What the law requires you to do:
- Complete a fire risk assessment for your work place (considering
all employees, the public, disabled people and people with
special needs).
- Identify and record any significant findings or persons
at risk.
- Provide and maintain fire precautions.
- Provide information, instruction and training.
- Nominate persons responsible to implement your emergency
plan.
- Consult employees about the above nominations and your
proposals to improve fire precautions
- Inform other employers who may have work places in the
building about any significant risks which may affect their
safety and cooperate with them to reduce/ control these
risks.
- If you are not an employer, but control premises which
contain more than one workplace, you are responsible for
complying with the fire regulations.
- You must establish a suitable means of contacting the
emergency services.
- Your employees must co-operate to ensure the workplace
is safe from fire and its effects.
System zoning
In order to aid identification of the source of a possible
fire, the protected building should be divided into 'zones'.
When deciding on a suitable zoning scheme for a building,
consideration should be given to the size, any existing fire
routines, escape routes, zone accessibility, and structural
fire compartmentation.
The following guide lines should be observed:
- If the total floor area of the building is less than
300m2 then the building needs only one zone, regardless
of the number of storeys.
If the total floor area is greater than 300m2:
- The maximum area for a zone is 2000m2.
- If a stairwell (or similar) extends beyond one floor it
should be a separate zone.
- If a zone covers more than one fire compartment then the
zone boundaries should follow the compartment boundaries.
- The search distance in order to ascertain the position
of the fire should not exceed 30m. Remember that the use
of Remote Indicator lamps may help to reduce the distance
travelled.
- If a building is divided between occupiers, zones must
not be shared between them.
Manual call points
A 'Manual Call Point' is a device which
enables personnel to raise an alarm in the event of a fire
incident by pressing a frangible element to activate the alarm
system.
Manual Call Points should be installed at
a height of 1.4m above floor level at easily accessible, conspicuous
positions, on exit routes, at the entry to floor landings
of staircases and at all exits to the open air.
Manual Call Points should be spaced so that
one may always be found within a maximum distance of 30m apart.
Automatic detectors
When deciding on the type of detector to
be used in any area it is important to remember that the detector
has to discriminate between a genuine fire and the normal
conditions existing therein, e.g. smoking in staff rooms,
steam from ensuite bathrooms, kitchen fumes, vehicle and forklift
truck fumes in warehouses, etc.
Generally all types of detectors should
be sited on the ceiling at the highest point of the area to
be covered. Detectors mounted at greater heights have a reduced
efficiency and in these cases further advice should be sought.
Smoke detectors general
In open spaces under flat horizontal ceilings,
every point should lie within 7.5m of a smoke detector.
Smoke detection should be generally avoided
in the following areas to avoid unwanted alarms. They should
be protected by means of other detectors such as heat detectors.
- Contamination in dusty areas may cause unwanted alarms
and reduce the life of the detector.
- Damp or humid conditions such as showers, bathrooms and
external areas should be avoided as the water vapour may
cause unwanted alarms and reduce the life of the detector.
- Detectors should not be mounted where gases, vapours or
fumes are present.
- Detectors should never be used at low temperature where
ice or condensation can affect detector sensitivity.
- Kitchens, garages, welding shops and boiler houses should
generally be avoided.
Heat detectors general
In open spaces under flat horizontal ceilings,
every point should lie within 5.3m of a heat detector.
Heat detectors are designed to either detect
a rapid rise in temperature or to operate at a fixed temperature.
Although they provide a slower response time than smoke detectors
they do provide a method of protection for areas where smoke
detectors cannot be used.
Heat detectors should not be used for the
protection of life or where extensive property loss may be
expected.
'Rate of rise' heat detectors
'Rate of Rise' heat detectors respond to
both rapid increases of temperature and to a fixed top temperature.
'Fixed temperature' heat detectors
Fixed temperature heat detectors are available
with different temperature settings, and are normally installed
in kitchens, boiler rooms, etc.
