Building Regulations and Fire Safety Strategy for Anywhere Community Centre - Case Study Example

Building Regulations and Fire Safety Strategy Course Name and Number Institution Name Faculty Name Insert Your Name Insert Your Number Instructor’s Name 17 February 2009 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction Part 1: Fire Safety Strategy 1.1 Means of Detection and Warning System 1.2 Provision of Means of Escape 1.3 Provision of Means of Fire fighting 1.4 Stability of the Structure 1.5 Access for fire fighting and fire fighting facilities for fire service 1.6 Internal and External Fire Spread 1.7 Calculations (Uncompleted- further instructions) Part 2: Fire Safety Management Strategy 2.1 Identification of Fire Hazards 2.2 Identification of People at Risk 2.3 Evaluation, Remove, Reduce and Protect from Risk 2.4 Record, Plan and Instruct 3.0 Conclusion 4.0 Bibliography 1.0 Introduction Fire incidents are common and the appropriate measures should be in place to ensure fires are controlled. Fires in buildings cause many damages ranging from financial complexities to even deaths. The aim of this report is to explore the fire safety strategy and to develop a fire safety management strategy for Anywhere Community Centre. Part 1: Fire Safety Strategy 1.1 Means of Detection and Warning System Various ways can be incorporated into the centre to ensure that it is easy to detect and warn when there is a fire outbreak. This is a community centre and people within the building may smell or obverse occurrence of fire. They will then raise warning sound such as shouting “FIRE”. Moreover, manual call points should be placed near each exit and entrance to enable sounding of alarm. Alternatively, electrical system fire warning should be incorporated with the help of sufficient sounders to alert about the emergency. The system should utilize directives from BS 5839-1:2002 fire alarm system rules and employ the use of category L1 and L3. The best alarm that can be used is the automatic and supported by a public addressing system. However, strict conditions should be in place to prevent panicking by the public when there is a fire breakout. The staff and people who are working in the different rooms e.g. kitchen, offices and infants rooms should be assisted when they are called upon. Moreover, people with stability should be monitored and assisted at any given time (Belington & Ferguson 2002). 1.2 Provision of Means of Escape In every strategy, there should be the provision of easy and accessible means that the people within the building may go through into safety. In the case of Anywhere Community centre, many people access it. The building has many routes that can be used for escape. For the people in the infants’ room, kitchen, store, youth room and halls can escape through the entrance to the lobby. However, when the lobby entrance is not accessible, they may either go through the stage room, the hall and out through the entrance that is near the office or through the infants’ room. The people within the oil storage areas and boiler room have easy escape routes. Moreover, the emergency exists that is in the infants room can be utilized, however it is reserved for people with disability and the infants who require assistance (Leeds Fire and Rescue Department 2009). 1.3 Provision of Means of Fire fighting The centre should have fire-fighting system to ensure that the fire is put off at the earliest time possible. In the case of Anywhere Community Centre sprinklers plays an important role and may be activated by fire detectors. In most of the rooms, there should be fire sprinklers that can be activated either manually or automatically. Moreover, at the major entrances there should be a portable fire extinguisher. According to the drawing, fire extinguishers should be located in the entrance lounge, within the lobby area and near the offices. These are the positions that the equipments will play a paramount role (Communities and Local Government 2006). Moreover, specialized extinguishers should be in place to deal with fires that can occur in the oil storage area. Foam extinguishers should be positioned in the oil storage room and near the kitchen because fires resulting from these areas cannot be easily stopped by water based extinguishers. In these scenarios, hose reels plays important role in determining the strategic location of it is paramount. Playing the hose reels near the lobby and next to the WC ensures that it is easily accessible and access large amounts of water easily. 1.4 Stability of the Structure Anywhere Community Centre is a building that has no storeys. Thus, according to the provided drawings, its capability of structural failure is minimal. The roof is supported by steel, which can withstand fire for long time and ensuring that the building may not easily collapse. The walls are strong because hollow brinks with a strong foundation support them. However, the hollow bricks or cavities may conceal smoke and fire (Gipson 2003). Thus, fire and smoke resistance material e.g. metal and wood with specific thickness should be placed at a considerable height within the structural walls. However, the problem lies with the purloins that are used to support the roofing tiles. When fire spread to the purloins it may make the roof to collapse, thus measures e.g. roofing supporting mechanisms should be incorporated. Additionally, the top of the walls and below the roof there should be a fire resistance material to prevent the fire from spreading to the roof. Moreover, other cavities such as spaces left by shafts used by oil pipes or water should be fire resistant. 