Posted By Steve JB Does anyone have any info regarding fire risk assessments for an office premises where there are residental flats above. I.e recommendations for fire detection and alarm where the workplace has an impact on domestic premises and the domsetic premises could have a a significant impact on business. Thanks Steve

Posted By Steve JB Hi Ashley, Thanks for the response. The building is Victorian, part wooded floors above, part concrete, no communal areas, no requirements to access the flats (and the opposite no requirements for the residents to access the workplace), the flats have their own measns of access and agress, no disabled people in the offices, it isn't open plan. Any ideas? Steve

Posted By Ashley Wood Steve JB, Questions, questions, questions! Are the flats above privately owned or are they rental and owned by the same landlord who owns the offices? A detection and alarm system in the commercial/office areas should be installed. Make sure that a weather proof (IP rated) alarm sounder is located outside, front and back to warn occupants above that the system has gone off. This should be designed, installed and maintained in accordance with BS5839 Pt1. Look at the integrity of the ceilings within the ground floor area. Make sure that there are no holes/gaps that would enable rapid smoke and flame spread to upstairs and the other way round. Make sure that the escape stairs (if external) do not pass windows from the ground floor on the way down. If they do then you need to block these as they could hinder escape from above if a fire develops downstairs. The residents above do not come under the RRFSO and as such can not be made to have fitted smoke detectors and alarms, however, if the landlord is the same then there may be a way that he/she can insist on it as part of the lease. A detailed risk assessment of the offices is essential to highlight any problems that could endanger the persons above. e-mail me Steve if you want any help? Best regards Ashley

Posted By shaun mckeever Steve I investigated a fire that occurred in a mixed use building consisting of offices, restaurant and flats above. The fire actually occurred in the restaurant and, despite the fire separation, a significant quantity of smoke percolated through to the flats above. These flats were in the middle of Piccadilly so not your ordinary run of the mill residents. Very influential people. They did not appreciate being turfed out because of the fire and prevented the restaurant from re-opening for several weeks until cast iron guarantees were in place regarding the connection of the fire alarm amongst other things. I dealt with all the recommendations on behalf of the landlord. In this particular case the restaurant has its own independent fire alarm, as does the offices and the flats. The agreement is that the restaurant will have a link to the residents fire alarm with a built in 4 minute delay. This gives the opportunity for the fire alarm to be silenced by the restaurant if it is a false alarm. At the time the recommendation was made the restaurant would have someone on site available 24 hours per day. This has changed recently and no one is available at night. This means that any spurious alarm in the middle of the night will cause the tenants to be unneccessarly evacuated. I am about to revisit the site to make further recommendations. I'm not sure if this helps you but I think it is worth knowing what experiences others have had.

Posted By Richard Baxter Fire risk assessment for public house, can anyone provide me with a sample completed assessment, helping a friend regards Richard

Posted By Richard Baxter Thanks JB, any further help appreceated. Richard