Detection in apex roofs
If the ceiling is pitched or sloping, smoke
will tend to rise towards the highest point (apex) of the
roof, therefore detection should be placed in the apex. As
the slope tends to reduce the delay before smoke or heat reaches
the detectors, it is permissible to use a greater spacing
between the detectors mounted there.
The spacing of the smoke detectors in the
apex only, may be increased by 1% for every degree of slope
of the ceiling up to a maximum of 25%.
Fire alarm sounders
Fire Alarm sounders should be installed
throughout the building with an even distribution, to generally
provide a minimum sound level of 65dB(A) or 5dB(A) above any
background noise which is likely to persist for more than
30 seconds.
Where the alarm may have to arouse sleeping
persons e.g. hotel bedrooms, nursing homes, etc, a minimum
sound level of 75dB(A) is required, at the bed head with all
the doors shut.
All fire alarm sounders in a building should
produce the same sound, distinct from any other audible warning
devices in the building.
Where fire alarm sounders are required in
extremely noisy areas e.g., machine shops, it may be necessary
to install additional 'Visual Indication Beacons'.
Cabling
The operation of a Fire Alarm and Detection
System' depends on the cabling and connections between the
components. It is essential that connection between Manual
Call Points and Detectors function correctly when they are
operated.
Cables within the system are required to
function correctly for significant periods after being attacked
by fire. These include the power supply cables to the control
panel, the detection circuits and the fire alarm sounder circuits.
Thus the cables chosen must be correctly rated to withstand
these conditions.
User responsibilities
Introduction
The responsible person is required under
BS5839 to undertake certain tasks with respect to the testing
and maintenance of the fire alarm system.
The responsible person is also required
to liaise with the building maintenance personnel to ensure
that their work does not impair or otherwise affect the operation
of the fire alarm system, and to ensure that a clear space
is maintained in the vicinity of detectors, and call-points
remain unobstructed and conspicuous.
Routine Testing
The responsible person should also ensure
that the following routine testing is carried out. If there
is a link to a remote monitoring centre it will be necessary
to advise the centre prior to a test. On larger systems it
may be necessary to isolate building services interfaces to
avoid disruption to the occupants. In any case the panel should
provide audible and visual indication that parts of the system
are disabled.
Daily
Check that the panel indicates normal operation
and that any fault is recorded. Also check that the recorded
faults have been dealt with.
Weekly
Every week, a different Manual Call Point
should be operated to test the ability of the control equipment
to receive a signal and sound the alarm. The results should
be recorded in the log book.
Biannually
The system should be checked by a fire alarm
service organisation. This may be the system installer or
an approved maintenance company, and is normally arranged
via a maintenance agreement which specifies the number of
visits and the level of service. The agreement should also
cover non-maintenance visits, eg. call outs to attend faults,
etc.
The standard specifies a number of maintenance
tasks which include a visual inspection of the installation
to ensure that there are no alterations or obstructions which
could affect the operation of the system, and functional checks
to confirm the operation of the system.
Any defects should be recorded in the log
book and reported to the responsible person. A certificate
of testing should also be completed and given to the responsible
person.
Annually
Each device on the system should be tested
for correct operation as before.
Any defects should be recorded in the log
book and reported to the responsible person. A certificate
of testing should also be completed and given to the responsible
person.
Action by the user after a fire
Advise the servicing company and arrange
for the system to be tested by them. A certificate of testing
should be issued to confirm the system operation following
the inspection and any remedial work that is necessary.
Action by the user after any false
alarm
The user can assist the servicing company
in the identification of false alarms by observing the following:
- Always make a note of all illuminated indicators
and messages displayed at the control panel.
- Try and identify the activated device, ie. Do not reset
the system until the area of the incident has been inspected.
- Record any other incidents occurring at the same time
which could affect the system, eg. power supply failure,
building works, etc.
The service organisation will be more likely
to trace the false alarm if the above information is available.
Action by the user following a fault
When a fault is reported by the control
panel, the user should note all illuminated LEDs, and the
circumstances at the time the fault occurred, and report to
the servicing company.
The service company will be able to advise
if the system is still able to respond to a fire alarm or
whether extra vigilance should be observed until the fault
is rectified. Faults should not be left unreported. |
