Fire Brigade advice

[Octopus]

Not true, the requirement for "non-combustible" CU casings came directly from LFB.

It may have come from the LFB, but it wouldn't have got any traction if the IET and the schemes hadn't encouraged it.

I'm 99% certain that the IET are clutching at straws to come up with more and more regs to justify the AMD's

 

[Guest666]

Me personally. I think the CU reg is justified.

 

[gutterball]

To get this back on topic. I agree that some protection is better than none, and I don't expect them to fit mains smokes . But I would expect them to advise that the battery ones are a minimum level of protection and explain the choices available.

 

[Octopus]

Me personally. I think the CU reg is justified.

Utter clap trap. Are you a FB employee?

 

[Engineer54]

Me personally. I think the CU reg is justified.

Perhaps you can substantiate that statement??

The IET seem to be having some trouble in that area, let's see if you can do better...

 

[tazz]

Shotgunsteve...or AKA UKESrail, .....BYE BYE Again...!!!

 

[Engineer54]

Shotgunsteve...or AKA UKESrail, .....BYE BYE Again...!!!

That explains some things!! lol!!

 

[edexlab]

Small point ....
Most ten year domestic type Smoke alarms ie Aico are presumably called this due to the rechargeable battery lifespan,
yet the actual detection elements are only guaranteed for 5 years after which the element is meant to be tested as per manufacturers guidance,
Yet its a common conception that you can fit and forget for 10 years
People need to check the instructions!

 

[Paul.M]

That explains some things!! lol!!

He stuck out like a saw thumb, my ban stick came out again. Bye bye hopefully for the last time?

 

[tazz]

Small point ....
Most ten year domestic type Smoke alarms ie Aico are presumably called this due to the rechargeable battery lifespan,
yet the actual detection elements are only guaranteed for 5 years after which the element is meant to be tested as per manufacturers guidance,
Yet its a common conception that you can fit and forget for 10 years
People need to check the instructions!

This is the recommended life span of any serviced optical/ion detector, weather aico or professional Apollo/Hochiki. Problem is part 6 domestic, if not serviced/tested correctly, I find pushing a test button a bit hit & miss, and would suggest a correct smoke test be conducted atleast once a year. I would also suggest the battery life, is a calculation only, with alarm activations, reducing the capacity.

 

[gutterball]

They need vacuumed to clear the dust every now and then, but I'm willing to bet 99% don't get done. With the push button test you need to keep a record of which one was tested and test at another next time, rather than testing the same one all the time. My advice to clients is to pick a date, i.e. when the clocks go back and forward to check and maintain the alarms.

 

[UNG]

I have no problem with fire men doing home safety visits.
by all means stick some battery alarms in and tick some boxes.
i am old enough to remember when the fire service got involved in the installation of fire alarms and the like and would tell you what THEY wanted.
we all knew where we stood then.
they were the experts in fire and were usually helpful in fulfilling your fire safety requirements.
ffwd 20 years and they don't want to know. only to hang you if something's not quite right in their eyes.
at a shopping centre job I do a bit at , me and the manager spotted a flaw in the design of a large unit where the smoke extract as 3 times as powerful in the centre rather than the proposed one in the unit which was about 60m away.
the laws of physics kinda dictated that if there was a fire the centre extract would totally bypass the units smoke extract and drag smoke for 60m through the unit.
totally defeating the purpose of the units system.
did the fire service and the building control come up with a solution.....
did they ****.
it was a specialist problem and they washed their hands of it.

You have highlighted the problem that the introduction of the RRO 2005 for commercial premises created

When the fire brigade moved from a licencing role to an enforcement role they became stuck between a rock and a hard place as they could not advise on something they may later have to take enforement action against

With regard to the domestic sector the biggest problem appears to be the lack of training or knowledge of the building regs and the requirements for smoke detectors in the newer properties, I had a visit from the fire brigade last year offering smoke detectors had a chat with the guy at the door regarding the building regs and how the properties in the small estate I live in all needed mains linked fire alarms as they were all built around 1999 - 2000 he seemed totally unaware of the requirements and went back to the appliance for a chat and they left shortly after

I suppose the key issue is training and keeping up to speed with the ever changing regs and requirements not just in one field but all the related fields that impact on the advice being given and that applies to all disciplines not just the fire brigade