[Bs 5839 Part 6 Pdf 198
Sharif Garmon
I live in a converted block of flats (7 leasehold flats, mostly tenanted) three storeys high with a longstanding, fully working and regularly, professionally maintained and certificated central fire alarm system interlinked to heat and smoke detectors.
When I wrote to my local authority about a completely unrelated fire safety matter, they told me that we are legally obliged to retrofit additional mains-powered, interlinked heat detectors in all 7 kitchens in the building owing to a change to BS 5839 Part 6 in 2019.
I have since made enquiries and found it would cost an arm and a leg and the service charge fund is needed for other, more urgent things such as damp and movements of our external walls. We cannot afford "nice to haves", at least not at present or in the foreseeable future.
No, it is not retrospective, nor is a British Standard a legal requirement. A Fire Risk Assessment can suggest an upgrade is necessary but only where it can be clearly demonstrated that protection provided by the existing old standards is substantially inadequate for the risks present and only the new standard will adequately safeguard the safety of persons. I've helped advise clients before in similar situations, they took the matter to a First Tier Tribunal & they won and did not have to pay for the unnecessary works a local authority had carried out.
This document is intended as a guide to BS 5839 Part 6: 2019 and is not a substitute for reading the Code of Practice itself. Instead, it's designed to help make the implications and recommendations of BS 5839 Part 6 more clearly understood, and to offer advice on how to design, install, commission, and maintain a system that meets the requirements, with reference to the 2019 amendments.
BS 5839-6 is the key standard for fire detection in domestic premises. The standard is used by architects and other building professionals, enforcing authorities, installers, and contractors, and applies to domestic premises accommodating single families, houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and sheltered housing (housing and common areas). It is written to assist such professionals in compliance and will help make installations easier to audit, but its guidance for simpler systems may be used by non-specialists.
BS 5839 Part 6 is not intended for householders themselves, but to provide guidance and recommendations for architects and other building professionals, enforcing authorities, contractors, and others responsible for implementing fire precautions in buildings. Householders should instead refer to the Government guidelines in Approved Document B Volume 1.
It is also pointed out that compliance with a British Standard cannot automatically confer legal immunity. However, for a landlord or installer, compliance with the latest Code is often the best line of defence in any claim made against them.
BS 5839 Part 6 is primarily concerned with saving lives and reducing injuries. However, it does contain within it recommendations for helping to reduce property damage too. Good fire safety practice and adherence to the Code can give the best possible early warning of fire and so reduce the financial impact as well as human suffering.
It should also be noted that existing premises with alarm systems installed according to previous versions of the Code, such as those complying with older Building Regulations that reference BS 5839-6: 2004 or 2013, do not automatically need to replace or amend their systems to meet the latest edition.
BS 5839 Part 6 grades fire detection systems from Grade F up to Grade A. Generally speaking, the greater the fire risk and the more demanding the application, the more comprehensive the system needs to be. This relates to system engineering, not level of protection.
While it is possible, and acceptable under the Code, to have a mixed-Grade system installed, this is something that should be done based on clear requirements being identified during a risk assessment and in coordination with appropriate Building Regulations and enforcing authorities. An example would be a Grade A Category LD2 system in the communal areas of a HMO supplemented by separate Grade D1 Category LD1 systems in each residential unit.
BS 5839 Part 6 acknowledges the advantages of the single battery-operated smoke alarm for existing premises, though tamper-proof batteries are preferred. They are simple to install and offer protection at very low cost. Battery-operated smoke alarms conforming to BS EN 14604: 2005, a specification for the manufacturing and performance of smoke alarms, are recommended. Battery operated smoke alarms are typically suitable for owner-occupied buildings (existing buildings) with up to two storeys.
Take care to differentiate between F1 (tamper-proof batteries that last the full life of the alarm) and F2 (user-replaceable batteries that will not last the full life of the alarm) when selecting alarms for your property.
For additional protection in a property where battery-operated alarms are installed and replacing them with mains-powered units would not be feasible, consider upgrading to alarms that have wireless interlink so that all alarms in the system will sound when one detects a fire.
