AnthonyB
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Posts posted by AnthonyB
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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That's probably why the zone was disabled.....try new heads if there is no environmental cause
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I'm thinking you should be using the services of a competent passive fire protection contractor for this work, you appear not to have the knowledge required - it sounds like you are using standard fire rated paint rather than a structural steel work intumescent coating!
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Most buildings are moving away from their generators for EL as they can't meet the changeover and local circuit failure requirements and are retrofitting self contained fittings.
Modern developments have generators purely as standby lighting and also install self contained EL fittings or addressable loop EL as well
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There is a lot of misinformation & out of date information on EL testing.
To keep it simple for self contained systems (which most are) you test:
- Monthly function test. A quick test activating the fittings to ensure they are working at all
- Annual duration test: As per the monthly test, but fittings are left on battery to check they last for their rated duration (often 3 years)
Strictly speaking you should also check each fitting daily to see the green (red on older lights) charger LED is lit and on maintained fittings that they are lit.
There used to be a 6 monthly test, but that was removed 11 years ago! And there has never been a 3 monthly test.
You don't need a contractor to do either test as it's easy to learn how to do them in house - as long as you have the time to do it properly you need only bring in the contractor reactively for when a fitting fails.
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If they are self contained for the life safety of the occupant then it's at his own risk. It would only be an issue if the devices were part of a building wide system intended to protect all flats
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If there is no legally binding wayleave, means of escape license, easement or similar allowing them to access your land then regardless of fire regulations you are within your rights to prevent access - you could even build a fence across it on your land (subject to planning approval where required). The fire service and the police have no jurisdiction on this matter as it is a civil law matter and you should consult a lawyer specialising in the property law field.
There is case law upholding removal of access even where they prejudice the adjacent properties exit routes and thus ability for legal occupancy, I've worked on both sides of the fence and you are the one in the strong position - you could give them access and draw up a lease for which they would have to pay in order to have access.
They can sign it if they wish, but it's their look out if it leads nowhere.
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Speak to your Council Housing Officer as the premises are liable to be subject to the safety requirements of the Housing Act 2004 and they are the lead authority for enforcement.
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If it's a purpose built flat block then the correct guidance is the LGA Guide to Fire Safety in Purpose Built Flats and is sympathetic to existing premises. Your existing doors in such a small block, if notional fire doors compliant to the standard of the time, may suffice, although upgrading is always useful
http://www.local.gov.uk/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=1138bf70-2e50-400c-bf81-9a3c4dbd6575
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If you are leasing it as an FRI lease or some similar set up then as the tenant will be both the employer and person having control of the premises then it's all down to them.
In a single occupancy commercial letting the landlord usually has no fire safety responsibilities unless they've a particularly poorly drawn up lease.
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Hi,
I have a flat, in a block of 6, two flats per floor, with a communal entrance and a single stairwell leading to the upper floors, we have just been informed that we must pay £7000 per flat to bring up to Fire Regulations. The cost is mainly
to move the service boxes which are located in the communal halls and relocate them and to close in fire proof cupboards. The stairwell has a fire door on each landing. I believe the property is aprox. 20 years old. To me this figure seems rather excessive and although we have a tenants association the management company must surely have some responsibility for the costs.
By service boxes do you mean fuseboards/consumer units? If so this is a suspiciously overpriced & complex solution to what is at the end of the day a low risk.
Alternative solutions are available, for example it would be a fraction of the cost to simply replace all the consumer units with ones having non combustible casings (as per the new wiring regulations)
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If it's in a communal internal circulation area then no, as it's introducing an ignition risk to an area normally fire sterile
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Depending on the nature of the flats and existing doors there may actually be no need to change the doors and the existing fire doors would suffice - the FRA should have been carried in reference to the LGA Guide to Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats which is more sympathetic to existing buildings and is the default guide approved by the Government
(http://www.local.gov.uk/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=1138bf70-2e50-400c-bf81-9a3c4dbd6575)
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Don't fall for the con trick some sites have of having to replace all fittings just because they are older ones with the red LED light and you 'must' have the green light.
Self testing fittings (unless part of a central addressable system or similar) have at least two (red/green) or three (red/amber/green) LEDs, not one, the light combination giving you a status report.
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Fire extinguishers should have suitable emergency lighting adjacent (as per the emergency lighting standard BS5266) and some parties will say that you can meet this by the use of photoluminescent signage and so all your signs must meet this specification,
However photoluminescent signage requires continuous 'excitement' by exposure to light to be able to work when needed and does not count as emergency lighting unless part of a photoluminsecent way marking to BS 5266-6:1999 (or BS ISO 16069) so in reality if you need emergency lighting you would still have to provide the electrical light fittings so you might as well use normal signs.
The requirement for the sign just to identify an extinguisher is missing is only one code's take on it - other guidance suggests it's to locate the extinguisher as per the RRO requirement regarding non automatic fire equipment
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Fire blankets are only really intended for small equipment using cooking oils (chip pan & similar) and a rule of thumb is that if your Class F risk involves more than 3 litres of oil or a container over 300mm diameter then you really should have the required number of F-rated Wet Chemical or Water Mist extinguishers (or even a fixed system for the larger ranges)
Locked door between properties with lock override
in Fire Exits
Posted
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/