Fire & CO Alarms
Raising the alarm
Increasingly, the market for fire and carbon monoxide alarms in housing has been driven by regulations and standards defining the number and types of alarms required in new and existing homes. Kidde Safety Europe explains how this process is accelerating – and creating potential market growth.
extensions and alterations. They also apply to changes of use to dwellings, even where commercial buildings are converted to flats under ‘permitted development’ rules exempting them from planning permission. The Regulations themselves are non-specific and quite general but government guidelines – such as ‘Approved Document B’ for England and the ‘Scottish Technical Standards’ – provide more specific solutions for all aspects of fire safety, including alarms, as a minimum requirement. These guidelines are not suitable for existing properties where Building Regulations do not apply, as a higher level of alarm protection may be needed in older homes to take into account inferior fire protection from walls, floors and doors, and other factors.
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Differing Regulations The problem is that regulations and related guidelines applying in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all differ although they are all based on, and refer to, the Code of Practice for domestic fire alarm systems, BS 5839 Part 6:2013.
ewnews.co.uk
nstallation of smoke and heat alarms to satisfy Building Regulations is a legal requirement for all new-build homes,
Generally, all the current Regulation guidelines and the Code are consistent in requiring a system of interconnected, mains alarms with backup power (known as Grade D). It is with the number, type and locations (known as ‘Category’) of alarms that illogical differences still occur. The Code considers Category LD2 to be the minimum recommendation for all new and most existing housing. This means smoke alarms in living rooms, as well as escape routes, and also heat alarms in every kitchen.
Approved Document B Building Regulations guidelines for Scotland and Northern Ireland take a similar stance. But in England and Wales, the current Approved Document B (AD B) falls well below this essential minimum standard. Although illogically referring to BS 5839-6, Part B requires alarms only in escape routes and kitchens open to escape routes: in effect, Category LD3. But the Code considers that Category LD3: “might not prevent the death or serious injury of occupants in the room where the fire originates”. So, smoke alarms in living rooms, under Category LD2, really are important. There are also dangers in omitting heat alarms from kitchens, as over 60% of domestic fires start there.
●Continued over March 2019 electrical wholesaler | 25
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