The problems outlined above can be overcome by using mains powered alarms that incorporate, within each alarm, a stand-by supply such as a primary or rechargeable battery. The alarms have to be interconnected either through wiring or radio-interlink. The mains power supply can come from a dedicated power supply directly from the fuse box or from the nearest permanently powered light fitting, as long as the smoke alarm heads can be removed without removing the base as well and the light switch does not cut mains power to the alarm.
Grade D2 is required for new, owner-occupied buildings of up to three storeys, while rented properties both new and existing should comply with Grade D1. Existing owner-occupied buildings may use Grade F2 alarms. Premises with very large storeys (>200m2), except single-storey buildings, require a Grade A alarm system.
Take care to differentiate between D1 (tamper-proof backup batteries that last the full life of the alarm) and D2 (user-replaceable backup batteries that will not last the full life of the alarm) when selecting alarms for your property.
More expensive high-specification systems can offer connection of all fire detection devices to a common power supply via low voltage transformers, or interlinked fire and security systems. Again, a minimum 72 hour back-up is recommended by the Code. Due to the complexity of A, B and C Grades, we have omitted the descriptions from this short guide.
Other HMOs where each dwelling comprises a single room:
Mixed system: Grade A Category LD2 in common areas, in accordance with BS 5839-1: 2017 Category L2, and with connected heat detectors in bedsits which have cooking facilities. Additionally, Grade D1 Category LD1 in the bedsit itself (not connected to the communal system) to protect the sleeping occupant(s).
Two storey house converted to self-contained flats (prior to 1991 Building Regulations):
Mixed system: Grade D1 Category LD2 in common areas and heat detector in each flat (room / lobby opening onto escape route) connected to the communal system, plus Grade D1 Category LD3 in each flat (not connected to the communal system) to protect the sleeping occupant.
For smoke alarms, the Code recommends not using them in or near kitchens, bathrooms, or shower rooms. Optical smoke alarms are less sensitive to things like smoke and steam compared to ionisation smoke alarms and so can be used nearer to such rooms, but should still not be used inside them. Smoke alarms are also the recommended type for circulation areas, the rooms that comprise the escape route(s) in your premises such as staircases and hallways, and the Code suggests using optical smoke alarms in such rooms wherever possible. Please note that most manufacturers are in the process of phasing out ionisation alarms due to various environmental and transport issues related to the use of radiation sources; optical sensor technology is now acknowledged as interchangeable where older ionisation models are installed.
For kitchens and garages, dedicated detectors are available called heat alarms. As the name suggests, they operate by detecting abnormally high temperatures in their surroundings. Because of how they work they are immune to the typical causes of nuisance alarms like burned toast, steam from cooking, or dust. However, they cover smaller areas than a smoke alarm and take longer to be triggered by common household fires, so are not usually used in any other rooms.
CO fire sensors are not very common in the domestic market and only react to a specific subset of fires, so the Code only allows them under strict conditions. As with normal CO alarms that are used near boilers, CO fire sensors detect carbon monoxide released during incomplete combustion, but are set to react at a much lower parts-per-million (ppm) threshold. Generally this type of alarm should only be used in systems of Grades A and C according to requirements identified in risk assessment, but can then be used in combination with, or in place of, smoke alarms if the device gives a fault warning in advance of the sensor's end-of-life similar to a low battery warning.
Multi-sensor alarms combine two or more sensor types, most commonly optical and heat, to accomplish: decreased reaction time to a fire event; decreased occurrence of false alarms; or both of these factors. Subject to compliance with either BS EN 54-7 or BS EN 14604: 2005, which are specifications for the manufacturing and performance of smoke detectors, multi-sensor alarms can be used in place of smoke alarms when following the Code.
In terms of wiring, focus is given to correctly labelling isolating equipment attached to circuits powering your alarms. Any such isolator must be clearly labelled as being responsible for isolating alarm power circuits, in the hopes of preventing people from unnecessarily deactivating alarms.
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