The building developer wanted advice on the likely regulatory acceptance of the existing mixed hard-wired and RF fire detection system.
Client: Beaufort House Building Ltd, London SW5
Read On → ShareMy client, a letting agency, required an inspection of a sample of flat entrance doors to establish if they possessed the required half hour fire resistance etc. It was understood that a general fire risk assessment for the builidng had previously been undertaken and the risk assessor had correctly indicated that the flat entrance doors may not have the required fire performance.
There were 280 flats in the 1930′s complex (perhaps the largest of its kind in London) and the initial ...
Read On → ShareThe new owner wanted advice on the adequacy of fire precautions for life safety in this prestigious finely finished 4-storey house, circa 1880. The main concern was means of escape using the single staircase from upper floors. I made a survey of the building and recommended a replacement of the existing fire detection and alarm systems (which comprised a partial hard wired system and a separate stand-alone system added at a later date). The recommended solution, though more expensive than ...
Read On → ShareA fire risk assessment was required under the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 and was made on this four-storey house converted into separately owned flats served by a single staircase, and a report was prepared. After a survey of the common parts and the insides of the flats, recommendations were made for a fire detection and alarm system that would give early warning (while minimising false alarms) of fire in the flats thus giving sufficient time for escape down the ...
Read On → ShareThe owner of a two-storey house had made a loft conversion but the ground floor was open plan and the staircase was not enclosed and thus not in accordance with official regulatory fire safety guidance. I was asked to provide a fire safety engineer’s report and recommendations to resolve the problems. I made a survey of the building, prepared a fire safety strategy, recommended some alterations, including improvements to a life safety sprinkler system, and prepared a report for the ...
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I was asked to provide help to get building regulation approval for a new single-storey timber framed and clad building of modern design that was intended for dual use as a hobbies room or extension of nursery facilities for the main building. The new building was set in the large back garden and was close to the site boundary therefore attracting the requirement for fire resistance in the boundary wall to prevent fire spread to adjoining property. Being timber clad ...
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This prestigious 8-storey apartment building is adjacent to Portman Square in Central London. The building incorporates a number of open-topped light wells. MDesign had designed a new interior for an apartment in the penultimate storey which featured a large air conditioning/heat pump unit venting to a 5m square light well. This unit was immediately below a bathroom window in the apartment above. The owner of the top apartment was concerned that the unit would be a fire risk.
I was asked ...
Read On → ShareThe existing 5-storey building had office accommodation over the lower 3 floors and a storey was to be added so that the upper three floors would form new flats and duplexes. There was a single full height staircase at the front and an external steel fire escape serving lower storeys at the rear. Construction of the residential units was well advanced. The problem was that building regulation guidance (para 2.51 of AD B) could be interpreted to mean that the ...
Read On → ShareThe previous use of the property was a residential hostel for the blind with ancillary office, storage and educational accommodation. The building comprises office accommodation on the ground floor and at the front part of the upper floors. The rear part of the upper floors comprised 12 studios and 24 one and two-bed flats.The owner was refurbishing the building for the purpose of using it for a hostel for people of all abilities. I was asked to prepare a fire ...
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