AnthonyB

Electromagnetic lock linked to the fire alarm with the green break glass override above the height a child can reach, or with a pull tag sealed hinged cover. More costly than a bolt but not uncommon as a solution in both child and elderly care premises

Usually travel distances in these structures are within the limits for escape in a single direction and a fire would be quickly detectable by occupants. Room layout may create an 'inner room' situation where you have to pass from one room to another to reach the exit - this can be resolved by the provision of vision panels or a smoke alarm to the access room. Where these container cabins are linked, as can happen, the need for a second escape becomes far more likely

There is nothing in law to stop an exit that is part of the escape provision from being used for non emergency access as long as that use does not compromise the ability of the door to be effectively used in an emergency. Most restrictions on the use of fire exits is a security measure, nothing to do with fire safety legislation

I've seen it done, the dome type are usually one sided but I've seen them used on both sides usually where a door connects different premises in replacement of key in boxes and is less detrimental to the fire resistance.

Care home fire safety training for a major Metropolitan council we work for is centralised at two homes with suitable learning centre facilities - the topics are generalised and supplement the in house training that is delivered at each home to the staff based there that concentrates on the premises fire alarm system, specific evacuation procedures and evacuation aids and service users risk assessments/PEEPs. As long as you are still getting the site specific stuff at the home you actually work in it should be fine.

Is this a former Council library that has been saved from closure by becoming community run? The Fire Safety Order still applies and so there would need to be appropriate plans and training. The complexity will be determined to some degree by the nature of the premises - a ground floor only premises as per many suburban libraries will be more straightforward than a larger, multi storey building

As above - having been on site when such a fitting had a burnout I can attest to the fact that it can happen - however in a risk assessment the clearance distance may be reducible depending on the fitting, the metal casing of the fitting in the incident contained any actual flaming and it soon burnt out without spreading.

In essence yes! Guidance for different types of premises can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-safety-law-and-guidance-documents-for-business This should be addressed in your Fire Risk Assessment, for which if your premises are simple can be carried out using the documents in the above link or otherwise should be carried out by a reputable Competent Person such as those accredited to BAFE SP205 or on the IFE or IFPO Registered assessors schemes.

If both elements are labelled as having passed the relevant tests you should be OK, however if the particular combination of cover and inner haven't been tested together it's recommended they are sent for testing. If it is antique furniture (made before 01/01/1950) it is exempt from the furniture regulations.

This should be referred to the Centre Manager who should in turn consult the owner's competent person for fire safety. Fire Safety in shopping Malls uses Fire engineered solutions and the use of RMU's has to be carefully considered both in size (needs to leave 3m each side) & fire loading (within the design limits for the sprinklers & smoke control system).

Yes, legally compliant. Standby lighting for use over extended periods is usually a business continuity provision in commercial premises requiring very expensive to buy & maintain generator sets.

How many floors are there? Current fire safety guidance for existing purpose built flats asks for the retrofitting of emergency lighting to all but the smallest blocks

CO2 extinguishers don't have gauges as they self pressurise (by the boil off of liquid CO2 into CO2 gas in the ullage space) as oppose to being separately pressurised by a Nitrogen over gas and as a result remain at constant pressure until all the liquid CO2 has gone, so a gauge wouldn't tell you anything! Also cartridge operated water, foam & powder extinguishers have no gauge as they are under no pressure until actuated.

The cupboard can use any suitable materials for 30 minutes. Supalux silicate boarding would be preferable to plasterboard as you can use thinner, lighter sheets. The new wiring regulations are not retrospective and require new consumer units and similar to be fire resistant (which are usually metal)

If the door is only ever used for fire a cheaper and less electrical method is to go back to the traditional devices used back in the 60's: Mk2 Redlam Bolt - can be used from either side of the door: http://www.safelincs.co.uk/redlam-panic-bolt/?q=redlam+bolt+mk2 Mortice lever roller bolt fire escape deadlatch (door has a key lock with an override lever accessible from both sides via a break glass panel) - go to http://www.imperiallocks.co.uk/ and ask for a local distributor Assa 8560 Break Dome Turn Assembly for use with an ASSA Light Sprung Nightlatch without Lockback http://assalocksuk.co.uk/assa-8560-break-dome-turn-assembly.html Or the Union equivalent http://www.uniononline.co.uk/en/site/union-online/products/exit-hardware/general-exit-hardware/8070---emergency-turn-cover/

Only the device at the end of the zone wiring should have an EOL, On Twinflex call points when the EOL option is activated the LED flashes once every 5 seconds otherwise it stays off. If a call point is activated (EOL or not) it's LED will flash twice a second.

