Fire!

We currently do not permit any activities involving open flames in the Hackspace.

The only 'hot works' permitted are soldering, welding, and grinding. Welding and grinding have specific restrictions in place as to how and where they can take place.

1. Power down the machine you are using.
2. Leave immediately via one of the escapes. Do not stop to collect personal belongings.
3. Warn others in the space as you leave.
4. Raise the alarm, if it is not already sounding, by pressing a red break-glass.
5. Once outside, phone the fire brigade. Our alarm is not automatically linked to them.

There are two fire escapes from Hackspace. These are:

• The front door
• The door at the back of the woodshop

Red Break-glasses which sound the fire alarm are located around the space, including:

• Beside the front door, at the bottom of the stairs
• Beside the fire escape in the wood shop
• In the laser room
• At the top of the stairs
• In the textiles room
• In the upstairs workshop

If the fire alarm is sounding and you know it to be a false alarm, you can reset it using the control panel. The control panel is located in the cupboard under the stairs.

To reset the alarm:

1. Locate the red plastic key stored on top of alarm panel, insert it into the panel, and turn
2. Press the red button labelled “1”
3. Press the green button labelled “2”
4. Remove the key and put it back on top of the panel

The alarm system covers the whole of Hackspace in a single zone (Zone 2 on the alarm panel), so don't reset it just because the room you're using isn't on fire. Ensure the whole building is not on fire before resetting the alarm!

The front door and some internal doors are normally opened using electronic switches. If these fail to release the door during an emergency, you can disable the door locking system by pressing the green break-glass next to the door. Pressing a green break-glass will not set off the building's fire alarm.

There are fire extinguishers at the top and bottom of the stairs. Only use them to tackle a fire if you feel confident in doing so.