Fire Safety Regulations

By fireriskco27884571, Apr 29 2016 03:24PM

Commercial fire alarms

With our dedicated team busy helping businesses nationwide keep their fire alarms and risk assessments up to date, We thought it would be a good time to focus on the commercial side of fire alarms and the regulations in place. Here is a brief rundown of the main points.

According to the government statistics, 35% of all incidents attended were these fires have increased across the UK since last year. 93,200 reported fires were attended by the Fire and Rescue Authorities during April to September 2015, which is nearly a 7% increase than the year before. At roughly 108,000 incidents, false fire alarms constituted 40% of incidents attended by fire and rescue services in England during the period of April to September 2015. During April to September 2015, false alarms caused by apparatus made up almost two thirds (65 per cent) of all false alarms. However, there were five per cent fewer false alarms due to apparatus in this period in 2015 compared to 2014, at 70,700 incidents.

For those that did have an alarm installed, 35% were operational and raised the alarm, 5% were operational, but failed to raise the alarm, and 13% of the alarms were not in working order and failed to raise an alarm. Remember that it is important to regularly test your fire alarm and keep up to date with its services in order for it to be kept reliable.

There are many fire codes in place which are becoming more enforced every year, particularly for public buildings. For instance, BS5839 Part 1: 2013 is The British Standard for Fire Alarms in Non Domestic premises, and BS5266 is the Code of Practice for Emergency Escape Lighting. There are many resources online to help you know what regulations your business must adhere to.

BS5839 Pt1:2013 lists that:

• Residential care homes must now have automated fire service response and those with 10+ bedrooms must have addressable fire alarms.

• The lack of a Zone Plan is now regarded as “Major Non Compliance”

• There must be new stringent detector coverage for buildings with high ceilings.

• Requires the filtering of alarm calls – automated fire service response requires human confirmation.

At Fire Risk Consulting we provide the expertise to design, install, commission and service your fire alarm system. This process allows us to tailor your system to your specific business needs and ensure you are up to code.

The design of a fire alarm is very important and time should be taken to make sure all factors of the sensor coverage and building architecture are taken into account. Skimping at the design stage could end up costing you a lot more overall. As well as the design, make sure that your installers are properly approved as typically 88% non-approved systems that we inspect fail to meet the standards.

• No current maintenance contract in place. It is a requirement of BS5839:2002 Pt1 that systems are serviced a minimum of 6 monthly intervals.

• The 230v mains spur-point supplying power to the system does not meet the regulations.

• Non fireproof cable has been used.

• Incorrect cable fixings. Probably the most common failing is to secure the cable with plastic clips rather than metal fireproof fastenings.

• No zone schematic adjacent the control panel. There should be a zone drawing complete with a “You Are Here” marker.

• No weekly testing taking place.

There are different fire alarm categories depending on the requirements of your property. The decision of choosing which category you fall into is down to the “responsible person”.

• L5 – An engineered solution (only very complicated buildings such as shopping centre.)

• L4 – Manual call points throughout, sounders throughout and automatic detection on escape routes and stairs.

• L3 – As L4 plus automatic detection in the rooms leading onto escape routes.

• L2 – As L3 plus automatic detection in any other high risk areas (e.g. a kitchen.)

• L1 – Manual call points throughout, sounders throughout, and automatic detection throughput.

• P2 – Sounders throughput and automatic detection in specified areas.

• P2M – Manual call point throughput, sounders throughput and automatic detection in specified areas.

• P1M – Manual call point throughput, sounders throughput and automatic detection throughput.

• P1 – Sounders throughput and automatic detection throughput.

At Fire Risk Consulting our services and installations are approved by BAFE and have achieved the highest levels of inspection. You can rest assured with us that your alarm is to a standard that complies with government requirements. For more information on what we can do for your business, get in touch to arrange a meeting with a surveyor or to schedule a Fire Risk Assessment.

By fireriskco27884571, Apr 29 2016 02:42PM

“In our opinion Fire Risk Consulting undertake a terrific service on all fire and life safety consultancy works and advice that Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have commissioned them for the numerous properties across the trust.

Fire Risk Consulting has demonstrated their knowledge and competence when requested to survey, concept to detailed design, and produce specifications to tender stage for new projects. The Foundation Trust has also commissioned Fire Risk Consulting to undertake trust wide fire risk assessments on to an electronic online cloud database.

The directors and staff at Fire Risk Consulting can be found to be courteous, helpful, and professional; it is a pleasure working with all at Fire Risk Consulting. As a person responsible for the Foundation Trust properties and its engineering systems I would personally recommend Fire Risk Consulting to anyone wishing to seek advice and services in relation to Fire Safety and Management.

Working with companies who adopt 3rd party accreditation is important to us providing us with the necessary assurances which Fire Risk Consulting definitely meet this requirement with their BAFE SP 203-1 NSI Fire Silver accreditation.”

By fireriskco27884571, Mar 31 2016 03:53PM

Fire Risk Consulting has recently been audited by our third party accreditation body the NSI under the BAFE SP203-1 scheme requirements to ensure we follow this scheme protocol, which we successfully passed.

The scheme is used to regulate the industry across the UK for those that choose to have their competence assessed. It also allows for companies who require updated systems to search for a BAFE Fire Detection and Alarm Systems SP203-1 registered company.

Certificates are only awarded to companies that comply fully and pass each module of study so that you can ensure the standards are adhered to. For more information on the scheme and how it works, view our website.

By fireriskco27884571, Mar 31 2016 03:52PM

The business continuity plan should have a clearly defined purpose. Key members of staff should be identified and their roles defined. Key contractors should be listed with their contact points. Provision should be made for staff welfare as well as practical steps to ensure that the effect on business operations is minimised. A copy of the plan should be kept off the site.

Have the risks from fire been properly assessed and prioritised? Do these include risks to assets and business as well as risks to safety?

Are there nominated staff to manage any emergency situation and limit damage?

Is there a Business Recovery Plan in place and is it up to date?

Are key records, emergency plans and contact details duplicated off site?

Is there a detailed emergency fire plan in place? Is this up to date and has this been brought to the attention of all staff?

Are all key staff aware of their duties and have they been properly trained?

Check that key staff can be contacted out of hours if necessary and that sufficient copies of the plan are held in readiness off site.

For more information, call one of our team today.