Fire Safety: Conversion of a Building from Laboratory to Lecture Theatre - Case Study Example

Fire Safety Report: Conversion of a Building from Laboratory to Lecture Theatre Name & ID Course Name & Code Instructor’s Name 3rd March 2010 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Means of Warning and Escape 3 Internal Fire Spread (Linings) 4 Internal Fire Spread (Structure) 5 External Fire Spread 6 Access and Facilities for the Fire Services 7 Conclusion 8 Introduction Buildings are designed and constructed based on certain requirements while others are renovated to suite certain circumstances. The aim of this report is to determine the safeness of a building that is been converted from a Fire Laboratory to lecture theatres. The report employs the directives and regulations contained in Building Regulations 2000, and the Approved Document B 2007. The analysis brings into consideration means of warning and escape, internal fire spread (linings), internal fire spread (structure), external fire spread, and access and facilities for the fire services. Moreover, some legislation that plays an important role in analysis of this fire incident: The Regulation Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Housing Health and Safety Rating System Operating Guidance (2006) The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2006 Constriction Products Directive Means of Warning and Escape When an accident or fire breakout, there should be appropriate means in which the people within the building can be provided with warning in advance, and hence providing appropriate means for escape. Warning systems are important since it informs in advance the presence of fire in the building. Thus, the appropriate warning system may include the use of fire and smoke alarms. The fire and smoke alarms should be strategically placed with appropriate sound to ensure that many people can hear while the people with disability can also understand the nature of the circumstances. Apart from the sound warming, signs should be used to inform those people who have listening problems. Appropriate signs that indicate fire should be strategically placed to ensure people can escape and inform others on the presence of fire. After fire warning has been sound, appropriate means of escape should be in place. Enough routes should be provided, have enough space, and should be strategically located ensuring safety of people within the building. Moreover, the routes and escape areas should be sufficiently protected against the effects of the fire meaning that the routes are all adequately lit. Additionally, appropriate facilities should be in place to ensure that the smoke cannot escape into other parts of the building. People with disabilities should also be provided with appropriate means in which they can escape into the safety. Internal Fire Spread (Linings) The materials that are used for the walls and ceilings can easily affect the growth and spread of fires. The linings may not be the first materials to be ignited but its presence in the circulation spaces may contribute to the spread, and the spread may be rapid in such a way that people within the building cannot escape easily. Numerous factors are associated with linings and may determine the extent and nature of fire spread. Major factors that are associated with fire spread include the ease of ignition and the rate that the lining gives off heat. Walls and ceilings are the two most important features that contribute towards utilisation of linings. The ceilings may determine the extent in which the fire spreads, and thus providing materials that resists fire may contribute to the overall fire resistance. Failure of the walls and ceiling may contribute to structural failure of the entire building. To improve wall resistance, it is important to plaster the walls with mortar-based coating, and other materials that may inhibit the spread of the fire. The walls are the important parts of a building, and it is the forefront in determining the way the fire can be prevented or extinguished. The walls should be strong enough to withstand the fire allowing occupants to escape. Moreover, the walls should be able to prevent external fire spread. In the cases the walls are made of wood any other flammable material, it is important to ensure these materials are made fire resistant through the use of fire resistant vanish or impregnating the materials with fire resistance substances. Additionally, the walls can also be protected with the use of aluminium cladding since this material resists ignition and may contribute in retarding the development of fire. Utilising this material ensures that the entire building is protected against fir incidents. Internal Fire Spread (Structure) The strength of the building is important because it provides the opportunity for people t escape from the incident area. It is crucial to ensure structural stability, and this can be achieved through utilising strategies that prevents internal fire spread. Thus, it is important to restrict the movement of fire to specific regions of the building. The main fundamentals that is associated with fire spread structure is ensuring that fire penetration is prevented, resists building collapses and transfer of heat through radiation. The load-bearing element of the building should have enough fire resistant elements to ensure the building is stable long enough for the rescue teams to evacuate the people. Some benefits that are associated to internal fire spread resistance include reducing general danger, minimises risks to occupants and reduce the risks to the fire fighters. Concealed spaces or cavities are most convenient means of which smoke and flame can spread. Thus, it is beneficial to strict the spread if smoke and flame through these cavities. To resistant the spread of fire through the cavities, cavity barriers provides a means in which the fire can be prevented. This means that the cavity barriers should be provide on cavity edges especially around the door and window openings. In addition, the cavity barriers should be provided for at the junction between the external cavity wall and compartment wall. The fire separating elements contributes to the spread of fires and smoke, and such scenarios may contribute towards affecting structural integrity of university building. The joints, pipes and other services should be fire stopped. This means that the fire-stopping strategy should employ means of reinforcing fire stopping elements, minimising fire separating elements, provision of proprietary fire stopping means, and utilising sealing systems. External Fire Spread Within the foundations of external fire spread, construction and renovating of the building should provide strategies to prevent the fire and smoke from advancing to other parts of the environment. Generally, it means that the external walls should have the capability to ensure the fire spreads from one building to another. The roof also contributes towards the extent in which the fire could spread to the surroundings. The building should have enough fire resistance that ensures the fire does not spread from one building to another. Moreover, all openings and holes in the building should be stopped to prevent flame and smoke from passing from one region to another: this means that if the strategy is not incorporated, it may result in the complete destruction of the building. Different methods can be utilised in ensuring that the spread of fires is protected. Thus, the walls of the building should be resistant to fire; this can be achieved through utilising fire resistant material on both the internal and external linings of the building. The internal and external walls should be plastered with mortar-based material. Cleanliness is an important provision that can be used to prevent fires from spreading to or from buildings. Papers and other flammable materials should be removed from building surroundings. Materials contributes to fuel that can make the fire to spread into the surroundings. Access and Facilities for the Fire Services In the case of such university building since it has a shallow basement with minimal height, the rescue personnel access requirements can be achieved through combining measures for vehicle access and normal means of escape. The building has a basement and there are chances that the smoke and heat can build up resulting in inhabitation of fire fighting strategies and operations. Thus, it is important to provide smoke vents in the basements to provide means for heat and smoke escape to the open environment. Moreover, these vents can be utilised by the fire fighters to let in cooler air into the basements. For the other parts of the building, enough outlets should be provided either in the wall or in ceiling and should be evenly distributed to ensure that smoke and heat can be released easily. Moreover, enough parking space is provided to ensure means for fire fighters can access the building easily. This building is not storied, which means that normal fire fighting ladders and engine appliances can access the building easily. Thus, such measures can easily prevent the extent in which fire incident can spread Conclusion Fire safety is an important means in which the safety of occupants and designing of new buildings can understand. The government and stakeholders have instituted numerous policies and regulations that determine the level of safety and the appropriate strategies that may be utilised. Converting the building from a laboratory to a theatre hall requires analysis of the building to ascertain whether the safety of the occupants is guaranteed. The report has presented numerous views ranging from warning strategies to access by fire services in the case of fire. The report shows that it is important to utilise materials that are retardant to fires, and ensure the fire does not spread from one building to the next. References Communities and Local Government. The Building Regulations 2000: Approved Document B – volume 2 – Buildings other than Dwelling houses. Online version. Read More