AnthonyB
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Posts posted by AnthonyB
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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)
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The only other manufacturer who uses the E-Series mist nozzle (under license I believe) is the Saudi manufacturer SFFECO who has a range almost identical in construction to Firebug's that include the 3 & 6 litre mist extinguishers.
I've had a client who has safely and effectively used a water mist extinguisher on a live 415v industrial laundry machine fire (after CO2 was ineffective) so it's not all bluff, they are as good as they claim!
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That sounds like an example of the increasingly common 'rag & tag' service engineer where nothing is inspected or tested and you are lucky if they even change the pull tag.
If they remove the horn (which they ideally should to check for blockage & to weigh if the marked commissioning weight is without horn) then they should (although it's not shall in the standard) change the washer.
Fire exit ends unauthorised on neighbouring property
in Fire Exits
Posted
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.