Safety & Regulation


Advanced’s new EvacGo makes meeting the BS 8629 code of practice easy


the recommendations of BS 8629:2019, relating to buildings containing flats with a storey over 18 metres above ground level. Available to the UK market from November


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2nd, EvacGo has been designed to support any evacuation strategy chosen by the fire and rescue service. The panel, developed alongside fire industry leaders, combines EN54-2 and 4 approved MxPro 5 technology with clear, easy-to-use manual controls to ensure firefighters can quickly and effectively identify and operate alert sounders to support the safe evacuation of tall residential buildings. EvacGo provides a simple, at-a-glance overview


of a building’s evacuation alert zones, along with LED indication and manual toggle-switch controls for operating evacuation alert devices in each zone. The panels are available in 8, 16, 24 or 32 ‘fire fighter evacuation alert area’ variants and are expandable from 1 to 4 loops – or even further, when using Advanced’s highly robust, fault-tolerant network. The EvacGo panel is housed inside a robust,


security-rated enclosure meeting the STS 205 class BR2 security rating with patented BS EN 1303-compliant lock. This minimises tampering


ire protection solutions manufacturer, Advanced, has launched EvacGo, its evacuation alert system designed to meet


Although not yet a legal requirement in England, evacuation alert control and indicating equipment (EACIE) installation is already mandatory in new buildings containing flat over 18 metres in Scotland, and considered best practice by a number of fire and rescue services. Advanced, owned by FTSE 100 company


Halma PLC, protects a wide range of prestigious and high-profile, high-rise buildings across the globe – from London’s Shard to Dubai’s Landmark Group HQ and Miami’s Sands Pointe development. Halma is a global group of life-saving


and restricts access to fire and rescue service personnel only, who are able to access the controls using a patented key, as stipulated in the BS 8629 code of practice. BS 8629:2019 is the new code of practice for


the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of evacuation alert systems for use by fire and rescue services in England. In place since November 2019, this code of practice recommends the installation of a dedicated evacuation alert system intended for the sole use of the fire and rescue services, and separate from the building’s fire alarm system. It is relevant to blocks of flats with a storey located at a height of more than 18 metres above ground level.


Aico facilitate panel discussion on LACORS reform


guidance document, in partnership with the NRLA (National Residential Landlords Association). Aico’s Southern Specification Manager, Tina Mistry hosted the discussion, and was joined by panel members from Hackney Council, Leeds City Council, C S Todd & Associates Ltd and the National Residential Landlords Association. Also present were representatives from the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Greater London Authority and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. The panel discussed the impact of the LACORS


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guidance document on the varying groups within the Housing and Fire Safety sectors, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the document. It was noted that LACORS is a guidance document and not a design document and therefore should be treated as such. The simplicity and accessibility of the document was praised, for both private landlords and Local Authorities, however it was agreed that the document is quite significantly outdated and in need of review. New ownership of the LACORS document must be established following the Local Government Association’s relinquishment of their authority over LACORS. This ownership could be established by government bodies such as the Home Office, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the


ico facilitated a panel discussion on the LACORS (Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services)


Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). It was agreed amongst the panellists that the


document did not need to be completely overhauled; there were three key areas that needed updating, namely Fire Detection, Fire Doors and Fire Extinguishers. Consensus was reached that sections needed to be added to the document to include Fire Risk Assessments, examples of archetypes and Resident Engagement. All parties pledged to work collaboratively


together. It was agreed consultation for the review of the documents, re-write of the section and writing of the new sections would initially be done by all relevant parties present on the panel, then to their membership for feedback prior to agreeing a final version. It was noted that the collective group felt that this process could be undertaken within a six-month timescale. Moving forward, LACORS documents should


be updated naturally like all British Standards and that this situation should never arise again where such a platform is required. It was agreed that there are various Regulations, Standards and legislation produced from various governmental departments that refer to cross reference subjections of LACORS, and that there is a clear need to have a centralised online library where all can be reviewed parallel to one another. Concluding remarks were that the LACORS document needed ownership and subsequent


56 | HMM December/January 2021 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


consultative updates to reflect the areas raised in this discussion, after which the document would be adopted by all within the sector. It was put to the Home Office, HSE and MHCLG that a response to the issues highlighted in this panel discussion was expected in six months’ time, Monday 8th


March 2021. Tina Mistry, Southern Specification Manager


for Aico commented ‘It was great for us at Aico to facilitate this platform for all the relevant parties present together unanimously echoing the same requirements for change. Also agreeing to collaboratively work together to create the appropriate changes to keep residents safer in their homes’. Members of the panel discussion included


Colin Todd of C S Todd & Associates Ltd, Dave Offord, Operations Manager at National Residential Landlords Association, Kevin Thompson, Head of Private Sector Housing for Hackney Council, Mike Brook, Service Manager of Private Sector Housing at Leeds City Council and Gavin Dick, Chair of the National Residential Landlords Association.


01691 664100 www.aico.co.uk


technology companies with a clear purpose to grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day. Advanced is a world leader in the development


and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. Advanced’s reputation for performance, quality and ease of use sees its products specified in locations around the world, from single-panel installations, to large, multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multiprotocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging, false alarm management and reduction systems as well as emergency lighting.


0345 894 7000 www.advancedco.com


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