February 14, 20251 yr comment_47350 Hi all. I've recently been to look at a fire alarm system in a school. It was built in 2003, when the recommended minimum category of fire alarm system recommended under BS5839 was L4. However, current schools guidance is L3. 4 years ago the fire alarm panel and detection was updated on a like-for-like basis. Should the system have been upgraded to L3 at that time, or is it acceptable to stay with the original system design? Report
February 18, 20251 yr comment_47477 Guidance is not retrospective, it's up to the fire risk assessment to determine if an upgrade is required due to a change in risk or where the protection under old standards has been proven unsuitable (unusual as injuries and deaths from school fires are virtually unheard of). If the school is in England then both the Government new build and existing school guidance (BB100 & DCLG Educational Guide) still accept a Manual System as minimum, with L4 if used out of hours and L2 (or higher) as compensatory measures (e.g. for CLAP/SCOLA build schools or where other guidance departures exist). BS5839-1 suggests M or M/P2 or M/P2/L4 or M/P2/L5 Report
February 28, 20251 yr comment_47726 Hiya All. I am after some advice please. If during a service of a fire alarm system, that was found to have non fire rated cables on zones in a public house. (sounder circuits are fire rated) , could this just be noted down in the recommendations section of the NIC's FSM7C form as immediate improvements required. Report
March 3, 20251 yr comment_47812 Current installation standards are not retrospective and as long as the sounder circuits are FR it may be tolerable for an existing legacy system based on risk, detection present and as long as the panel is in 'short circuit = fire' mode and not 'short circuit = fault'. The deficiency from current standards should be noted, but as to whether is needs immediate replacement is a matter for the risk assessment Report
March 5, 20251 yr comment_47879 On 03/03/2025 at 21:51, AnthonyB said: Current installation standards are not retrospective and as long as the sounder circuits are FR it may be tolerable for an existing legacy system based on risk, detection present and as long as the panel is in 'short circuit = fire' mode and not 'short circuit = fault'. The deficiency from current standards should be noted, but as to whether is needs immediate replacement is a matter for the risk assessment Thanks Anthony Report
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