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Smoke alarms, are they appropriate.

Sparkingchip
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Part of the communal areas of purpose built sheltered housing flats on three floors with a lift that has a full monitored fire alarm system, that closes the internal fire doors and opens the exterior doors when activated. 


Each individual flat has a heat alarm in its hallway connected to the communal alarm system and also has an Aico interconnected smoke and heat alarm system that is connected to the intercom system allowing the call centre to monitor them and speak to the tenants to ask why they have been activated. 


Can you think of any justification for installing very basic domestic battery operated smoke alarms in the communal areas?


Because I cannot think of any way their installation can be justified, particularly as they will not be monitored in any way and should not be required. 


Andy B
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    Now that the Chief Fire Officer is involved, and the Housing Association know they are taking an interest, I would expect a speedy conclusion to the repair, 


    Regards,


    Alan.
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    My interest in deciphering the fault codes on the panel is to merely decide how much of the fire alarm system is not working.


    Andy Betteridge
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    It is more than a bit worrying especially if it`s you or yours living there
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    Pardon if I seem a bit naïve:


    My understanding is that the prime purpose of a self-contained, battery powered smoke alarm is to alert sleeping people to smoke and the possibility of a fire.


    There is not a strong case for them in a place normally occupied by conscious people, to whom the presence of smoke in the immediate vicinity would be obvious.


    There is even less of a case for them in areas not normally occupied.


    In a corridor serving bedrooms, as described in the original post on this thread, we can make a case for them. But with a very-robust and sophisticated alarm system already in place, they seem to be the piece of string that backs up the belt and braces.
  • 0
    Methinks the concern is that the string is in use because part of the belts and braces has failed
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    It is a little while since I have worked on a Gent Viglon panel. I don’t recall if the “next” and “previous” buttons will scroll through the faults, but certainly they will do no harm. Unless you open the door, you can’t cause any problems. Next to the main panel, there should be plans that show where the various zones are located, and roughly what they do. From that info, you can work out how much of the system has failed. Following on from my previous comment, I can’t understand why there are no spares around to fix the issue, unless it is a wiring issue. 


    Regards,


    Alan.
  • 0

    ebee:

    Methinks the concern is that the string is in use because part of the belts and braces has failed




     

    Thanks, Ebee. I think you have summed up this rather rambling thread very succinctly.
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    Sparkingchip:

    I have no plans to fiddle with anything, but will be watching with interest.


    Two street lights stopped working outside the building at the end of August, I initially reported them at the start of September, it took a full three months to get them fixed as it took until December to get them working again.

    First the hedge had to be cut, then the lanterns were replaced and it was discovered there was no longer an electric supply to them, so the DNO had to get involved. It’s surprising how long a thread of emails with photos you can exchange to resolve a seemingly simple issue ?


    Andy B.




     

    I should clarify that the county council are responsible for the street lights.


    Presumably getting them repaired involved the county council, the housing association, the HA gardening team to cut the hedge, the CC street lighting contractor, who made several visits  and Western Power Distribution to sort the mains supply out.


    So it took three months two get the street lights repaired by having new LED lanterns installed and connected.


    But now the HA exterior lighting has virtually all stopped working, that’s the next thing to challenge them on.


     Andy Betteridge
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    The old  ways were the best Andy, Sorted in days not weeks/months/years we knew a thing or two back then. Not hunderds of bits o` paper, H & S etc etc.

    OK we`d to use big spades now and then to shovel all the bodies up from the pavement but we lived in a world where things got done
  • 0
    cadd0ca246d1849da372a4a90bf025e6-huge-20200115_211148.jpg

    After at least four weeks and the fire brigade getting involved, it appears that finally the problem has been found and fixed. 


    Andy Betteridge

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