Tom Sutton

AB beat me to it but I will submit it anyway. Flats are subject to The Housing Act 2004 (HA) and the common areas to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RR(FS)O). The HA is enforced by the local council and requires the whole building to be safe which includes fire safety, also if you are designated an HMO then you may need to be registered as a licensed premises. The RR(FS)O enforced by the Fire and Rescue Service requires the common areas to be subject to the order which includes conducting a fire risk assessment. 1. Check with the local council if you are an HMO or you could check out https://www.firesafe.org.uk/houses-in-multiple-occupation/ may be useful. 2. It is the common areas that require a fire risk assessment under the RR(FS)O. 3. The guidance for your premises is FIRE SAFETY Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing and provides guidance on all the fire safety needs you may require. 4. For the common areas RR(FS)O defines the Responsible Person (RP), who as the duty to implement the order and in your situation the owner or the person acting for the owner if they have full control, (managing company) is the RP. Selecting a fire risk assessor you should study A Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor.

Peter your concerns are admirable but most installers are only concerned with getting past the inspecting officer (IO) and many fire doors themselves are unacceptable, let alone the fire bypassing the fire door. I think some situations like the fire passing the door especially in false ceilings or floor spaces which can be easily addressed and easily spotted by an IO. As for carpets, in my experience the fire rarely gets down to floor level except where the items in the room are involved and if the carpets pass the hot nut test (35mm) the fire will only travel small distances in the protected area. However where it is possible to use non combustible threshold, which is in many places, they should be used whether an IO would pick this up, is debatable. All you have said is very relevant and it should be the enforcement officers (IO, BCO/AI) to get up to speed on this, to ensure these defects are picked up, to prevent poor workmanship.

All doors are fire exit doors the ones around the perimeter are final exits doors if they lead to a place of ultimate safety. You simply take the shortest route to the outside depending on a number of conditions like the location of the fire, as you want to walk in the opposite direction of the fire. Fire exit signs are designed to show you the way to safety if the route is unfamiliar to you. You need to be aware of many conditions to design a means of escape and without an intimate knowledge of the premises I could not advise you more fully.

BS 5839 states not less than 75 db(A) at the bedhead in rooms where the fire detection or fire alarm is intended to rouse people from sleep. not greater than 120 db(A) at any normal accessible point. These figures are arbitrary but are judged to be generally appropriate.

Most carpet if used as it should be, has some degree of fire resistance. When buying carpet look out for reference to BS 5287 and BS 4790 on labelling and informational documentation. Compliance with these would indicate a 35mm radius of fire spread which is the specification for low fire spread carpets to be used in protected fire escape routes or other sensitive areas. In a normal household any standard carpet should have sufficient fire resistance to be suitable for use in most occupied areas. Carpet used in escape routes need to pass the hot nut test as described in the above BS's.

Posting from FRFree, Yes, anyone who sells a piece of furniture in the UK is a 'supplier' under the Furniture Regs. Technically, this also applies to anyone giving away furniture for free. In practice, of course, it is highly unlikely that Trading Standards would know about or, if they did, bother to pursue an individual whose given away a second-hand sofa. It's worth bearing in mind that these Regulations are woefully out of date, not having been amended for nearly 30 years or so. Unfortunately, the Department for Business which is responsible for these Regs has deliberately ensured that the officials now 'working' on keep blocking all attempts for updating. Why? A long and complicated story but essentially in order to cover their backs. For more info, check out: www.toxicsofa.com. A much more knowledgeable person than me and makes it clear the regulations have not changed yet, so both labels still apply but in my opinion the permanent one is the most important because all the proof trading standard would need is on there.

I was thinking more about building regulation, material changes, I understand your problems but your proposals seems to present many difficulties and using new frames may be a better solution, despite the additional cost.

I am not aware of any under the RR(FS)O because students would be classed as relevant persons and the Responsible Person owns a duty to them but it is not reciprocal. If as a result of the call box being operated maliciously and the fire service attend they could do something, but in my experience they do not. I think it is up to internal discipline, catch them and punish them, CCTV can be a tool in identifying them .

THe problem with bed bases and mattresses is they are cover by two pieces of legislation, FFFSR and The General Product Safety Regulations 2005. The BS7177 low hazard label satisfies the GPSR which could be interpreted as meeting the law but you wouldn't be meeting the FFFSR. I would suggest you contact your local Trading Standards and get their advice.

If you are fitting new fire doors you should use fire door sets which are the door and frame that has been tested together. Consequently there will be no modification to the frame required and it is more likely the enforcing officer will accept it more readily.

