Safelincs

Hi Garth Fire doors are only helpful if they can stop the spread of fire. Being held open with hooks will stop them doing that. To be able to hold a fire door open legally, you need to install a fire door retainer. A simple retrofit retainer that allows the door closer to close the fire door in case of a fire is for example the Dorgard. Harry

Did the cleaning do the trick? If not we can speak with Ei and ask for help and possibly replacement.

Hi Tom Just spoke with Ei Electronics. They reckon that it could be dust or spider webs on the circuit board and recommend that you first blow it out and then vacuum it out. The blowing out of the smoke alarm can be done with a hairdryer on the cold setting. How old is the alarm? Harry

Hi Matt Following some discussions at our end, I would say that if you have replaced the alarm and it is still beeping this would indicate a wiring problem rather than an issue with the smoke alarm. You ought to speak to an electrician to check for any loose connections or wiring shorts that may be causing the problem Harry

Hi Martin have you checked that the mains power supply is permanently on? If the power supply is taken from an incorrectly installed lighting circuit that can be interrupted by a switch this could cause this type of low battery warning. Check that the green light is on all the time indicating power supply. If the power supply is directly from the fuse box make sure the fuse has been switched on again after the smoke alarm replacement (honestly, this happens quiet often!) Harry

Hi, you might be mixing up an Ei141 (alkaline battery which can be replaced) and an Ei161 (re-chargeable lithium battery which cannot be replaced), as these look the same from the outside (bar a little sticker re 10 year battery life on the front of the Ei161). Videos to show you the head removal and the difference in look between Ei141 and Ei161 can be seen here: Replace battery in Ei141 Replace Ei161 If you have a Ei161 and the unit is failing (or is older than 10 years old), you can replace the head easily Harry

Safelincs also offers bespoke fire doors, made to measure http://www.safelincs.co.uk/fire-doors-with-30-minutes-protection-fd30/

You can book a 3-4 day training course with the British Fire Consortium which certifies you as a competent fire extinguisher technician.

If in doubt you can also re-treat the curtains with washable fire retardant chemicals

Hi, there might be some pointers in http://www.safelincs.co.uk/blog/2011/06/17/false-fire-alarms-waking-you-up/ and the manual for this alarm can be found on http://www.safelincs.co.uk/templates_safelincs/files/datasheets/353_Ei160-Ei140-User-Manuals.pdf Harry

Hi Dave I would recommend a heat alarm in the main area, as you can expect some flux of smoke from the wood burning stove which then could cause false alarms with traditional smoke alarms. However, as heat alarms only cover relatively small areas (eg the rather typical Ei103C heat alarm needs to be closer than 5.3m from the sourse of fire to be effective), you might require more than one heat alarm to be properly protected. The bedroom should be ok with an optical smoke alarm. I would also recommend a CO alarm, as stoves can create CO, especially when they are cooling down and under inverse weather conditions. Harry

Hi Kath You probably have a standard ionisation alarm near your toaster. These are very sensitive to kitchen smoke. You ought to replace with a heat alarm. These are insensitive to smoke from toasters etc. Harry

Most manufacturers do not give any extended warranties on emergency lighting. However, can I please mention at this point (sorry for the advertising), that Safelincs offers a 5 year warranty on emergency lighting although it is important to emphasise that - Maintained emergency lighting (always on) - batteries - bulbs are excluded from this warranty Harry

Hi Michael The universal transport bracket will work for both the 3l and 6l water mist extinguishers Harry

Hi Michael I do agree, that is not very impressive. Some cheap powder extinguishers just have a five year life span and even say so on the can. I would always recommend products with long warranties. You can get 10 year warranty extinguishers which are a little bit more expensive but will perform when needed most. Harry

Hi I would recommend the 15ft version. You can always remove individual segments if it is too long Harry

Hi Tom It was 1200 visitors to library in one day and a joined exit with Waitrose(staircase joins escape route of Waitrose). Harry

The BS9999 standard uses a risk profile approach that determines the minimum number of escape routes and their width based on the type of visitors, the fire risk and the size of the premises. This will in turn determine the time allowed for the evacuation. I am not aware if there is a minimum number of fire wardens required. Absolute minimum would be, I guess, one per floor, although one could argue that you would require one per exit door. Tom, do you have any further ideas on this? Harry

Hi The fire exit door (final exit) is the only door that does not have to be fire rated. All doors leading to the staircase will most likely be fire doors.

Hi Tom I am not sure if HSE requirements count as legally binding but on http://www.hse.gov.uk/cdg/pdf/fire-ex.pdf it states that a 2kg extinguisher would be required. With regards to the question of workplace, the RRO (The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/made states: 'Where the premises are a workplace, the responsible person must ensure that any duty imposed by articles 8 to 22 or by regulations made under article 24 is complied with in respect of those premises.' and '"premises” includes any place and, in particular, includes— (a)any workplace; (b)any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft;' and '"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' I assume that the plumbing activities are part of the business of Steve Harry

I believe that if the van is a workplace that a 2kg fire extinguisher is required?!

Hi, the barring of the fire exit during night is fine but the barring must be removed during operating hours. If locks or chains are used there should be a board in the manager's office that shows the shapes of each lock or chain used on the fire exits painted in red with hooks to hang the lock or chain on. If a red shape remains visible it means that a lock is possibly still barring a fire exit. If management is not prepared to change anything, you will need to inform your local fire service who will enforce fire safety regulation. Harry

Hi Sharon Interestingly, the Redlam panic bolt, while called a panic bolt, is actually not a panic device. It is an emergency bolt. In practice this means it can be used on fire exits in offices and other places of work where there are no significant numbers of public visitors. In public places you need proper panic devices such as push bars etc. Harry

Hi Niamh If you can establish that the frame is itself fireproof you can buy made-to-measure fire door leafs and yes, you can fit the seals to the door rater than the frame. Harry

Hi Carl Pre-commissioning or pre-servicing at the internet retailer is unfortunately not permitted. It is in fact explicitly forbidden by the relevant British Standard BS5306-3:2009. And, I would say, for very important reasons as well: The majority of damages to new extinguishers occur during transit (loss of pressure, bent pins etc). Also, when a retailer carries out pre-shipping inspection, you are not covered by your insurance. The insurance requests a certificate to be issued by an approved installer which states that the correct type of extinguishers are installed in the right quantity, in the correct location and that they are in perfect condition. So paying for a pre-shipping commission is actually a waste of money, as the insurance will still not pay out in case of a fire. If you are a business, landlord or organisation you can still purchase online - just make sure that you find a supplier that offers On-site commissioning of fire extinguishers, also called on-site certification. Harry