1.5 Access for fire fighting and fire fighting facilities for fire service This big and sensitive building requires a lot of consideration when it comes to determining the way that the fire and rescue services may assist. An important aspect is the location where they replenish their fire fighting engines. Thus, there should be hydrant at the main entrance near the WC, there are should be clearly labelled and should not be obstructed. A specific parking area is preserved for the community officials that will double up as the place where the fire fighting will be located. At any given time, there should enough spaces where vehicles can turn. Moreover, the lobby that is used by the people who are utilizing the building doubles up as the lobby that will be used by the fire fighters. The building should clearly indicate where the nearest fire fighting equipment can be obtained from. This will ensure that the fire fighters can easily access the equipments and other modes of assistances that can be provided by the community centre management. 1.6 Internal and External Fire Spread Walls play an important role in ensuring that smoke and fire does not move to the adjacent rooms. Fire may spread from outside to inside of the building or within the building requiring appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the fire. Linings plays an important role in controlling the internal fire since it reduces the speed of fire spread and offers adequate resistance to the spread of flame. Internal glazing contributes a lot in the spread of the fire. Thus, the glazers should be glazed with the help of thermoplastic materials. The physical structure of the walls between rooms should adequately resist the spread of fire, should not conceal the fire and able to structurally support the building. The external walls play an important role in ensuring that fires from outside e.g. from other buildings does not spread into the community centre. The roof and walls should be able to resist fires from outside and smoke and heat. Bricks with cavities build the walls of the community centre and measures should be in place to prevent the spread of fire, heat and smoke within the cavities. 1.7 Calculations (Uncompleted- further instructions) Population Density Population = Area of room/square meters of a person Office = Area/2 Standing (Lobby) = Area/0.3 Exhibition Hall and chapel = Area/1.5 Kitchen = area/7 Storage = area/30 Infants Room = Part 2: Fire Safety Management Strategy 2.1 Identification of Fire Hazards In most cases, ingredients of a fire are source of ignition, fuel and oxygen. Thus, in this building the source of ignition is from the kitchen area, electrical system, and the boilers. The sources of the fire includes the oil that is obtainable from the oil storage area, the kitchen store and office equipments. Moreover, the finishes that are used and the furniture in the buildings are also a source of fuel that can make the fire to be uncontrollable. Oxygen is a crucial agent to ensure that a fire spreads and in the case of Anywhere Community Centre, the source of the oxygen is from the ventilation spaces in the building. This is because the building utilizes natural ventilation approach. Thus, there are various risks hazards that are supported in the building and its control and management is crucial. 2.2 Identification of People at Risk This building houses the Anywhere Community Centre in which many people visit it. Moreover, there is the infants’ room that requires greater attention for any assistance if need is called upon. There may also be people with disabilities and elderly that should be considered. It is important for the building management to understand many visitors come with varied difficulties. Thus, it is important for the management to monitor the people who are entering and leaving the building every time to determine the nature and capabilities of people entering the building. 