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Fully charged Fire risks associated with equipment in the loft
Electrical equipment in lofts – consideration of fire protection This article, which is the first of two on the fire risks associated with mounting electrically powered equipment in the loft space of domestic premises, looks at the reasons why this particular space is becoming the selected location to mount certain items of equipment; it identifies risks (fire and accessibility) from such practice, and why an early warning of fire in accordance with BS 5839-6 (the British Standard for fire detection and fire alarm in domestic premises) should be considered (where appropriate) for this typically infrequently accessed location.
The need for using the loft space New domestic premises in recent decades have been subject to a decreasing living space as, amongst other things, housing developers manage the increasing costs of land and construction with providing property at an affordable price. Also, organisations or property owners ‘materially changing the use of a building’, such as changing a building into individual flats for domestic use or carrying out ‘material alterations’ to domestic premises, such as erecting an extension, are looking to maximise the return on their investment; this may well involve using void spaces to mount equipment, minimising impact on the living space. To maximise the space available, developers, organisations and property owners are opting to mount in the loft space equipment that requires infrequent handling or visual monitoring, including: • central heating boilers • inverters for solar photovoltaic systems • television signal boosters • water pumps • in-line extractor fans • recessed lighting for the rooms directly underneath.
A feature of electrical equipment which carries current or uses current is the presence of heat, which if restricted from being transferred from the equipment to the surrounding air, may lead to overheating and subsequent fire. This may occur, for example, where the ambient temperature is greater than the temperature the equipment is designed to operate in, or where equipment is covered with thermal insulation. Furthermore, electrical equipment mounted in any location can, in the event of a fault or incorrect installation, become a source of ignition and a loft by its nature may provide a ready source of fuel, enabling a fire to become rapidly established. This is because a loft: • is a space having a ceiling below and a roof above typically constructed from timber, • may have a roof covering with a degree of flammability, such as thatch or felt, • is a location in which to store seldom used items (which may be combustible), • may contain cardboard boxes to house stored items, and • due to infrequent use, are potentially dust accumulating locations. It should be noted that a loft can be subjected to a wide range of temperatures, for example, below freezing in the winter months and, say, 35 ºC in the summer months. Therefore, to ensure operation of the equipment does not present a fire risk, as for any installed equipment, the manufacturer’s instructions should be taken into account, (Regulation 134.1.1 of BS 7671 refers). Risks to persons associated with equipment in the loft Where electrical equipment is mounted in the loft, it must be accessible to, for example, carry out maintenance and repair (Regulation 132.12 of BS 7671 refers). To avoid hazards to competent persons entering the loft when carrying out work, such as replacing an item of equipment, there must be safe access, a working platform (for example, floorboards) and adequate lighting (Regulation 15 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 refers). Furthermore, without a safe permanent means of access and lighting to the equipment, occupants may be put at risk when, for example, they decide to investigate why a particular piece of equipment in the loft which provides function for the living space has malfunctioned. Connections Spring 2015
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