Installing Mains Powered Fire Detectors

[AndrewSchofield]

My son's play group are moving to a new building (its not a 'new' building - only 'new' to them) and they've had the fire office round to check the building.

Among a couple of amendments they need to make before they can move in are the installation of mains powered, interlinked smoke/heat detectors.
As the play group is run on a very small budget, i'd like to offer to help them to install these but i'm not a qualified electrician.

I've installed the same things in my own house but I'm not sure if i can do it for them, or if it comes under Part P and therefore should be done by a qualified Spark or at least checked and signed off by one?

Would fitting these smoke alarms come under Part P?

 

[Steve]

Part P only applies to residential buildings.

You have to be a competent person, and you should have public liability insurance should anything go wrong. You will struggle to find a spark to put his name to an installation done in a public place, that he hasnt done himself.

 

[AndrewSchofield]

Part P only applies to residential buildings.

Well its not a house - does this mean this work isn't notifiable? They aren't doing any other works which would involve the council - the other thing they need to do is buy some fire extinguishers.

I am a little concerned about the Public Liability issue - will be giving it some serious consideration before offering my services but just wanted to clear up the Part P/Building Regs/Local Authority Notification issue.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Well its not a house - does this mean this work isn't notifiable?

If it's not in a house, or sharing a supply with a house, it's not notifiable.

I am a little concerned about the Public Liability issue - will be giving it some serious consideration before offering my services

You should be and you should do.

God forbid anything should happen, but if it did and your alarm installation was found in any way to be contributory you would be in deep do-do.

And the playgroup organisers should check their insurance - it might be a requirement that they only use qualified electricians.

And they should check their tenancy agreement - it might be that their landlord will require them to only use a qualified electrician.

 

[AndrewSchofield]

Yeah - i'm more than dubious about doing work for them and the level of liability i'd have. I'm confident in my work and wouldn't do anything unless I was sure it was right - that said, I hate doing things for other people, and not just limited to electrics - i was nervous as hell fitting a new bath side for my sister-in-law in case something went wrong or she wasn't happy with the finished job.

I think i'll tell them to speak to insurers and landlord first and see if that gets me off the hook without having to say no!!

 

[Spark123]

How do you think you'll claim you are competent in the eyes of the law (Electricity at Work Regulations and the Health and Safety at Work Act) - what qualifications and experience do you have?
It isn't so much that you might do something dangerous, it is knowing how to do it correctly i.e.- design, installation, inspection, testing and certification.

 

[LoveRocket]

Just install some bloody smokes.

It pains me that people are advising you that the best thing to do is to not install smoke detectors in a kiddies' playgroup. Yeah, that's the moral thing to do. Screw this over-zealous litigation fear, and do the right thing.

 

[1john]

Or find someone that will do it with your help to bring the cost down, or donate the fee to have them installed and certified to the kiddies group.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It pains me that people are advising you that the best thing to do is to not install smoke detectors in a kiddies' playgroup. Yeah, that's the moral thing to do.

Nobody is advising that the playgroup not have alarms fitted.

Screw this over-zealous litigation fear, and do the right thing.

The right thing is for the playgroup to entrust the installation of smoke alarms to someone with provable competence and genuine grounds for making any necessary declarations of conformity, which is a moral, if not legal, obligation they owe to the children in their care, and to ensure that they do not invalidate their insurance or breach their tenancy agreement.