In a private domestic dwelling you do not need self closers only if you have a fire door between the house and an integral garage. The self closer you have is not suitable for fire doors anyway they need to conform to BS EN 1154 : 1997 and the perko type closer you have does not meet that standard.

Check your second posting.

As a landlord of a furnished flat you are subject to The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations and any upholstered furniture/furnishings require that each item should be have a permanent label, permanently fixed to it by glueing, stitched or stapled. The label is proof that the item meets the required standards and if they are missing I am of the opinion that there is little you can do other than dispose of the item or reupholstery them. Most of the labels will be permanent labels in accordance with FFFSR but the mattress label is likely to be a BS7177 low hazard label. The position of the labels can be difficult to find, so you need to check it with a fine tooth comb, I have a settee and it is stapled to the wooden frame inside. I am sorry I can't be more positive but you can check the guides on the regulations in The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations.

My FS knowledge only applies to England and Wales and to a degree the rest of the UK but certainly not Italy however this is my opinion. Fencing off any area is usually acceptable providing there is adequate gates to enable people to escape safely and the means to open them, is easy to open, not using a key. Your problem is not allowing the younger children to open them, but allowing the older children/adults to have free access. One way would be to locate the catch at a height reachable to older children/adults and not the younger children. Maglocks with a manual override or covering the handle with a sheet of clear plastic that has to be lifted to access the handle these are available to cover manual calls boxes which could be adapted. I am afraid it is a difficult situation to resolve.

What exactly are you trying to achieve?

As I have said you answered the question yourself and it is correct which is also confirmed by Harry.

What do you means by plunger type door retainers and are we talking about fire doors. If they are fire doors, are they Dorgard or other acceptable Fire Door Retainers. If so, it looks like you have answered your own question and is correct.

Paul what is the conflicting advice, is it that you cannot retro fit an intumescent strip/smoke seal and why?

The door to the communal garden, is that the the only exit and if so where do you go when you leave your flat, is there a way out of the communal garden also would people have to pass close to the door to escape?

The fire safety of all mattresses (of any size), divans and bed bases is controlled by both the The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations and The General Product Safety Regulations 2005. Only the filling material (foam or non-foam) contained in a mattress, upholstered divan or bed base must meet the FFFSR. Only BS 1877 Part 10: 2011 A1 2012 is the current version and is relevant to children’s bedding being the specification for mattresses and bumpers for children’s cots, perambulators and similar domestic articles. I cannot find any that that just cover mattresses. Upholstered headboards must meet the full requirements of the Regulations. Upholstered headboards and footboards of beds must meet all requirements of the Regulations. For headboards, the external surface to which a label should be attached might be the reverse face. In addition it should be noted that the fabric on the reverse of the head or foot board is considered a visible fabric for the purposes of the Regulations. Upholstered bed side-rails are considered to be similar to any upholstered bed base/divan. Therefore, all filling materials in side-rails must comply with the Regulations. Therefore upholstered bed bases should comply with the FFFSR and mattresses should meet BS 7177 2008 A1: 2011, achieving a standard of domestic use (Low Hazard). However, the fire safety of the complete product is controlled via the GPSR. The normal route to achieve legal obligations is to have products evaluated against the British Standard best suited to product safety. In this context, a finished mattress and mattress topper, divan or bed base should comply with the low hazard category of BS 7177. I think the trading standards do not effectively police the regulations and it is up the consumer to take care when purchasing items to ensure they are covered by the FFFSR and report any failures that they are aware of.

Is a permanent label or a display label?

Private balconies are not covered by The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 only the common areas but fall within The Housing Act therefore you have no powers to require them to do anything.

If it is for domestic premises then it is subject to the regulations (FFFSR) and if it is a commercial premises then it would be subject to the FRA under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The Responsible Person may use of Standards for the fire safety of upholstered furniture, BS 7176, for mattresses and BS 7177, and BS 5867 Part 2 for curtains which would be intended to assist all parties in ensuring the fire safety of upholstered furniture/furnishings for different end use applications, by using clearly defined ignition sources according to the level of hazard determined by the fire safety risk assessment. Check out https://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/ if it is a domestic premises and Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the contract and non-domestic sectors if it is a commercial premises.

Yes there is Article 17 Maintenance of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, check out https://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-alarms/ you will find testing and maintenance detailed in there.

Not to my knowledge, the head of household or households if it is flats, should be aware if smoke alarms are missing or defective.