ENGINEER Paul Elcock who was made redundant twice during the pandemic has set up in business for himself now.

The businessman from West Marton, near Skipton, has teamed up with colleagues from the electrical certification body NICEIC to produce a book aimed at electricians, house builders and landlords to help them comply with the British Standard BS 5839-6 which domestic smoke alarms come under.

Pauls business, Docs-Store, is the national distributor where he is also working with electrical wholesalers.

Paul said: ”There is currently no independent guidance for trades people or landlords on the subject, yet it has been proved how these are lifesaving devices and nobody is checking that they are installed or maintained correctly.

“We started promoting this book for pre orders two weeks ago, and the response has been overwhelming by the trade press and especially social housing managers.”

Paul says in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the subsequent Hackitt Report, it is clear that the whole construction industry is undergoing a wholesale review of its practices. As part of this review, competence has rightly become a clear factor that must be suitably considered.

British Standards are non-statutory documents which detail minimum recommendations for processes, behaviours, leadership, equipment, design, installation practice and the like.

In the UK, legislation and British Standards together impact upon the practices and behaviours within the construction industry. BS 5839-6 is a code of practice reflecting current best practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintaining of fire detection and fire alarm systems in domestic premises, including flats and apartments. This standard is maintained by the committee FSH12/1.

The book supports the electrical contractor and those involved with fire safety in dwellings in understanding their roles and responsibilities.

It is priced at £19.95 and can be obtained at https://www.docs-store.co.uk/