Construction sites change from week to week – layouts, occupancy and fire loads rarely stay the same for long. Existing codes of practice for fire detection, such as BS 5839-1, were written for permanent, finished buildings, and have limited application to a live site.
To address that gap, we’ve published a free best practice guide setting out the T-Category framework: a classification system for temporary fire detection and alarm systems (TFDAS) on construction projects. The categories – from TM, a fully manual system, through to T2–T5, which add automatic detection targeted at specific risks – give contractors, fire risk assessors and fire alarm contractors a shared way of describing what level of detection a project needs.
Which category applies to a given project is determined by its site-specific Fire Risk Assessment, and the guide includes a full project-type selection table to support that decision, alongside guidance on design, installation, commissioning and maintenance.
The framework is intended as a common reference point for the industry, and we welcome feedback and suggestions as it develops through future editions.
Read the full framework and download the guide at howleruk.com/t-category-fire-alarms.
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