Design Project: Fire Spread at Whitworth Towers - Report Example

Title: Design Project Dated: January 30, 2009 Whitworth Towers is an eight story accommodation block, previously used by the students for residential purposes. The owners had shown their willingness to transform the same into a commercial cum residential apartments with some necessary changes as in accordance with the provisions of the relevant building by laws. Among others the proposed plan of the building will have a B2 Internal fire spread (linings), B4 External Fire Spread and researching fire safety/management for a conference room. A plan has been prepared on these lines as per approved guidelines which covers all the aspects in detail. The overall objective of the plan is to ensure the conference room of the Whitworth Towers from the fire risks through fire risk management with the sufficient protections in the internal and external arrangements, to ensure that the fire safety problems that may arise are quickly addressed with effective measures, to ensure the observance of legal obligations in relation to the fire safety measures and to ensure proper and appropriate training and transfer of information to all the concerned staff relating to the fire safety management. The observance of the measures will help the future owners of the building to utilize the same for commercial purposes especially conference room of the tower. The purposed plan will be adjusted in the already constructed building with essential alterations as per the relevant provisions of the building by laws. The plan will be in a position to be replicated for similar other buildings specifically for the broader areas like the conference rooms and the building authorities are proposed to adopt the same for ensuring the security and safety of their buildings as per details given for the fire security plan for conference room of the Whitworth Towers. (a) B2 Internal fire spread (linings) Conference room of the Whitworth Towers is situated in the ground floor of the building whose access is from the internal court yard only. In addition to the conference room the building has a reception area, restaurant, and coffee shop and retail shops in the same ground floor. The internal fire spread for the conference room will also cover some portions of the adjacent parts of the building. The plan for the internal parts of the conference room will contain a mechanism for the prevention of fire spread within the conference room through the control of large voids within the part of the building. To prevent fire spread in a quick fashion, a compartmentation of the cavity is designed. The same will be completed with necessary alterations in the walls of the conference room. The process will be completed wit the use of necessary materials like retardant blankets which are supposed to be suspended for the upper space to the entire void space. The material will consist of rock wool mineral fiber. The proposed alteration will create a fire barrier for the spread of fire in the conference room. Sandwich panels are used as one type of construction for the prevention of in large buildings and wide portions like the conference rooms. A sandwich panel is recommended for the conference room to ensure the safety and security of the future visitors and participants of the building from the agents like fire. The proposed sandwich panel will cover the complete internal walls of the conference rooms with the composition from internal to external in the following sequence: (1) Light Alloy Inner Board, (2) Heat Insulating Material, like foam and (3) Light Alloy Outer Board. The out broken of fires in the buildings are covered by the necessary fire safety management plans. The internal spread of the fire in the conference room of the Whitworth Towers will also be protected by the creation of fire resistance mechanism and through blocking the spread of flames with the use of fire resistant substances. The same substances will be attached to or impregnated in the board material used for the purpose. The building boards will be consisting of the metal light alloy with excellent fire spread characteristics. The danger of fire spread in the conference room will be avoided with the use of metal surfaces and sheets as the metal sheet will not burn during the danger of a fire incident in this part of the building. The metal sheets are having an edge over the building boards which are using polyurethane foam as the foam has the ability to decompose and may aid in fire spread with the rise in temperature due to heat from the fire. The internal fire spread will also possess a testing system fro the surface spread of fire flame. During the construction or alteration of the internal arrangements, class one materials will be used as these are providing slowest speed to the fire flames during the fire spread position. It may be noted that some literatures include the use of class zero material which is not a true option as this category as labeled as class 0 is actually class 1 which is a better option for its use in the internal fire spread blockage phenomenon. Plaster boards, wood wool slabs and mineral fibers boards will be utilized in making the necessary alterations in the internal walls of the conference room of the Whitworth Towers. Internal alarm system would be installed at regular intervals in the walls of the conference room to sensitize the fire fighting department of the building to cope with any potential future threat relating to the fire incidents. As the building has already been constructed, therefore, all these changes will be made with necessary alterations, however, all these changes would be in accordance with the relevant provisions of the buildings by laws as enacted by the competent authorities to make such legal instruments. (b) B4 External fire spread Like the internal fire spread (linings), the B4 External fire spread would be completed for ensuring the safety of the conference room of the Whitworth Towers as per observing the relevant provisions of the building by laws. The proposed external fire spread will be achieved through making alterations in the existing building structures of the conference room. The construction of external walls of the conference room will through the addition of separation between different parts of the building with an objective in mind to prevent external fire spread. As the conference room of the Whitworth towers is have an access through the internal available space in the building therefore the part of the building (external part of the conference room towards the internal portion of the building) will need special alterations. The likelihood of the fire