AnthonyB

Chemical Foam used to be predominant in the early to mid 20th century but was rapidly replaced as the century as mechanical foam was developed in the 20's & 30's and gained favour. Foam is stored as a bulk concentrate and depending on the type of foam and application is usually proportioned with water at 1% , 3% or 6%. Most foam solution has been traditionally aspirated through a branch pipe designed to use the venturi effect to agitate the solution and aerate it to create low or medium expansion finished foam, but in more recent times, particularly in portable extinguishers, with synthetic foams such as AFFF non aspirated spray has been used to good effect. Foam solution can be stored premixed, such as in most extinguishers, fixed extinguishing systems and some rapid intervention fire fighting vehicles or can be added by an inline inductor to the water supply at any point up to and including the actual branchpipe. Hi expansion foam usually uses large water pressure driven fans and a fabric tube to create. You could really do with a copy of the Angus Foam Handbook, sadly that isn't on their website and I'm not sure they have print copies left.

New ones created as part of a new build or alteration usually have them provided to meet the Building Regulation process. In an existing building the Fire Risk Assessment and associated Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans would determine if retrofitting is required - it's not an automatic retrospective requirement and depends on how well evacuation can be managed without them.

I'd be wanting further investigations, did they do any flue checks? I'd be loathe to accept that the boiler and flue were all completely safe and whilst it's not impossible for fumes to enter the passenger compartment of a car that's a major cop out. I'd consider a second opinion and to check whoever you use has a genuine and current Gas Safe registration https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/find-an-engineer/

Of course it's better to be sprayed by AFFF than burn to death! The concentrated form is a skin irritant and not good to drink, but the diluted form discharged during fire fighting has no immediate risk, you wouldn't be wearing the clothing for ages afterwards and would have a wash anyway. Any possible side effects are outweighed by the benefit. Most foam is discharged as no or low expansion and if you were to drown/suffocate in it then you would be in conditions where you would still drown if plain water was discharged. High expansion foam is full of air bubbles and can be walked through, although disorientation is a risk.

Your risk assessment should really have answered this for you - depending on the circumstances there is the possibility of accepting existing doors, the guidance on how to decide that is in here https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/fire-safety-purpose-built-04b.pdf

The fire trainer doesn't sound like a competent fire risk assessor and their advice is severely flawed (otherwise everywhere would just do this). A proper fire door retainer is advisable, depending on the situation a simple indirect self contained device such as a Dorgard or Shuttle may suffice or a more direct device may be required - your competent risk assessor should consult BS7273-4 in determining which will suit.

https://envirograf.com/ do such products, it depends on the surface you are treating and the performance needed as to if there is a viable product.

The s suffix on FD30s simply means the door has a cold smoke seal (usually a rubber fin or brush) as well as an intumescent strip so in the broadest terms if you've used a combined seal as described it would be an FD30S

The employer remains the Responsible Person in law. You sound like you are being asked to be a Competent Person to assist the Responsible Person. Your employer remains legally liable, although other individuals can also be liable if a matter under their control was inadequately dealt with. For example there have been two separate care homes convicted over the years for fire safety issues where in addition to the employer/body corporate being convicted in addition in one case a fire alarm engineer and in another a care home manager were both convicted for their part in the offences.

As you are in Scotland the Scottish Technical Standards apply, but certainly in England & Wales it used to be a requirement for these closers to be fitted as standard even in private dwellings, not just rentals, but as everyone just disabled them they changed the requirement to only apply to things such as flat front doors, doors from garages into dwellings etc.

You won't find it as Building Regulations are functional and only give broad aims, as does the Fire Safety Order under which the relevant clause is: (f)emergency doors must not be so locked or fastened that they cannot be easily and immediately opened by any person who may require to use them in an emergency; A good fire risk assessment would identify that in the situation you describe an escape mortice deadlock would meet the requirements of Article 14 (2)(f) of the Order

A correctly installed Sheltered Housing fire alarm system should not be heard in the flats, also it shouldn't be going off that often and left running for as long. It appears there is inadequate fire safety management of your premises and I would suggest that if the management aren't dealing with it you contact your local fire service's enforcement team (not your local station or community fire safety team) to investigate for you.

It should be, if built correctly, in a different fire compartment from the flats so it shouldn't matter if there is a fire there, the flats don't need to know in line with stay put principles. Full evacuation is a last resort in residential and I would be reluctant to extend the system for this unless it was the only viable option...after all in reality it doesn't work as well as people think.

Without seeing the premises or at least plans it's difficult, but in smaller cafes, especially without full kitchens (& so no high risk frying), there is often no need for fire doors or fire resisting partitions. Simple starter guidance for small premises is here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/14879/making-your-premises-safe-short-guide.pdf

If it's a finished floor height of 11m plus then you should have access to both exits, which if partitioned after current building regulations came into being shouldn't go through another tenants space (it did used to be accepted)

Very weird. I'd expect the pool and associated ancillary accommodation to operate full evacuation and so have at least the L5/M type set up it seems to have, but the actual flats I'd expect only to have detectors to the common areas if there are smoke vents, or the common overkill of smokes, sounders, call points. I don't suppose anyone can dig out the original design fire strategy?

Current building regulations removed the requirement for internal doors to have closers so they are OK, but it was incorrect to remove the front door closer and you will need to put that back.

If it's got it's own closer rather than just being bolted then that usually is a good indicator that the whole width of both doors was required for escape at the time of installation based on the occupancy numbers, discounting of exits etc. as oppose to just for floor moves. If your Means of Escape calculations, done correctly, indicate you only need the main leaf and you want to keep the quarter bolted then you should be OK

Yes, you need to be able to demonstrate competency - with up to 52 individual points to correctly check some form of training is usually in order!

Technically both, but I'd not get too worried if the one with a lock in was the only one signed. For the cost you might as well do it on both and be belt and braces.

The inch rebate harks back to the days of fire doors before the introduction of intumescent strips and cold smoke seals and isn't usually needed on a door with such items fitted. Manufacturers instructions should be followed and it should be noted that a tested rated doorset includes the frame as well as the door so care needs to be taken with a new door in an existing frame. The fire door specialists on here will give a more detailed response.

Are the children to be supervised?

Because flats are private dwellings and the historical approach legally has been for almost ever is that "an Englishman's Home is his castle" so the government does not intrude into the privacy of the home except where absolutely necessary (most often at the build and alteration stage through Building Regulations).The Housing Act does apply, mostly focusing on housing that is let. Correctly built flats do not usually benefit from communal alarms and these have led to deaths in a couple of cases. Where you have flats not built to standard or that are poorly converted then alarm systems that include some elements in the flats would be appropriate. A history of the legislation as well as the current approach for new & existing flats is in https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/fire-safety-purpose-built-04b.pdf Information for HMO's and certain conversions is at https://www.rla.org.uk/docs/LACORSFSguideApril62009.PDF

A fire risk assessment must be reviewed regularly and updated if there are any changes to risks, processes, people, structure, layout, etc No set timescale exists for a review, but the benchmark standard based on court cases and enforcement notices indicates annual as a minimum. Some premises have FRAs that are several years old, but as they have been reviewed annually and nothing has changed, have been deemed adequate. So if they are just commissioning a review then they are in the right as it's grossly overdue, although if using an external provider most would (rightly) insist on a full reassessment after an 11 year gap

As it's Building Work for the Purposes of Building Regulations I would guess they want a completion certificate from Local Authority Building Control or the Approved Inspector the work was notified to?