Fireproof cover to meet fire regulations

DuncanP · 29 Sep 2014 at 18:04

I live in a small block of flats and decided to buy a small motorbike or scooter to get around (I have problems walking any distance). The building is owned by a housing association and although I had parked a motorbike in a common storage area, years before, I now find that I am not allowed to do so, due to fire regulations.
I do not want to park on the street as I live in a student area and I fear that the bike would be vandalised by drunken students (this happened with my car).
So the only thing that I can of is to get a fireproof cover for the bike, which would pass the fire safety regulations.
I have scoured the internet and have found the Oxford Stormex advertised as fireproof, however I think that this only refers to the fact that it won't be melted by the silencer.
Can anybody help with a possible solution?
Thanks in advance

DuncanP · 2 Oct 2014 at 01:06

The HA sent a fire inspector round, who said that I would not be able to keep a motorbike in the area and that all of the neighbours' pushbikes would have to go as well as the were in a fire exit. I downloaded and read the fire regs and managed to put the case that it was not really a fire exit, which was accepted. The pushbikes could stay but it was still no to the motorbike. The fire inspector is amenable to suggestions but it has to be within the law.
I had thought that if I could get a cover meeting some fireproof spec that this would be acceptable but there does not seem to be such a thing. I think there must be thousands of people like me, so there is a big gap in the market.
I had thought about buying some welding sheets and making my own fireproof cover but I suppose the assembled cover would have to meet a standard and not it's material.

DuncanP · 2 Oct 2014 at 11:44

The annoying thing is that it is a concrete building and any fire would be restricted to the contents of individual flats. I live in Bristol and the students in my area are like the Bullingdon Club on an industrial scale. I've already had a car vandalised by people jumping on the bonnet, so I don't want to park it on the street as it would probably be vandalised.
I asked a neighbourhood pc and his reply was basically "Don't even think about it".
Thank for the advice

DuncanP · 4 Oct 2014 at 23:35

The building is part of a Georgian Terrace, with a terraced walkway between the building and the pavement. The area I want to store the bike in, is under the terrace. There are 2 front entrances to the building at the front, from the terrace and from the pavement. The entrance from the pavement passes through the proposed storage area, before entering the basement level. This are is not really part of the building as there is about a 1.5 metre gap. I have successfully argued that this is not a fire exit, as it does not provide the safest means of escape. I think that the fire inspector was on my side but he still said no. I had hoped that the fireproof cover might have tipped the balance.
The building was hit by an unexploded bomb in WW2, which effectively demolished it and as we all know "lightning never strikes the same place twice", so the petrol tank going off like a bomb would never happen. Unfortunately this piece of common wisdom has not been enshrined into the fire safety regulations yet.
Thanks again

DuncanP · 7 Oct 2014 at 02:09

There is another HA place 100 yards away with secure parking and I suggested that I could put it in there, parked on a small slab (which I would provide) in the grass against a fence. This was turned down flat and then the fire inspector was sent. I am trying to get back to the woman in charge but she never returns my calls. I am debating whether to send a letter of complaint to her boss, but this may burn my bridges.