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Fire & CO Alarms


Understanding the new Code of Practice


A new edition of the Code of Practice for fire alarms in housing, BS 5839-6:2019, has just been published, reinforcing the importance of interconnected smoke and heat alarms as an essential first line of defence to provide early warning of fire at low cost. Stockists should familiarise themselves with the new Code to make sure that customers use enough alarms – and the right specification.


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nambiguous recommendations for domestic smoke and heat alarm systems are essential to make them effective, making occupants (and therefore also alerted fire and rescue


services) aware of fires sooner and at an earlier stage in development, reducing risk of injuries, deaths and property damage.


BS 5839-6:2019 ‘Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings - Part


6: Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in domestic premises’ provides the latest, definitive guidance. Published on 1st May this year, the Code relates to:


●dwellings designed to accommodate a single family; ●HMOs comprising self-contained units, each designed to accommodate a single person or family;


●sheltered housing, both the dwelling units and the common areas; ●supported housing and short-term self-catering. Its recommendations apply to both new and existing properties. Standards such as the Code take the form of guidance and


recommendations, and are not in themselves mandatory – although they may be referred to in specifications and used as a benchmark in many situations including legal proceedings. They often form the basis for Building Regulations requirements (such as Approved Document B) but also provide important guidance where Regulations do not apply.


Grades and Categories Important new changes to the Code are focused on ‘Grades’ (the reliability of a system in terms of its power sources) and ‘Categories’ (in which areas smoke/heat alarms are required for detection). Grades D and F – essentially mains with back-up battery and battery only, respectively – have now been sub-divided to give: Grade D1: A system of mains-powered alarms, each with a tamper-proof standby battery Grade D2: A system of mains-powered alarms, each with a “loose” user- replaceable standby battery. Grade F1: A system of battery-powered alarms each with a tamper-proof primary battery Grade F2: A system of battery-powered alarms, each with a “loose” user- replaceable battery. Here, a ‘tamper-proof battery’ is defined as one that: “is not designed to


be removed; for example, cells soldered to a printed circuit board.” The three previous Categories remain in the latest edition of the Code:


24 | electrical wholesalerJuly 2019 ewnews.co.uk Interconnectable smoke heat & CO alarms


Category LD1: a system of alarms installed throughout the premises – providing maximum protection Category LD2: a system of alarms in escape routes and in specified higher risk rooms, such as kitchen and living room Category LD3: a system of alarms in escape routes only. Minimum recommended Grades and Categories for various types of housing are set out in Table 1 of the Code. This has been simplified in the 2019 edition with just two columns covering existing, and new or materially altered properties. A previous third column – the source of much confusion – has now been removed, as proposed by Kidde. Table 1 recommendations apply where occupants or their characteristics


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