If it's a House of Multiple Occupation then the rules are reasonably strict, however if you are renting out a house as a single unit to a single family then as long as the existing doors are in good condition and fit well in the frame any money you have set aside for fire safety would be better invested in the installation of decent automatic fire detection such as hard wired or radio linked smoke alarms to at least the circulation areas and if you want to be really robust the living room and a heat alarm in the kitchen as well. If it is a HMO then the LACORS Guide http://www.rla.org.uk/docs/LACORSFSguideApril62009.PDF will be of use as well as your local Council's Environmental Services (who many have local minimum specifications for HMO's that reach the threshold for licensing)

Oxygen itself is not flammable, it makes other materials more readily ignitable and makes them burn more fiercely & quickly. Your extinguisher provision should be suitable for the risks in the nearby area, although a correctly designed oxygen store should contain no combustible materials or ignition sources. Your aim should be to prevent an oxygen fuelled fire occurring - realistically if these cylinders are involved in a fire it's a case of raise the alarm, evacuate and leave it to the fire brigade. For general cover in healthcare premises you should never use powder and instead have fire points of water spray & CO2 or to make things simpler fire points of just water mist extinguishers - all available from this host site.

Whilst Firebug did mark their water mist for Class c they are no longer in the market and so you have the Jewel product which is only marked AF(E) It can be used on class B & C, but as it doesn't meet EN3 criteria for these fire types it can't be marked as suitable for them, the Class B ratings being very poor. It's only British sensibilities that steer people from using water mist (& indeed water spray/foam spray) on electrical fires. EN3 (the base document) allows these extinguishers to be marked as suitable for direct use on electrical fires up to 1000V but currently only Jewel (only on their water mist) and Britannia (all wet models other than water jet) go as far as to implement this. They are safe directly on electrics - a client used one on a live 415V industrial tumble drier on fire (after the CO2 was ineffective) and of course was totally unharmed.

In lieu of a fire blanket the water spray and foam spray extinguishers provided to the circulation areas of the nursing home will perform adequately. Water jet will (but not as speedily) but ideally the 9 litre water jet should be consigned to the graveyard in most premises with 6 litre water spray being a common replacement - lighter, easier to use, safe near electrics and a quicker action with the spray

Only Nu Swift's 3, 6 & 9 kilo Powders have the 10 years Extended Service date - all their wet's and the 2 kilo Powder are the typical 5 years. Their cartridge stuff is unservicable unless you are a London Securities group company as you can't get the ) rings, clips, etc and they use Nitrogen cartridges with a continental thread. As you can replace a Nu Swift extinguisher brand new for a fraction of the cost of even a Nu Swift refill that's the route most people take

If you have no control panel and just call points, bells/klaxxons and a mains switch at the distribution board then you have a VERY old 3 wire 240V fire alarm system that not only does not conform to British Standards (& didn't 35 years ago either) but contravenes the Health & Safety (Safety Signs & Signals) Regulations 1996 as it does not have a secondary power supply. It cannot be serviced to BS5839-1 and due to the simplicity only requires rotational weekly testing of call points, as the only thing a service engineer could do is a mega weekly test just using a lot more call points. The system will require replacement.

The fire risk assessor should determine the required category and the system designer then spec up the actual system for an installer to quote against. In a lot of premises a manual system still complies (despite the desire to throw detectors in everywhere) and for a fire officer to get involved then usually either: - You have a life safety requirement for detection that your FRA should have picked up, or - You have an old 3-wire fire alarm powdered directly by the 240v supply which is unlawful (there is a requirement for fire alarms to have back up power supplies They have no jurisdiction purely on age of a system or on provision for property protection

Are you in a multi-occupied premises with shared communal space or a single occupancy premises? If the latter it's fully in your court, in the former there is usually a communal system across the whole site.

That's probably why the zone was disabled.....try new heads if there is no environmental cause