AnthonyB

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

As, based purely on your description, only one door actually leads to an exit, only one door should have the sign.

Are you just a fire door inspector or are you qualified/experienced in any other field?

Video and heat spring to mind

You don't if it's an exit to open air and no escape route (principally an external stair) passes close by.

London Underground uses 9 litre spray foam and 2kg CO2 at fire points as an example

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

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

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/

No they aren't and don't replace the need for emergency lighting unless part of a photo-luminescent way guiding system (& you need to keep your lights on all the time to ensure the material is 'charged' with light)

No requirement for EL in hotel bedrooms, surprised you haven't just removed them.

Locating the panel near the main entrance is to aid the fire service, however if you indicate it's location clearly with signage this is sometimes accepted. Is the panel covering the whole building?

Assuming it's not in Scotland then if it's a conversion that would have been in accordance with the Building Regulations as if it was done post 1991 and thus has adequate fire resistance between the two flats then as an absolute minimum they would require what is called an LD3 system where the hallway and any upper/lower landings if on multiple levels require a smoke alarm. Whilst the alarms should ideally be what is called Grade D i.e. mains powered with a back up power supply (now split into D1 & D2 based on what source the secondary power is) if this is a retrospective upgrade not subject to Building Regulations Grade F i.e. battery only, no back up (again split this year into F1 & F2) would be acceptable but not as robust (there have been fire deaths in houses with Grade F devices due to flat or removed batteries). If more than one is installed they should be interlinked by cable or radio signal The British Standard for residential fire alarm systems (BS5839-6:2019) recommends a higher level of protection, using Grade D equipment to category LD2 - where in addition to the hallways and landings you have a heat alarm in the kitchen and a smoke alarm in the Living Room, all interlinked

The LGA Guide is the authoritative (but not prescriptive) guidance but unless the site has a concierge or caretaker trained to use it I don't always bother as in flats these rooms should be fire resisting compartments and the lift engineer should also be able to escape without resort to an extinguisher. For any higher risk (e.g. hot works) in the room an extinguisher should provided by the contractor as part of the Hot Works Permit process. Where the site is staffed and I provide a couple of risk specific extinguishers I often use the P50 range where the concierge/caretaker/TMC representative can carry out the annual check themselves at no cost.

As most purpose built flats don't require fire alarms, just detection for smoke vent operation, they may just be testing the system silently to see it opens the vents or actually be the correct system with no alarm sounders so in these cases you wouldn't know it was being tested.....or of course they simply aren't actually doing it!

No. Wall, cabinet, stand, plinth, shelf and cabinet mounting would all suit as long as the extinguisher are not higher than the maximum height for the size/weight. Technically, whilst obviously a very good idea, there is no explicit legal requirement to wall or stand mount an extinguisher (unlike the provision of signage which is) M&S don't and never have done, the only change they made after current legislation came in was to add suitable signs.

As far as I recall as it's new there is no need to until next year.

There is a difference in terminology between the UK and some mainland European countries with regards to extinguishers. In most countries they don't have Foam extinguishers as such (unless referring to obsolete chemical foam or specialist foam branchpipe extinguishers) but what they call Water with additive, which traditionally was a water based extinguisher with a spray nozzle & AFFF charge that was of a suitable concentration and quantity to be able to seal Class B fires as well as tackle Class A fires. In the UK, where low expansion branchpipe extinguishers were common in the past the spray version was classed as foam spray. At this time in the UK water extinguishers were plain water jet for Class A fires only. In the 90's water extinguishers with a spray nozzle were introduced that had a synthetic Class A additive that breaks the surface tension of the water increasing the penetration capability allowing a 3 litre extinguisher to achieve the same Class A rating as a 9 litre water jet. The additive mix when discharged looks like an AFFF discharge and is chemically similar, but usually not in the right formulation or concentration to effectively tackle a Class B fire and wouldn't usually 'seal' like foam.

Ah - if it's Spain then your fire codes are totally different, apartment blocks there do still require extinguishers, usually 6 kg Powder and on every floor (with more than one per floor if travel distances are excessive, I don't have the detail though)