Morning everyone, I'm sure this has been answered many times before, can anyone advise on the legal status of approved document B? The reason I'm asking this is I have a problem where I've been undertaking fire risk assessments on retail stores. When I did the NEBOSH Fire Certificate I was advised to use approved document B to assist with the fire risk assessment for details of compartment and floor spaces etc including the requirement of sprinklers. What I'm finding is that the majority of the buildings I've been assessing are over the 2000 square metres allowed for a single story compartment using the table in document B. Now as I'm sure you can understand to install sprinklers in to a retail store when there are 30+ stores is going to be a significant cost and has been met with great concern. I can understand that buildings constructed before 2000 are not required but some of these buildings have been purchased and modified after 2000 I'm stuck with this. The property director is saying that approved document B is a guide and it's not compulsory and this is why I'm trying to find out more information. I've had a look on the internet and tried to contact the Local Government and Communities officer for Approved Document B but I'm not getting a response. I'd be really grateful of your help. Best Regards Barney#1

Sorry, parts of ADB are mandatory. At the beginning of each section, you will find what is known as the 'Functional Requirements'. It's usually a paragraph or two. Look at page 15 of volume 2, and the bit in the green box is the requirement - the legal bit - in terms of early warning (B1). Then the rest of the section (45 pages in B1) gives advice how to meet the functional requirements. It's this part (ie. the majority of ADB) that is advisory. I would also be a bit careful when using ADB for risk assessing as it should only be applied on new builds or significant extensions etc