§ Lord Stanley of Alderleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
When the Fire Research Station last tested dry powder fire extinguishers and what percentage of the extinguishers then tested failed to discharge 957WA properly; and why this testing was stopped and who, if anyone, now undertakes this or similar work.
§ Lord BelsteadFor many years until 1976 routine tests on specimens of fire extinguishers submitted by manufacturers were carried out at the Fire Research Station. The last occasion on which fire extinguishers of the dry powder type were tested systematically in comparison with other types was in 1972, and I am sending my noble friend a copy of an article describing the results obtained. In 1976 the Fire Research Station, which by then had become part of the Department of the Environment's Building Research Establishment, gave up its responsibility for routine testing to concentrate its efforts on research as a solely government-financed research establishment. Testing was transferred to a commercial organisation, the Fire Insurers' Research and Testing Organisation, set up by the fire insurance companies, and this arrangement has continued to the present day.