2.3 Evaluation, Remove, Reduce and Protect from Risk Cooperation is an important factor in determining ways to reduce or eliminate hazardous materials or areas. The chances of fire occurring in the building are minimal because few ignition materials are within (Patterson 1993). Since it is a public place smoking is prohibited and thus fires caused by ignorance and negligence are reduced. Most fires in buildings in United Kingdom are usually caused by cooking materials, thus in the case of the building the main causative area is the kitchen. When a fire starts, it may easily spread through radiation and conduction and people who are at greatest risks are people with disabilities and the people in the infants’ room. Fires can start without a prior knowledge; however, the strategy that is employed to control the extent of the fire is important. This means that understanding the weak areas such the bricks cavities and areas with many people e.g. chapel requires that appropriate ways to prevent the fire from not spreading at a faster rate and at the same time escape routes be easily accessed. The doors and other openings such as the windows can make the fire to spread at a faster rate. It is paramount for the building to keep high standards in reducing and eliminating the fire causing agents. The people in the kitchen, offices and other people within the building should understand the consequences of ignorance and omissions that may cause fires. The sources of fuel in the community centre should be retarded to fire spread. Thus, window curtains, furniture and other equipments and materials in the building should not be vulnerable to fire. The abbreviation that is utilized by the HSE ALARP plays an important role in determining the extent that precautions and measures can be taken. The management of the community centre should ensure that there are appropriate means to detect and warn in advance when fire occurs. Fire detection and warning systems should be in place and can be acknowledge by all people within the building e.g. people with certain disabilities such as hearing can understand that there is a fire outbreak. To extinguish the fires, there should be various types of fire extinguishers strategically placed in the doorways to most of the vulnerable areas. For example, there should be a fire extinguisher within the kitchen area, the oil storage area and offices and other automatic systems such as sprinklers. The management should frequently check the credibility of the fire extinguishers in place and derive ways to improve its standards. Escapes routes are important and should be designed such that any person confronted with fire can escape easily. The escape routes should be able to address to maximum number of people within the building and the staff can easily assist the people. This means that the staff should have basic training in fire management. The escape routes should not be obstructed and should be clearly labelled (appropriate signs should be in place) and at the same time, lighting should be provided. After ensuring that all the required equipments and measures are in place, an important aspect in ensuring that these equipments and measures can be used at any given time. It is important that maintenance and frequent checking should be in place. This is a community centre any many people with different approach to safety measures may visit the building. They many play around and spoil fire safety measures. Thus, the management is recommended to check the building fire safety measures every Friday to ensure that all equipments and measures are in place. 2.4 Record, Plan and Instruct The management should be able to record all happenings that take place and a clear record on hazards and measures to be taken should be in place. This includes planning the appropriate way that emergency services will be accorded and ways that will ensure that people within the building can easily escape to safety. The staff and people who commonly visit the building should be educated and given minimal trainings on the way that they can react when problems associated with emergency can react. 3.0 Conclusion It is important that the Anywhere Community Centre should understand and appreciate strategies that alleviate fire incidents. The fire safety strategy that is proposed is important in ensuring that fire incidents are detected at an early stage and appropriate measures are in place to inhibit its development and at the same time retard the fire. Moreover, the fire safety management strategy should ensure those areas that cause the fire and extent of hazard should be predetermined and the appropriate measures taken. 4.0 Bibliography Belington, M. & Ferguson, A., 2002, Means of Escape from Fire, New York: Blackwell Publishers. Communities and Local Government, 2006, The Building Regulations 2000: Fire Safety – Approved Document B, London. Diamantes, D., 2004, Principles of Fire Prevention, London: Cengage Learning. Department for Communities and Local Government, 2006, Fire Safety Risk Assessment, London. Gipson, L., 2003, Fire Safety and Fire Prevention Strategies, New York: Prentice Hall Publishers. Great Britain, 2006, Fire Safety, London: The Stationery Office. Health, Safety & Environment, Introduction, Accessed at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/admin/hse/fire/index.html [Accessed on 16 February 2009] Leeds Fire and Rescue Department, Fire Safety Strategy and Operational procedures, Accessed at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/safety/fire/documents/fire_safety_strategy.pdf [Accessed on 16 February 2009] Patterson, J., 1993, Simplified Design for Building Fire Safety, New York: Wiley-IEEE. Read More