Posted By JAI We as a caring employer have provided our staff (6 in total) with a portacabin to use as a cloakroom and place to have breaks Smoking is not permitted but the use of a kettle and microwave will be So to the fire risk assessment I identified the usual extinguishers but came a cropper on the fire warning and detection system The cabin is stored away from the main building and will only be used on a limited basis I contacted a local fire alarm firm and they have stated the company should install a fire alarm, fire call point and two smoke alarms all wired to the fire panel which will be fitted to the inside of the portacabin? (Not good in my opinion) Thoughts please is this going to far or about right for a location with limited use and potential ignition sources Jai

Posted By Jason Wiggins I have to agree with John on this. If the cabin was going to be perminanent, then connecting it to the main building fire system would be of use,if people were using it for a length of time. But as John states it will not effect the main facility building and the cabin would have been destroyed before the fire service arrived. Try like John says keep on top of house keeping, fire extinguishers & if need be a portable smoke detector. J

Posted By John Webster Hi Robert Again, if the cabin is away from other buildings, would they need to know immediately? Anyone in the cabin is already out of the main buildings, and those within the main building should be evacuating without their help. We have several unconnected buildings on our site, and because of the vastly different ages of the AFD & alarm systems in each, several do not "talk" to each other. We don't have a problem with this. The fire procedures should be robust enough to stand up no matter who is absent at the time.

Posted By Bob Shillabeer Hummm, am I dull or what? If a fire breaks out when someone is in the portacabin will they not know it and get the hell out and raise the alarm (or possibly stand and whatch it burn down and say I thought someone else was responsible for calling the fire services, or will they be so stupid as to ignore it? Anyway if there is no one in there surely there is only risk to property which will soon be seen if anyone tries to enter! As to the fire service advise to fit AFD and alarms just tell them to go away; under the RR) such devises are only required where necessary and as a single room building used only accasionally and not directly for work purposes (Breaks and meals etc) added to its independent nature makes it unreasonable to spend upwards of £5k for such a small risk.

Posted By JAI Thanks for your the info so far The Cabin will be a permanent fixture and is therefore going to be connected to electricity and water; it is also in two sections, one used as a cloakroom the other used as a mini canteen My recommendations from the initial risk assessment include a regime of pat testing, fire awareness training and housekeeping procedures are put in place like the main building which is also a portacabin (one on top of each other), both fully alarmed The cost of the alarm system is small at around £700, and I think to be on the safe will look into have the system fitted For me the problem is the fire company would like to place the fire panel inside the cabin along with the call point, smoke detectors, siren and flashing light If the siren goes do they really expect us to look at the panel inside the cabin and see which room is on fire Jai

Posted By JAI You can hear the main building fire alarm from where the portacabin is (only 10 meters away from main building) We can include an electrical equipment inspection Rota with the weekly fire extinguisher checks The electrical installation has just been completed by a qualified electrician and would fall under the annual inspection regime The whole site falls under a smoking ban? (Smoke hut provided off site) Adding to this the site is small around the size of a football pitch with only one way in and out Jai

Posted By Ashley Wood This is an interesting one. I have seen a single portacabin type building located on a large building site grow as the contract develops into a virtual city. Looking at what information has slowly unfolded I would say there are lots of other issues for you to consider as well such as the separation distance from the main building to this Portacabin. But sticking to the original thread, I have seen cases where fire alarm contractors advocate a full BS5839 alarm system when in fact all that is required in the means to rase an alarm. This could be an air horn or other device, as long as it is recognised as the alarm by staff and visitors. However, if the main cabin complex has an alarm system fitted it would make sense to extend the system across the short distance to the other cabin by means of a catenary cable or by underground duct. If you do this then the system would have to comply, so no domestic type smoke detectors. £700 sounds reasonable to me. Regarding the fire alarm panels being inside the building. You will always find the fire alarm main panel at the entrance of a building, this is not there for you to read but for the attending fire service to look at. In the old days there used to be a code of practice called the FOC and this is where this requirement originated and then was adopted by other standards. It does not matter if the panel is in side or out. If the alarm goes off by all means pass it, look at it, remove the printed piece of paper if it has one, and leave the building. Greet the fire service when it arrives and pass on the information.

Posted By GT Robert, Dah !You have lost me!!! GT