Maintaining effective fire safety standards for cladding on multi-storey buildings can appear to discourage the innovative use of new and natural materials, but this need not be the case, as Antonia Crawford reports.

In the third of our series on technical issues, our resident Fire Doctor David Brown discusses the new standard for visual alarm devices – EN 54-23.

Barry Williams outlines the duties and standards on emergency lighting that owners and managers of buildings should be complying with.

Bernard Pratley sets out how to take the risk out of specifying emergency lighting and ensure that, through compliance, luminaire performance has been independently verified.

Changes to Scottish building regulations – in particular the requirement for increased coverage of domestic smoke alarms – should help contribute to improvements in home fire safety, says Neil Perdell.

The global fire detection and alarm market seems to be dividing into two spheres of influence: UL/ANSI equipment installed to NFPA 72 and EN54/ISO 7240 products installed to country standards. But as Robert Dudley reveals, EN54 products may only need small modifications to comply with NFPA 72.

If you are responsible for specifying, inspecting or regulating fire resistant cabling for large or complex buildings, you should already be aware of BS 8519. But as Terry Journeaux says, there appears to be some confusion when it comes to interpreting exactly what the standard means

The recent publication of EN54-23, the new product standard for visual alarms, presents a challenge to the way in which these devices have been made and installed. Mark Thomson explains.

Nick Goddard examines the role of hold-open devices in providing convenience to building occupants while reducing wear and tear on fire doors

Concerns have been growing that the fire performance of some innovative construction systems is unknown or not properly understood. Debbie Smith introduces a new test standard, launched last month, which aims to provide more information on innovative construction methods.

The principle of fire compartmentation is easy enough to understand, so why are there still so many examples of deficiencies in this area? Bill Parlor takes up the cudgels on behalf of better built-in protection.

Why should end users use third party certificated companies when sourcing contractors for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and alarm systems? Julian Stanton sets out the benefits of doing so and explains the approval process that such companies go through.

After more than two years' work, the revision to BS 5306-3 on the commissioning and maintenance of portable fire extinguishers is published. Keith Goodwin highlights some of the main changes.

While getting ready for CE marking in the UK is not top of everyone's list of priorities, many in the fire safety industry, such as the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, have been preparing for it. As Bill Parlor sets out, the organisation made a strategic decision several years ago to review and extend all the guidance it makes freely available.

Although voice alarm systems have been around for some time, the development of standards to support their use as fire warnings has happened more slowly. Bernard Laluvein examines the impact of the most recent standards in improving their reliability and integrity.

Between prescriptive guidance and fire safety engineering lies a hybrid approach to fire safety in buildings, such as that found in BS 9999. As Dave Berry explains, the standard provides a structured approach to risk based design where varying physical and human factors can be taken into account.

An unexpected increase in accidental domestic fire deaths revealed by the latest statistics suggests that a review of home fire safety is needed. In particular, variations in standards and regulations around the UK need to be addressed says Gerald Jones.

‘DDA-compliant' is a phrase often bandied about, but what does it really mean in terms of facilities and procedures for the evacuation of disabled people? Alison Cousins examines the relevant standards.

While allowing for some flexibility in the design of emergency voice communications, BS 5839 part 9 requires that any deviations from its provisions should be listed.

Aerosol extinguishing technology has become a viable alternative to gaseous systems in a range of applications, says GianGuido Gianfilippi de Parenti. Here he explains how the technology works and the main considerations for its installation and use.

The near completion of two ‘draft for development' standards marks another step towards better specified watermist systems for a wide range of applications. Bob Whiteley brings you up to speed on their development.

Often, technical guidance is good as far as it goes but can be unsuitable for non-standard problems. Wilf Butcher examines the precautions you need to consider when more than one system of fire protection is required on the same structural steel element.