Tom Sutton

A dwelling house having a floor level above 7.5m from the ground floor you require a fully protected means of escape to the ground floor and an alternative means of escape from the top floor or you could consider installing a domestic sprinkler system to the whole of the house. The BCO may consider another type of automatic fire protection but fire extinguishers would never be accepted as a compensatory feature. Check out Approved Document B - Volume 1

Yes, the key switch is to allow for manual testing and self testing luminaires are automatic therefore you do not require key switches. But you must record your tests six monthly and annually to comply with BS 5266.

Depends on the number of people using the fire exit, most, if not all private domestic houses in the country have inward opening doors and step down to the ground when exiting, with the exception of disabled people. It is not a problem because of the numbers involved and people are familiar with the situation. If large number of people are involved and are not familiar with the situation then things are a little more complicated. If the doors open inwards then usually no problem and it is not necessary to paint the step. If the door opens outwards then ideally you should have level going for at least a metre which would require a platform or a ramp. If the platform or ramp would be likely to hinder people escaping then you may have to accept a step and painting it maybe a consideration.

I assume because you refer to a fire panel the premises is flats and the fire alarm system protects the common areas, it is not a rented private single dwelling. If this is so the landlord is the Responsible Person which makes him/her responsible for the fire safety in the common areas which would include maintenance of the fire alarm system always.

In this situation I am not aware of such a thing as a third party fire safety certificate if he/she is a competent contractor and knows what he/she is doing then use them.

The Regulations apply to the reupholstery of furniture manufactured after 1 January 1950, to the extent that all filling material and cover fabric, supplied by the reupholsterer, used in refurbishing such furniture must meet the levels of fire resistance defined within the Regulations. This means he should fit the permanent labels making it legal to sell. Check out Domestic Flammability Guide page 19.

There is no regulation but the appropriate guidance for Offices and shops has a section on 3.4.6 Installation, testing and maintenance which provides a frequency of testing of fire safety items including fire doors, the time of the day to complete the test would be up to mutual arrangement.

I am assuming you are buying a flat on the ground floor and the front door opens into the common area. If you have been researching Approved Document Part B Fire Safety vol 2, then I would come to a similar interpretation based on the information you have provided. However some points to consider, the front door require being FD30s fire door, self-closing and the escape windows need to comply with section 2.9 also a grade D LD2 smoke detection is required.

Because there will be constant DC generation going to inverters you must use a non conducting medium and because the ancillary equipment is likely to be located in the loft space (indoors) you should consider CO2 because dry powder is not recommended indoors. Because there are areas that you can isolate and there is likely to be a class "A" risk you could consider foam or dry water mist that have passed the 35kV dielectric test which can be use close to electric equipment. Because the loft is not inhabited you should also consider a fire alarm to warn the residents if a fire should occur.

I am not aware of any requirements on the location of warning LEDs on EL liminaires however in your case, if they are outside your fire exits they are likely to be bulkhead lights fitted to a vertical wall and those with the LED on the top rotate them 180 degrees and it will be on the bottom as you require.

A similar question to the above what type of building are we discussing is a single private domestic dwelling or converting a house into flats they use different guidance. The only question I can answer is, you may need building regulation approval but before you do anything not after, check it out with the local building control.

What type of building are we discussing is a single private domestic dwelling, purpose built flats, or a converted house into flats they all use different guidance. If the main problem is the risk of kids or getting their fingers caught by the doors as they close then you could consider cam action, or swing free self closers.

I am not aware of any precautions regarding this problem, there is guidance protecting the external walls from fires in close adjacent buildings but not from your own building. I will research this further and if I find any useful information I will get back.

I need to know which grade of fire alarm/detectors are you proposing to fit because this dictates the type of detectors available to use. Grade A,B or C, more expensive will give you more choice than D,E or F. Checkout Guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing to decide which grade you wish to install and I can give a more definitive reply. Also check out http://www.safelincs.co.uk/pages/bs5839-6.html?url=bs5839-6&allURL=pages/bs5839-6.html and http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-alarms/ which will explain more about the grades and the different types of detector. Research indicates that photoelectric alarms provide the best detection across a range of fires and are recommended for detecting smouldering fires which is the type you are likely to encounter in a thatch fire. Ionisation detectors are better at detecting products of a fire (Flaming fire) and heat detectors would be far too slow at giving a warning. A CO fire detector, which is different from a CO warning detector, but would only be available for a Grade A,B or C system. Mixed detectors using CO warning detectors operate at levels that inform you CO has reached levels that are becoming toxic but are useless at detecting fire. Finally I would think interconnected detectors are a must and RF is acceptable.

If a premises is occupied during a time when it is possible the normal lighting could fail as the result of a fire, plunging the premises in darkness and relevant person cannot find their way out of the building safely then you need emergency escape lighting (EEL). The length of time this could happen is irrelevant and in your case you could need EEL, this will depend if there is borrowed light outside that would illuminate inside the premises allowing the relevant person to escape safely.

Inspection and servicing certificates are not recommended for grade D systems, BS 5839: Part 6 2013 recommend only grade A systems require inspection and servicing certificates which are shown in Appendix H6 of BS 5839: Part 1 2013. In houses in multiple occupation, batteries in any radio-linked devices (such as manual call points, automatic detectors and fire alarm devices) should be changed by the servicing organization before the low battery warning condition is likely to be given.

I fullt agree with AB response and I believe a single staircase does not in itself precludes it from consideration but it depends on, size, travel distances, number of occupants and width of escape routes, all have to be considered. I would have guessed the FRS used the DCLG as a benchmark guide you need to check it out with the FRS.

Is there a ceiling below the voids concealing them or are they used to provide light to the workplace and if there is a ceiling is it fire resisting. If it is a totally separation then you could have separated fire alarms, but you must consider if the fire alarm operates, will they be heard for persons to act.

As the room in question appears to be only a tea room and not kitchen then the risk would be considered low but why would it be enclosed to a fire resistant (FR) standard? It maybe because of its location in relationship to the means of escape or it was used as a kitchen in the past, so you need to review your Fire Risk Assessment (FRA). The result could be that the tea room need not be FR and if that is the case then you do not require a FD30 fire door and replacing it with a stable door would be acceptable. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-risk-assessment/ and Small and medium placesof assembly.

The part of the premises occupied by you will be a domestic premises and exempt from The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 but the part of the premises members have access to, will be subject to the Fire Safety Order. Whether a fire alarm is required will be determined by your fire risk assessment which is required by the order. Check out http://www.firesafe.org.uk/regulatory-reform-fire-safety-order-2005/

I assume you are talking about the normal curtains found in rented property as a fire curtain is a particular piece of fire safety equipment. Any upholstered furniture or fittings has to comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations but not the curtains. Check out http://www.fira.co.uk/document/fira-contract-flammability-guide-october-2011pdf.pdf page 26 item 9.5 lettings.

They need to be retained, why do you think you can remove them especially if you are considering renting the premises?

Yes they are called double swing, check out http://www.intastop.com/product/double-swing-hinge-package for an example.

Thanks AB I am familiar with Call Point Covers I thought it may be something different.

Hi AB could you give me some info on a pull tag sealed hinged cover maybe a link showing what they look like.