Doing some work to a relatively small restaurant in a Victorian terrace building of three floors which was only recently refurbished and has BC Completion Certificate. Ground is restaurant, first is kitchen, top is restaurant and toilets. Top is rarely used other than toilet facilities which includes one for disabled. A standard ldisabled lift is in place in the single stairwell at the rear of the premises.
The stairs have lobby protection on the first but a fire shutter on ground which cuts off access from all parts of the ground floor and, although not really needed,also prevents ground floor access to the alternative final exit at the foot of the stairs.
Trading is currently from the ground floor only. No one on first or top floors. So a disabled customer could make their way to the top floor loo unaided and alone. A fire situation triggers the fire panel to descend thereby causing the fire shutter to descend. The disabled person is alone on the top floor. Staff cannot access to help. Likely the disabled person would use the lift to descend to the ground floor, which may be the fire floor albeit protected by the shutter. From there there is a short flight of steps to the final exit which has a further set of steps before spilling into an untidy dark entry.
Perhaps the inspecting officer from BC was persuaded by a management plan of some kind but the current situation as I see it was reasonably foreseeable and should never have been signed off.
I am discussing situation with BC but finding it hard to pin down a response.
