This article was co-written by FIA technical manager Robert Thilthorpe
Graham Ellicott
You then obviously need an understanding of applicable standards and legislation, which are not tablets of stone (even if some believe them so!) and occasionally are changed and updated to reflect changing customs and practice.
For fire extinguishers, BS 5306-8 (‘Fire extinguishing installations and equipment on premises Part 8: Selection and positioning of portable fire extinguishers – Code of practice’) is an important document. During their annual visit ‘knowledgeable’ fire extinguisher service technicians will advise you on how to bring the premises in line with the code, plus any ramifications from BS 5306-3, the service standard.
What about fire alarms? Well BS 5839-1 is the bible of the fire alarm industry for commercial buildings, while BS 5839-1 applies to domestic dwellings.
Rose Park legacy
Based upon findings from the Rose Park care home fire the standard recommends that where building occupants need assistance from staff to evacuate the building (for example, in residential care homes and hospitals) the fire detection and fire alarm system should be addressable if the facility has the capacity to sleep more than 10 people.
So if you manage such premises, do you have an addressable system? This is similar to a conventional system except that the control panel can determine exactly which detector or call point has initiated the alarm.
BS 5839-1 also recommends that residential care homes should have automatic transmission of alarm signals to an alarm receiving centre.
It goes on to say that if you have a staff alarm in a care home that there should be no delay in summoning the fire and rescue service (FRS) when the fire alarm system operates, but there may be a delay in the general alarm signal, provided all staff are made aware of the signal.
There should also be no alarm filtering from care homes. This differs from all other facilities, for which the code recommends that where an investigation period is employed the FRS ought not to be called until the investigation outcome is known (except in residential care homes, where FRS shoulc be called soon as the fire alarm system operates).
As a facilities manager are you aware of your local FRS’ attendance policy for automatic fire alarm signals?
If not, then you should be. In many cases fire and rescue services will not attend an unconfirmed signal from a commercial building. For example, Buckinghamshire FRS is the only shire brigade in England that attends every signal.
Some fire and rescue services (for example, the London Fire Brigade) are now starting to charge for attendance at false alarms and in these austere times the trend will surely widen. For more information about the management of false alarms, the FIA has a dedicated website.
Rob Thilthorpe
These are changing times for all stakeholders in the fire world as funding cuts continue to change the way in which the FRS operates. It’s therefore more important than ever that those bearing responsibility for fire safety keep abreast of the regulatory situation.
A good place to start is the FIA website.
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In Russia we use an addressable fire alarm system with access control feature that is very convenient indeed. Everyday usage is the best way for check the fire alarm system.
“What about fire alarms? Well BS 5839-1 is the bible of the fire alarm industry for commercial buildings, while BS 5839-1 applies to domestic dwellings.”
Should this read?
What about fire alarms? Well BS 5839-1 is the bible of the fire alarm industry for commercial buildings, while BS 5839-6 applies to domestic dwellings.