Mike North
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Posts posted by Mike North
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The door needs to be fire rated. If the front door to your client’s property is stout and robust (a solid wood) they can usually be brought up to a nominal spec, you would need a specialist to advise if it could be done and if it would be cost effective.
As for the next door, small spherical objects!
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If the windows comply with ADB para 2.10, there is no requirement on a 2-story dwelling house for a protected escape route, therefore the doors don’t need to be fire doors. It would only be an issue if there were another floor.
For a dwelling house, the maximum travel distance 18m from the furthest point in a bedroom to a protected exit or place of safety.
You may need something doing to the window restrictors
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A storeroom does not necessarily need a fire door, it all depends on the flammability of what is so be stored in the room, cardboard and spare furniture I would not regard as a major risk as long as it is controlled and does not become a dumping ground.
If the distribution board is in a fire rated enclosure, then there is no need to put it behind a further fire door.
Use a camera to take a picture of the top of the door, it may be a fire door, just not set up as one as the cost of the doors are not that different. The major difference is the sealing and inspection.
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The door could be an older type that does not require intumescent strips. it will have 1” door stops instead. But is sounds like it wants replacing
The vent through the door is acceptable with an intumescent grille as long as the door is not a smoke door, if it is then you need a damper in the door connected to the fire alarm.
What is more concerning is the cleanliness of the area, it sounds like there is a risk of spontaneous combustion of the discarded rags.
Flammable liquids should be kept to a minimum in the work area, no more than that required for the current shift.
See the attached
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If it has been installed correctly, there is nothing wrong with using fire rated plasterboard to repair (any plasterboard patch repair in a fire-rated wall or ceiling must fully restore the original level of fire resistance). It would make sense however to use something like Intumescent Pillows - FireSealsDirect on cable trays as it will make maintenance easier should they need more cables run.
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The current thoughts are that the probability of an ICE fire is 1,500 fires per 100,000 vehicles, for EV’s 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles.
The issue is that when an ICE car is involved in a fire there is limited fuel and a lower temperature 800 to 1000 C for an EV up to 1200 C.
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This looks like an office door and has no fire door signage.
Have you looked at the strategy for the building as sometimes the builder will install fire doors where they are not required so they all look the same. See ADB para 2.24, 2.25, 2.27 to see if it needs to be a protected corridor.
If they are fire doors then they need 3 hingers
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For a single dwelling Private renting: Your landlord's safety responsibilities - GOV.UK
however since you have stated that their is also a basement flat then yes you need a FRA.
the front doors would be assessed as part of the FRA
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Personally I hate this stuff, it is very rarely used correctly. The rule of thumb is that when installed the depth should be at least 10 times the width, basically narrow linear gaps. If you do use it then you must get the certfire certificate for the product to see how it should be installed and the gaps that it can seal.
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1. The sealing of electrical cables, where the cable enters or exits the riser should be stopped.
2. If they are serviceable and are manufactured from solid metal with a melting point of at least 900C, then no
3. I agree with the inspector, you should put in program to bring the doors up to nominal standard, prioritising smoke (look at batwing or combined seals) and gaps. Fire doors should have 3 hinges, however if the door is small an exception can be made.
Can you ignore it, yes, however, you should come up with a written answer to all the defects and how you propose to rectify or compensate for each. Should anything happen, the first port of call will be the FRA, the next will be a man with a curly wig asking you why you ignored the FRA.
For fire door inspections If a flat owner or resident refuses to allow a fire door inspection, they are potentially hindering a legal safety requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Fact sheet: Fire doors (regulation 10) - GOV.UK
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Yes ADB only applies to new builds and material alterations, however the RRO and following a small fire in London, the Fire Safety Act 2021 enforce general fire safety of existing buildings.
The regulations have not distally changed with respect to smoke control for communal doors or riser doors, in the past 25 years. Given the age of the building, I would have thought that a gap of 6-8mm the doors were never to standard.
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Check the original as built fire strategy as office doors do not usually need to be fire rated (except dead ends, high risk areas etc). It may be that at some point in time someone has put fire signage on the doors
Protected corridors
2.24 A corridor serving as part of the means of escape in any of the following circumstances should be a protected corridor.
a. Every corridor that serves bedrooms
b. Every dead-end corridor (excluding recesses and extensions a maximum of 2m deep, as shown in Diagrams 2.7 and 2.8).
c. Any corridor shared by two or more occupancies (paragraph 2.17).
Enclosure of corridors that are not protected corridors
2.25 If a corridor is used for a means of escape but is not a protected corridor, even though the enclosing partitions may have no fire resistance, both of the following should be met to inhibit the spread of smoke.
a. Partitions should continue to the soffit of the structural floor above, or to a suspended ceiling.
b. Openings into rooms from the corridor should be fitted with doors, which do not need to be fire doorsets.
Open planning will not inhibit the spread of smoke, but occupants can become aware of a fire quickly.
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Without knowing the building it’s impossible to answer, but as a rule of thumb, if it is possible for smoke to affect the escape route then there should be smoke seals. The cost difference between smoke and not smoke is negligible.
The who is responsible for the cost is a matter for the tenancy agreement and is not a fire safety issue, but ultimately, I suspect that it will fall on the leaseholder
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The maximum gap for a smoke door is 3mm.
It may be possible to fit a threshold seal, but I have never come across one that would bridge that gap
It may also be possible to lip the door, but again I have never come across one that would bridge that gap
You could put a 17mm hardwood threshold detail under the door fixed to the floor, but that may cause a trip hazard
Advice relating to building works
in Fire Risk Assessments
Is the window an escape window, does it comply with ADB para 3.6?
If yes then can the fencing be moved to create and escape corridor?
Once the works are completed, will the new works continue to cause a problem?