Free notes
Firefighter's switches — and the voltage bandsWhen do you need a firefighter's switch?
Free from the notes: the section word for word as members see it, and a PDF to keep.
The notes
Exactly as they are on the site.
Worth highlighting this one specifically. First, though, you need the voltage bands, because the requirement is written in terms of them.
Up to and including 50 V AC
Exceeding 50 V, up to and including 1000 V AC
Where a firefighter's switch is required
- Exterior electrical installations operating at a voltage exceeding low voltage — e.g. an outdoor lighting installation over 1000 V.
- Interior discharge lighting installations exceeding low voltage.
- It applies to single-phase and three-phase alike.
An installation over 1000 V is hard to find in practice — not a football stadium. The usual case is high-voltage neon or cold-cathode signs and illuminations. Which tells you something useful: this is a regulation that exists for genuinely niche installations, and the exam asks it precisely because you have to look it up.
What the switch itself must be
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position | Conspicuous — obvious, you must be able to see it |
| Access | Reasonably accessible — not so placed that specialised equipment is needed to reach it |
| Height | Not more than 2.75 m from the ground |
| Appearance | Easily visible — generally red, or red metal. The regulation also sets out what must be marked on it |
Put 2.75 m in perspective: a domestic door is about 2 m. Someone of around 5 ft 3 can reach about 6 ft — so a switch at the full permitted height needs a taller colleague, a step, or one of the reach poles firefighters carry. In practice you'll see them fitted at around 2 m, a little above head height, on garage and petrol-station forecourts.
537 · firefighter's switches · conspicuous, reasonably accessible, max 2.75 m ★ Part 2 · voltage band definitions · ELV ≤ 50 V, LV 50–1000 V AC ★
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