Calling all you fire safety experts out there. I have a query regarding the sounding of fire alarms. We have an area of buildings that is divided by a service road. Area 1 as it where is the main office building, area 2 has the garages a small office, flammable stores and vehicle workshop. If the alarm sounds in area 1 it does not in area 2 and vica verse. Following a fire risk assessment it was felt that this should be altered so if area 1 was alight all persons in the area would know to go to the assembly area and even more importantly if area 2 was alight (which after all has all the nasties stored in it) the occupants of area 1 would be notified and get out of the way to the assembly area. This recommendation has been resisted and proof of this requirement has been requested - as it would cost quite a bit to alter the existing system. Does anyone know if, due to the close proximity of one building to another the systems should be linked and which BS standard if any advises this, or any document for that matter? I've looked in BS 5839 and can't find any clues. Hoping someone can shed some light on this for me Thanks

IMHO If the two buildings are seperated by a service road I can't see the need for the alarms to be cross linked. I cannot speak for the person that gave you this advice but I could imagine that their decision has been effected by the fact the two buildings are under single occupancy. It may be that if your staff regularly move from one building to the other the only way that he or she could think of accounting for everyone would be by evacuating everyone. If you evacuated one building and couldn't account for somebody they could be either trapped in the burining building or over the road sipping tea in the other. These factors would have a bearing on whether or not the Fire & Rescue Services would risk sending someone in to do a search.