Posted By Renny Thomson Have a chat with your local Fire Service. They will probably require smoke detector alarm system to be fitted. You should also check the heating systems (gas- CO)

Posted By Frank Hallett Hi James You don't make it totally clear what circumstances you're considering; it could be in existing licensed hotel/boarding house accommodation or it could be in purpose provided "hostel" type accom operated by the employer. It could even be the provision of rooms in the existing place of work that can be turned into sleeping accom for employees who have extended waiting times for flights etc [I know of at least three international companies that provide this facility on site]. If it's a "hostel", it's not strictly a "workplace" for the staff involved but it will be for the ancillary staff; so the W[HSW] Regs should be applied together with all the other H&S stuff. Under current fire safety legislation it would appear that [from the info provided by you] it will fall outside the designating order that brings hotels & boarding houses into the scope of the Fire Precautions Act. It will haowever, probably fall into the category popularly known as a "hostel" [and I don't mean for vagrants etc]. Therefore, the FP[W] Regs will apply until April 2006 and then the new regime under the RR[FS]O will apply. There will not be a huge change in the standards to be expected when it changes. If it's the adaptable "on-site" rooms, you will need to exercise a great deal more caution. This is not a situation that lends itself to easy descriptive discussion here. By all means involve the local Fire Prevention Dept but remember that you will have to produce your FRA and they will want to see it and consider whether you have achieved an acceptable standard of safety. Frank Hallett

Posted By Frank Hallett OK James, I totally missed the point then! From your additional info, you should now consider the following:- Is the intent to provide a proper sleeping arrangement for the night-staff or is the situation one that requires a member of staff to be present and requires them to respond quickly to situations but allows them to nap or rest whilst remaining immediately accessible? The former will require proper sleeping accommodation and everything that goes with it; the second will not necessarily require the same standard of facilities at all. Any other offers on this? There are loads of similar situations around the country that present the same problems. Frank Hallett