Automatic fire detection

[A J]

I have been asked by a client to see whether his fire alarm system is adequate in his recently aquired premises. The building consists of a single floor office area at the front of the building, through to a large stores and warehousing area with a mezzanine floor above. There are sufficient escape routes from all areas with BGU at each exit door. The building is used for storage and light engineering works.
The local alarm company have installed an L2 system in the office area (new build), but has not added detection in the main working areas. The building used to have a sprinkler system installed but this has since been removed.
 My concern is that the main working area is not open plan and has several rooms and dividing walls separating it, so if a fire started in the stores area the other rooms on the other side of the building would be unaware unless a BGU was activated. Also with the removal of the sprinkler system there is damage to the wallls and ceilings so smoke spreading is a even bigger hazard. I would consider smoke detection to be installed in all areas would I be right?

[AnthonyB]

Can you control the risk? For example what ignition sources are present in the stores - there shouldn't be anything other than light fittings as storage and working areas should be seperate where possible.

How likely is a fire to spread such as to prejudice escape before being detected by staff or the existing heads? To what level of fire resistance are the partitions and are they intact with no fire stopping issues?

The nose is a fair detector & with no sleeping risk and single occupancy it is possible that for life safety few or no extra heads are required. Property protection is another matter.

Without seeing the place I wouldn't want to say for sure either way - you may need some extras, but not everywhere to L1.

I see a lot of detectors being bunged in places when there is no actual life risk requiring them and it seems to be a property protection thing or a sales thing.

[Allen Higginson]

I have been asked by a client to see whether his fire alarm system is adequate in his recently aquired premises. The building consists of a single floor office area at the front of the building, through to a large stores and warehousing area with a mezzanine floor above. There are sufficient escape routes from all areas with BGU at each exit door. The building is used for storage and light engineering works.
The local alarm company have installed an L2 system in the office area (new build), but has not added detection in the main working areas. The building used to have a sprinkler system installed but this has since been removed.
 My concern is that the main working area is not open plan and has several rooms and dividing walls separating it, so if a fire started in the stores area the other rooms on the other side of the building would be unaware unless a BGU was activated. Also with the removal of the sprinkler system there is damage to the wallls and ceilings so smoke spreading is a even bigger hazard. I would consider smoke detection to be installed in all areas would I be right?

It depends (as already pointed out) on what the risk is and to what purpose the fire alarm is serving.An L2 system should (if done right) be adequate in protecting the escape routes.I would ask to see which rooms are included over and above what is required in an L3 system (ie - areas of identifed fire risk for detection to be installed).

[A J]

Thanks  Anthony B and Buzzard905 for your posts,
Generally the risks are tins of thinners which are left open, packaging materials stored around the forklift charger & large ammounts of combustibles, and on reflection not a lot of ignition sources, these risks can be adequately controlled.
The other rooms house a welding area spray shop machine shop and electrical engineers room all are separated by fire resisting partitions and doors. the mezzanie however is open but has three escape routes from it.
I take your point Anthony about property protection, with the ammount of exits there would be reduced life risk but higher property risk if a fire took hold.

[kurnal]

The benchmark standard for an occupied workplace is a manual system. Thats the platform on which detection may be needed to compensate for other shortcomings.  Generally if there is the opportunity for persons to turn their back on a fire and walk away from it to a place of safety, and if in doing so the fire is not going to develop so quickly or fill the place with smoke to the extent that they become trapped, then detection should not be necessary. If it has a mezzanine then there will most likley be a good high ceiling to create a large natural smoke reservoir. The mezzanine may warrant consideration- depending on what its used for and how big.

Make sure they sort out the basics though- theres no excuse for open tins of thinners!

[A J]

Kurnal,
Thanks for the advice, they have the basic L2 in place, if I emphasize that the housekeeping must be improved then there will be no further action required for the detection issue as the mezzanine is used mostly for storage. It concerns me when I come across such potentially dangerous situations which can be so easily prevented like the thinners ect but I suppose thats what FRAs are all about.

Thank you all for your help.