Jump to content

AnthonyB

Power Member
  • Posts

    2,328
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by AnthonyB

  1. Building Control will often insist on the cut off, if the exposed surface area of the frying risk exceeds 0.4sq.m. there should be fixed suppression. You don't need the AFFF, over complicates things - the Wet Chemical will cover Class A & F (and increasingly often B as well) and the CO2 the electrical
  2. Usually not if to open air unless an extenal stair or similar escape passes close by (or the door is onto it on any other than the top floor)
  3. If it is a door to the outside it doesn't automatically need one, if it's between two internal areas it is more likely to need one - generally of part of a protected route or a compartment wall
  4. A lot of these developments are deliberately put forwards as the same as a block of purpose built flats for planning and building regulation purposes rather than commercial sleeping risk - treated as a dwelling they wouldn't need closers to bedrooms and only FD20 doors which is often achieved by using a FD30 blank but not adding strips. Makes the build cheaper & more flexible.
  5. Sounds like it would be good in my Museum, although if a Britannia extinguisher it's probably still fit for use (Unless it's a small one with a plastic valve) even though 99% of service firms will just replace new. If it's a HMO or holiday accommodation then Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order required suitable maintenance, if rented under a tenancy the Housing Act applies, also a HMO is covered by its own legislation in addition, usually as part of licensing.
  6. Depending on how you interpret Section 3.5 & Table 3 of Approved Document B you could come to that conclusion, likewise you could come to 120 as well
  7. It's possible depending on the level of fire resistance required. This product selector will help you determine the required type & thickness of board and type of supporting system for the FR you require: https://www.british-gypsum.com/white-book-system-selector
  8. The s suffix designates a fire door requiring a cold smoke seal (brush or fin), usually where escape routes need protecting. Both doors will seal in their frame after exposure to high temperature as the intumescent seal expands, but the door without a smoke seal will let cool smoke through for a period until the room reaches sufficient temperature to activate the intumescent.
  9. You need to ask this on firealarmengineers.com/forum Because of how a twin wire or sav wire system works (voltage drop or polarity reversal depending on type) traditional zone monitors and sounder driver units generally wouldn't work. Interfacing the panels (presumably the current set up) or making the twin wire zones addressable spurs by putting new devices on and using isolators at the relevant points are what you often see. You would have thought someone would make suitable off the shelf products for monitoring twin wire zones.
  10. AnthonyB

    Mr

    For a very long time BS5839-1, the standard for fire alarm systems, has required 2 sounder circuits on fire alarm systems. Whilst a BS is not law, it is generally used as a benchmark for legal compliance and if you wish to vary from it (which you can legitimately do in some circumstances) you have to justify why the departure still provides an adequate level of safety. With one circuit there is a risk that if something goes wrong with it then you will have no warning at all of a fire - with a second circuit at least you will get partial warning.
  11. Whilst still sold most models of Perko chain are not to current standards for fire doors and have indeed been advised against since the 90's because of their unreliability - an EN1154 compliant device should be used. A lot of fire safety products are miss-sold and many adverts for 'fire door compliant' chain style closers are only tested to BSEN 1634-1 for fire resistance and do not meet the actual standard for closers BSEN1154
  12. But they don't have to - certainly exits used for less than 60 persons can be accepted opening inwards, although it's preferable to open outwards.
  13. Is this hotel built yet? If not then the designer can choose between Approved Document B, BS9999 or a bespoke engineered solution following BS7974 principles. If already running then the built fire strategy will need reverse engineering based on an examination of the construction, dimensions, active and passive fire precautions, management, etc. Of course the term fire strategy is sometimes used for the emergency evacuation & response plan for fire in a premises or the fire safety policy document. Guidance on existing premises is given in the DCLG Sleeping Premises guide.
  14. If done correctly the FRA should only identify the measures required to meet the Fire Safety Order and protect relevant persons from serious injury or death, any best practice issues in addition should clearly be identified as recommendations only. If those measures are not undertaken (or alternatives providing equivalent protection) then there would remain a breach of the relevant parts of the Order which depending on severity and resultant risk would trigger enforcement action. A decent FRA will grade deficiencies on severity/risk so certain works would be low risk with a long timescale as whilst technical breaches the resultant risk is low and on their own would not trigger enforcement. Plenty of prosecutions out there where an FRA's actions were not complied with, the last person to cite in court that they thought they were 'only recommendations' still got convicted.
  15. If the compartmentalisation is fixed then the alarm need not automatically need to extend to the accommodation if it has separate access, otherwise you will need sounders in the accommodation to give 75dB at bedhead and 60-65dB elsewhere. If the flat has it's own smoke alarms you don't automatically need detection from the pub system
  16. Usually smoke, if it's an open kitchen optical would have a slightly lower false alarm risk. A heat wouldn't activate quickly enough. Depending on the size of the room I've seen both, heat near the kitchen section & smoke further back over the living area. The Fire Safety Order covers common areas, which in purpose built flats usually only require detectors to activate smoke control facilities not alarms.
  17. As, based purely on your description, only one door actually leads to an exit, only one door should have the sign.
  18. Are you just a fire door inspector or are you qualified/experienced in any other field?
  19. You don't if it's an exit to open air and no escape route (principally an external stair) passes close by.
  20. London Underground uses 9 litre spray foam and 2kg CO2 at fire points as an example
  21. Absolutely safe, there is no way you are going to get a dangerous concentration, you only get a cubic area of gas sufficient to fill 2 bathtubs from 2kg of CO2, as long as your volumetric area is at least 10 times that (which an underground station certainly is) you are fine
  22. There is no regulation per se, but the wall linings in general (be they paper, paint, wood or something else) do have flammability requirements based on the fact they are escape routes, certain wallpapers would not meet these. They should be to BS Class 0 or Euro class B-s3,d2
  23. Plastic meter cabinets in an escape route of flats can result in enforcement action, I've seen cases published. These can help, you don't always need to build a big cupboard: https://envirograf.com/product-category/electrical-and-plumbing/consumer-unit-protection/
×
×
  • Create New...