spreading towards the inner side of the towers would be prevented between the portion under fire that is the conference room in the instant case and the inner part of the building will be designed keeping in view the size and intensity of the fire in the building concerned that is the Whitworth Towers in this case, the chances of fire spread in other parts of the building including all eight floors except that of conference room , the arrangements of the fire protection as designed for the facing side of the building that is the Whitworth Towers and other neighboring buildings . All these probabilities will be prevented through the control of external fire spread by adopting mechanisms like: 1. The installation of external walls of the building that are designed by the material that reduces or prevents the risk of ignition from any external source of fire like eruption of fire through any means , 2. Limiting the surfaces that are prone to fire in case of fire incidents , 3. To limiting the thermal radiation that has the ability to pass through the walls of the conference room of the Whitworth Towers , while taking this step distance between the walls of the conference room and all other adjacent parts of the building will be kept in mind for making drastic decision in case of fire incident . The boundary of the building will be altered in such a way as to serve as a barrier for the spread of fire from any near by building. 4. The external fire spread mechanism will also be developed by keeping in mind the nature of roofs of the adjacent buildings as the neighboring roofed buildings will serve as an additional barrier towards the external walls of the building especially for the conference room of the Whitworth Towers. B4 – External fire spread will be arranged through the observance of all the requirements of B4. These requirements will be met by the observance of the followings: 1. The external walls of the conference room of the building will be constructed in such a way that the risk of ignition from any external source and the probability of spreading the fire over the surfaces are limited by making certain provisions for the chances to have low rates of heat release into the external environment. The external walls will serve as a buffer zone between the potential threat and the external walls of the conference room. 2. The unprotected area of the side buildings will be restricted as to limit the quantity of thermal radiation that has the ability to pass through the wall of the conference room by establishing a distance between the walls of the building and the boundary area of the Whitworth Towers 3. The roof of the building will serve as additional barrier so that their risk of spread of flames and the penetration of fire from external sources will be limited. 4. The external walls will be supplied with the organic coated steal cladding products which has already passed the relevant flaming tests. 5. The flaming rating would not cross approved building regulations. 6. The external walls of the conference room will have the appropriate fire resistance level. 7. Pro filled sheet of galvanized steel, fiber, and reinforced cement, pre painted aluminum or steel with PVC will be utilized while altering the external walls of the conference room of the building. 8. Double skin with internal layer of resin bonded glass fiber, polystyrene or polyurethane will be utilized. All these steps will be taken as per relevant clauses of the building by laws as issued by the concerned regulatory authorities in the country. The external fire spread will supplement the steps already drafted in the internal spread walls case and both these steps will supplement each other. (c) Researching fire safety/management The fire safety and its management is a vital step for the achievement of the core objectives of the fire safety management plan as proposed for the conference room of the Whitworth Towers. The fire safety plan will include a methodology for carrying out fire safety risks in adequate terms. The design of the fire safety plan is proposed while observing all the provision of the relevant fire safety act and is made easy and understandable for all the relevant fire safety personals for its usage . The staff will be trained with the assistance of relevant instructors of the fire safety department on regular basis for imparting latest developments into the fire safety team members. A fire warden system as to implement the plan with prompt response time is recommended for its adoption by the administration of the building. The fire safety will meet the requirements of the fire safety act 1990 the fire safety regulation 1991, the building codes of the country and the workplace health and safety acts. The safety plan will also meet the standards, guidelines, codes and references as issued by the government and have already been issued for their observance. The fire safety plan will be implemented through a set of administrative arrangement under the super vision of a Health Safety Director. All other personals will report to the director through their respective vertical line arrangement as designed by the top management for its observance and enforcement for seeking desirable results that is minimum expected losses with optimum utilization of resources in favor of the organization. The fire safety department will make a list of the factors that may result in the form of a fire incident in any future time and can cause damage to the conference room of the Whitworth Towers. These potential factors include fire hazards and faults, inappropriate storage of material inside the Whitworth Towers for its usage in the building, lack of appropriate training and lack of staff especially a fire warden in the administrative machinery of the Whitworth Towers . The administration may take necessary steps for incorporating safety procedures at the places which are frequently visited by the visitors and the staff inside the conference room of the building . The administration is also recommended to observe the fire safety regulation in letter and spirit for achieving hundred percent securities inside the conference room especially during the usage of the conference room . The internal and external wall spreads and the fire safety management plan will work in close corporation and in a synergetic mechanism for delivering maximum results in the shape of security of the conference room during the incidents of fire spread with minimum losses both human and financial(1). Reference: 1.Baltimore: The Building of an American City, Sherry H. Olson, Published 1997, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (Md.), ISBN:080185640X, p. 248. Read More