Fire extinguishers

[houseclearou]

I noticed that one insurer that we were going to use to cover the building and contents on a property with two rented apartments placed a condition of having serviced fire extinguishers in the building. When I asked where should these be placed and what type of fire extinguishers should be used they didn't seem to know. Any recommendations? I also happened to notice that in the UK some local authorities are now recommending that no fire extinguishers should be placed in hallways of multi-unit residential buildings because people don't know how to use them and it also delays people leaving buildings in the case of fires. Instead they're recommending better warning systems. Any views?

 

[threebedsemi]

If your apartments were constructed after 1992, there will be a fire safety certificate in existence for the building. this will have set out the standards to be complied with in relation to fire fighting equipment (among other things such as alarms etc.) you should get hold of a copy of this and examine its contents. From this you should be able to work out what fire fighting equipment you are oblidged to have in place under the Building Regulations.
It may state something like 'manual fire fighting equipment shall be installed in accordance with I.S. EN 671 (FIXED FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS) or refer to other standards.
You should then carry out a survey (or have one carried our by a competent person) to check if the relevant requirements have been complied with.
Compliance with the provisions of the fire safety cert will generally satisfy an insurance compant.

 

[Mpsox]

I noticed that one insurer that we were going to use to cover the building and contents on a property with two rented apartments placed a condition of having serviced fire extinguishers in the building. When I asked where should these be placed and what type of fire extinguishers should be used they didn't seem to know. Any recommendations? I also happened to notice that in the UK some local authorities are now recommending that no fire extinguishers should be placed in hallways of multi-unit residential buildings because people don't know how to use them and it also delays people leaving buildings in the case of fires. Instead they're recommending better warning systems. Any views?

The recomendation from our Health and Safety advisors at work were that whilst extinguishers were legally required, the policy should be to evacuate the building and forget about fighting the fire. Extinguishers should only be used if someone was trapped

 

[threebedsemi]

while health and safety advice generally recommends evacuation (and it is sensible), be careful as this doesn't remove your statutory obligations to have the required fire fighting systems in place. health and safety advisors do not in my experience always take other regulations into account....

 

[houseclearou]

As the building has been in use as apartments for decades I don't think it comes under the regulations. However, I'm looking to ensure that appropriate fire extinguishers are in place. The latest information I have from the UK is that fire blankets be provided in each unit. H2O fire extinguishers be placed in the hallway. But what about CO2 fire extinguishers etc? What do people recommend?