide if they are acceptable. I would also keep a written record.

The intumescent strips and seals can be installed in the frame or the leaf of the door. Check out http://www.ifsa.org....Sheet%20No1.pdf and http://www.ifsa.org....Sheet%20No3.pdf.

You can have intumescent or automatic ventilation grilles in fire doors it all depends on the results of your fire risk assessment. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/

The simply answer, is there is no way of knowing, however there are accepted ways of upgrading fire doors and I am not aware yours is one of them. It all depends on why the door needs upgrading and who is requiring the upgrade. If it is an enforcing authority requiring it or some other person then it is up to them to stipulate what methods they will accept.

Hi Harry This makes the problem far more difficult, one possible way is to use mag-locks which have to be connected into the fire alarm and the locks require to be fail-safe to open. The fire alarm in premises "A" activating the mag-lock in premises "B" and visa versa. Not a total satisfactory solution but maybe better than what exists. There is always problems with these 'Right of Way' agreements and are never totally satisfactory, for instance one premises maybe unoccupied when the other is occupied, the only satisfactory solution is an independent means of escape.

All doors on escape routes leading towards a final exit should be quick and easy to open without the need for a key. The final exit door of a building usually presents problems because this door requires a higher degree of security and needs to open easily. Consequently manufacturers have produced many devices to solve this problem. For more information go to http://www.firesafe....nd-fire-safety/ which will explain this more fully.

I agree Harry it is caveat emptor but I do understand why some competent service engineers do use the turnout fee, service fee and replacement items method to indicate their cost because if they go for a fixed price the less reputable engineers will undercut them. If employers examined the contracts more fully then they may find what appears to be a good price, is not so, because if they had employed more competent engineers there could be savings such as them identifying over provision for instance.