B.S. Updates 2012

BS5306 Updates 2012 

BS 5306 pt 8 2012 New Standards
Recently there has been a change to BS 5306 pt 8
The major changes are:
Empty Buildings, Section 4.4 “The Responsible Person or Competent Person should assess the provision of extinguishers where buildings, or parts thereof, are unoccupied.”

Fire extinguishers should be located next to the fire risk to prevent any confusion.

Powder extinguishers are to be installed outdoors now as they can cause asphyxiation and problems during evacuation.“Powder extinguishers should generally NOT be specified for use indoors, unless mitigated by a health and safety risk assessment”

Water extinguishers are to be replaced with foam extinguishers due to foam type extinguishers being safer should they accidentally be used on electrical fires.

The Environment, Section 4.2 “The impact of the discharge of the extinguisher medium should be taken into account

Extinguisher Training, Section 4.5, A competent Person has a duty to make the Responsible Person aware of the training needs.

Extinguishers to BS5423 (old extinguishers coloured blue, black and cream) must be in a serviceable condition and have a fire rating.

Extinguishers to BS5423 and new extinguishers to BS EN3 must be consistent throughout the building and not mixed.

Electrical Cover, Section 5.4.2. “Only non-conductive media, such as powder, carbon dioxide or other clean agent, should be specified for use on electrical equipment.”

Extinguisher Signs, Section 6.1 “The position and type of extinguisher should be indicated on a sign, so that if the unit is removed, this can be identified during a safety inspection and a replacement ordered.” Section 6.2, If an extinguisher is not visible it should be indicated by a location sign.

Travel Distances, maximum travel distances from a fire to a fire extinguisher
Class A – 30 metres (or 60mtr between extinguishers)
Class B – 10 metres (or 20mtr between extinguishers)
Class C – 30 metres (or 60mtr between extinguishers)
Class D – cases by case basis
Class F – 10 metres (or 20mtr between extinguishers)
Electrical equipment fire risk – 10 metres (or 20mtr between extinguishers)

Protection, Measures should be taken to afford protection from corrosion and vandalism.

Class A Provision, Class A materials are generally present in all premises.
The basic scale of extinguisher provision recommends in cases where portable fire extinguishers are the only means of first aid fire defence is at least a minimum of two extinguishers on any floor that offer a combined rating of 26A on each floor.

Class F, The coverage required for a class F is calculated from the surface area of liquid risk in square metres. If more than two 75F extinguishers are required a fixed system should be considered.