Hi Sam,

The landlord is responsible for ensuring the safety of the building as a whole. To that end, they must ensure that there is a suitable means of detection and a suitable means to raise the alarm. In your case, I guess the means to raise the alarm criteria has been met. However, the means of detection has not.

Although you have mentioned the common areas, these are not normally the only areas under the control of the landlord. There is likely to be at least 1 plant room, e.g. the main electrical intake room which should also be fitted with automatic fire detection devices (AFD).

What the landlord should have is a fire risk assessment covering the 'landlord-controlled areas' of the building. If this is undertaken by a competent fire risk assessed it will have picked up on the lack of a suitable fire alarm system (as there is no AFD installed) and made recommendations to have a suitable system installed.

It should be noted, that the landlord may only have to install enough AFDs to give an overall level of protection, and this may be insufficient detection to cover your demise (depending on what you do). You may also be given the responsibility for the maintenance of any AFD installed within your demise but the key is you need a system to be installed before it can be maintained.

I assume suitable emergency lighting (EML) is installed within the common areas. These should be installed and maintained by the landlord. It should be noted that the landlord is not responsible for the provision or maintenance of EML in demised areas.

Your starting point is to get a hold of the landlord's FRA. They have to legally provide you with a copy. If there don't have one then clearly getting them to have one completed by a competent FRA assessor should resolve the issue. If you are unhappy with their FRA you could ask your fire risk assessor (you are required to have your own FRA for your demise as a tenant) to review its adequacy. They should be able to give you a more justified reasoning as to why specifically the existing manual system is inadequate. 

Hope it helps,

Tony.

Originally Posted by: antbruce001

There is likely to be at least 1 plant room, e.g. the main electrical intake room which should also be fitted with automatic fire detection devices (AFD).

I agree with the general thrust of your reply Tony, in that the Landlord (or owner or managing agents) will be responsible for the FRA for the common parts. Furthermore, they should be sharing the significant findings with other RPs in the premises.

But with the greatest of respect, I cannot see how anyone can say this building needs AFD from the information supplied.  Only a full inspection of the premises and talking to those responsible for fire safety could ever give sufficient information to enable such advice to be supplied.
A Cat M system can be acceptable in office premises - even those that have been divided into separate demises. Offices are generally low risk occupied by persons who are awake and familiar with the premises. As such, a Cat M can been entirely suitable and sufficient. 

I accept that a L system may be required, but only after a better understanding of the premises and the type of activities undertaken there.

Giving such definitive advice ("AFD should be fitted") without knowing more information is not a great idea. Significant findings that are created by the FRA should originate from the risk presented. Quoting guidance as it being a requirement can lead to over specifying what needs to be done to make the premises compliant.
Surely the skill in carrying out a FRA is using your judgement in determining what measures are required. Just quoting guidance blindly without considering the resource implications is not giving your client value for money