Mike North
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Posts posted by Mike North
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All DCLG guides can be found here Fire safety in the workplace: Fire risk assessments - GOV.UK
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Read and inwardly digest for the risks involved leaving fire doors open
Rosepark care home deaths 'preventable' inquiry finds - BBC News
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Correct, flat doors should be FD30S, this has been the case since at least December 2018.
To comply, the head and side gaps should be 3mm ±1mm (irrespective of smoke). The threshold on a smoke door should be a maximum of 3mm.
I suspect that the door was never compliant in the first place.
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Legally, as long as they are competent, anyone can do it, but it must be correctly installed (the inspector will fail it again if not)
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The door should be routered to accept the intumescent strips, they should not alter the door gap. The smoke fins can sometimes bind, some Vaseline can be applied to soften the blade
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It all depends on the size of the enclosed area and the risk. If the area is big enough you can call it a place of ultimate safety, but technically it should allow for the restricted dispersal of people
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For anything above the second floor, you are more at risk of serious injury or death from jumping out of the window than the fire itself.
A decent alarm system should notify you long before the escape route becomes untenable, if the fire is on the other side if the door, you will have a minimum of 30 minutes for the fire brigade to rescue you
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The use of magnetic hold open devices kind of defeats what the regulations are trying to do here.
Without seeing the doors, I suspect you have 2 options;
1. Change the swing of the doors
2. Limit the occupancy of the room
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You could take a general image of the area to show the general location, then a close image of the label details before you remove the labels
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On 11/08/2025 at 21:05, delboy said:
Why no fire certification? Surely any prospective buyers lawyers will want confirmation that the building conforms to Fire Regs? Not to mention the Insurance company
You may get certification to say that the building was built to building regulations, however a building that was built in the 1980s it does not mean it comply with the current building regulations.
Any alterations or maintenance to building would make the original certification null and void as what was signed off is not what was is there now.
You need to look at the regulation 38 information, which should be an up-to-date record of all the fire safety information for the building Including fire doors along with the latest FRA and any recent fire surveys to get an holistic view.
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look at the installation instructions for the door, some can some can't
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Building regulations can only be applied to new buildings or material alterations whilst they are being built, can you imagine the cost of bringing Windsor castle up to date?
You won’t get certification to say it meets the regulations. Once a building is built and handed over, building regulations are out of the window except for material alterations.
The fire safety order then comes onto force which (amongst other things) requires the responsible person (or their agent) to conduct a fire risk assessment on the building and address the findings. It is not a money-making scheme,
If the glazing says it is fire rated, then unless the assessor can prove it isn’t then it’s acceptable
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To certify a repair to a fire door you must know what the original certification was and what is allowed to be done to the door under the certificate if approval.
I also don’t think that this would be covered under an Approved Repair Technique
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Possible solution is a free swing closure such as
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I assume that the removed closers where Percos?
Why did you not just cut the chains, problem solved.
I don’t think you could certify a repair
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British standards are not a legal requirement, however, the man with the curly wig may have some serious concerns if you do not follow them.
If a building is unoccupied for any length of time, there is nothing wrong with reducing all the building inspection regime (along with the Alarm testing) as long as prior to the reoccupation all testing is completed, this reduced maintenance should be written in the maintenance instructions for the building. Don't forget that if the building is unoccupied the maintenance may reduce but the chances of arson may increase.
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What is the difference in measurements? If its only small (1 to 2 mm) its probably
1. Operator eyesight
2. Different operator
3. Different expansion rates (walls, doors, wood)
4. Movement of the building
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I think that this is a bit of a grey area,
is it some doors that need replacing like for like through wear and tear? Then probably not
If you are changing the fire strategy, then definitely yes.
Anything between the two, could go either way
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Looks like an overzealous manager
A guide to making your small block of flats safe from fire (accessible) - GOV.UK
4 Fire Hazards
Housekeeping
Good housekeeping is fundamental to reducing the risk from fire in the common parts. The common parts should be kept clear of any combustible materials or storage.
There should be a zero-tolerance approach, in which residents are not permitted to use the common parts to store any belongings or dispose of rubbish.
However, in well-managed, secure blocks, it is often acceptable to permit items of lower risk in the common parts, such as doormats, pot plants and pictures on walls.
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PP2055_Maintenance-Brochure_Issue-9_1_.pdf
Apollo recommend that although the detector will work after 10 years, there will be an increase in the unwanted alarms.
Smoke alarms expire because their internal sensors degrade over time, making them less effective at detecting smoke and potentially leading to false alarms or failure to activate in a fire. This degradation happens even if the alarm is still beeping when tested. Most smoke alarms have a lifespan of 10 years, and should be replaced by the "replace by" date marked on the device.
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Smoke detectors degrade with age, the NFCC recommends 10 years
NFCC reminds people to replace smoke alarms every 10 years - NFCC
As for the removal of an extinguisher, with out the building size and complexity I wouldn't like to comment, but there should be a minimum of 2 per floor
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You say that the management company upgraded the existing cabinet in 2017, the regulations have not changed that much that would make something that was compliant then not now, something to discuss with the management company.
As Anthony states, its probably more cost effective to upgrade the distribution boards to the latest regulations (which will be fire rated) that upgrade the enclosure
Management co demanding new flat doors
in Fire Doors and Accessories
Posted
A 15-year-old door would be as compliant with the latest regulations as when it was installed, the regulations for fire doors have not changed, however, there is no guarantee that the doors were compliant then installed or that the doors have not been altered that would make them uncompliant.
You should ask the agent why they are not compliant, it may be a latent defect which may be there responsibility