Are polystyrene tiles lega

[Tom Sutton]

I am need of some general advice please are polystyrene tiles legal? I realise if there was to be a fire that they would catch alight easily not to mention the toxic fumes they would give off? Are there any legal requirements these days? any advice is much a appreciated...

I received the above query the other day and surprised it is still going the rounds. Whats the modern point of view?

[nearlythere]

I am need of some general advice please are polystyrene tiles legal? I realise if there was to be a fire that they would catch alight easily not to mention the toxic fumes they would give off? Are there any legal requirements these days? any advice is much a appreciated...

I received the above query the other day and surprised it is still going the rounds. Whats the modern point of view?

Most likely legal Tom otherwise would not be available for purchase. There would definately be issues with their use on ceilings (mostly) in most locations due to classification of surface spread of flame which, regardless of how treated, may not be met. They are used mostly in the private domestic environment where there is little control but unlikely to find them elsewhere. Unless you know otherwise.

[Tom Sutton]

Thanks NT it appears we have discussed this before check out http://fire.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=3566.msg35995#msg35995 but I did find the public information film, appears a little over the top. All the answers I need are there including your good self, thanks again.

[colin todd]

Ah Tam, the old Ministry of Information.  Does that not take you back.  Remember the old TV ads about how to join a motorway just after they built the M1.

[Tom Sutton]

True how true CT and young and whipper snappers, just out of university, telling the fire brigades how to do fire safety, it only took forty years, happy days.

[colin todd]

Yeah, Tam but they still have not all quite learned though some have.  Sadly, there are still dinosaurs around, notwithstanding the whipper snappers endeavours to educate them.

[colin todd]

and what about the one around the same time of how to mkae a 999 call.  Today, they would need to say that, of course, in the case of many fire brigades in England, there is no point because they wont turn out anyway.  Not like when you were sending back fireflash messages from phone boxes, eh Tam.

[Tom Sutton]

True we carried three pence in the back pocket of our lancer tunic for that purpose, because we never trusted that newfangled wireless. Also, dust goggles a wedge and belt line (no chance of undoing the blood knot on our belt) happy days.

[Owain]

True we carried three pence in the back pocket of our lancer tunic for that purpose, because we never trusted that newfangled wireless.

Didn't you know how to make a free call for fire brigade purposes via the operator?

I don't know if it still works so I won't say online how it was done in case everyone decides to make a fire call to Australia

[nearlythere]

True we carried three pence in the back pocket of our lancer tunic for that purpose, because we never trusted that newfangled wireless.

Didn't you know how to make a free call for fire brigade purposes via the operator?

I don't know if it still works so I won't say online how it was done in case everyone decides to make a fire call to Australia

Was it fire flash?

[kurnal]

As I recall it changed in the late 70s  to civil distress and civil urgent. We had to use it a fair bit in the sticks where there was no vhf radio coverage. I bet its still needed today as cellphone networks  and digital radio systems don't seem to bother covering rural areas. 

We just used to ask the operator  for a distress call.

[Tom Sutton]

Didn't you know how to make a free call for fire brigade purposes via the operator?

I believe in the days of the manual exchanges you needed to put your money in the box before you could dial "O" for the operator then you could ask for a fire flash call and get priority and they would pass you from exchange to exchange on till you got control.. Don't forget to press button "A" or "B" to get your money back.

[nearlythere]

Didn't you know how to make a free call for fire brigade purposes via the operator?

I believe in the days of the manual exchanges you needed to put your money in the box before you could dial "O" for the operator then you could ask for a fire flash call and get priority and they would pass you from exchange to exchange on till you got control.. Don't forget to press button "A" or "B" to get your money back.

Could you not just have tapped the phone?

[Owain]

I believe in the days of the manual exchanges you needed to put your money in the box before you could dial "O" for the operator

Phones on manual exchanges didn't have dials 

Payphones had a special dial that could dial 0 for Operator without coins being inserted. That was one reason why 999 was chosen as the emergency number, it was easy to modify the payphone dials so that 9 could be dialled without coins as well.

[kurnal]

The old kiosks with button A and B had an emergency button on the wall at the back of the kiosk. I remember pressing it as a young lad to tell the operator a joke. She did not appreciate it.

I think you put your money in then asked for the number, when the other end answered you pressed button A otherwise the person at the other end could not hear you. Pressing button A dropped the coins into the phone, button b was for coin return if nobody replied.

Now heres a question for the old timers, in the days of old round pin plugs - 2 amp, 5 amp, 13 amp, with unshuttered sockets, there was a dual tariff. The 2 amp sockets were wired to the lighting circuits.  I think lighting was cheaper per unit than power but a friend disagrees and says it was the other way round. Anybody know for sure? ( and yes we do have some  sad arguments)