On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 14:45:30 +0100, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

Is the assumption that a fire downstairs would not start in the hall
and that all room doors would be shut, thus containing the fire for a
short while?

Yes. Which is why closers are required. Should the fire start in the hall
(which is exceedingly rare) or the self closers have been defeated (very
common), the secondary escape method comes into force. This is having a 30
minute fire protected loft with escape window that you may be rescued by
firefighters through.

OK, makes sense. This is basically protecting the loft from the rest
of the house.



Do the stairs from the ground floor then have to be boxed in?

Normally. The staircase doesn't need protecting from hallways.

So what does boxing it in at the sides achieve unless there is also a
door at the bottom? If the ground to first floor stairs were
fully boxed in with door at the bottom as well then you would also be
protecting the first floor.


But it does
need protecting from rooms, unless it is using the 2 escape routes to
outside door method.

OK, that makes sense, but then I still don't follow what boxing in the
ground to first floor stairs does. Is the point that this needs
to be done, and with a door at the bottom if these stairs come from a
room rather than a hall or passage?



I don't follow the intent here.....

The idea is that you usually have a protected route (or 2 independent
unprotected ones) to an outside door so that you may escape. If using
protection instead of doubling up, it shouldn't be open plan into a room
which could possibly be on fire. In the unlikely event that the protected
route is breached, you are required to have a loft zone protected for 30
minutes, long enough for the fire brigade to pluck you from the mandatory
escape window, which must be easily reachable by a ladder.

I can follow the logic of protecting the stairs from first floor to
loft for all the reasons described, but what is the logic of doing
things to the ground to first floor stairs? Arguably it is
improving the situation for people on the first floor in that that
becomes a protected area as well, but I don't follow the logic in
connecting it to a loft conversion. Is it simply that it's an
opportunity for an upgrade because of other work being done?

I guess I am missing the point of why a ground to first floor stairs
change is needed.







It is intended that the ladder is provided by emergency services, although a
rope escape ladder can't be a bad idea and I reckon should be mandatory,
really. It could easily fit in a purpose built cupboard fitted in the escape
window soffit.

Christian.





..andy

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