Fire Safety Plan for Academic Building - Report Example

Fire Safety Plan for Academic Building Table of Contents Contents Contents 1 1. Introduction and Summary of the Building The Academic Building which is the object of this fire safety strategy is a three storey multi-purpose building that has a total floor area of 3,509 square metres. It has classrooms, offices, laboratories, group working spaces, dining and waiting area, and so on that can accommodate around 1,360 people. In terms of fire safety, except the basement, the building has two vertical escape routes and atrium that extend from the ground floor to third floor. Like any other building in the United Kingdom, the Academic Building should comply with the fire safety requirements of building regulations and provisions set out in Approved Document B for buildings classified as non-dwelling. The different aspects of fire safety that must be followed include satisfactory provision for means of escape, fire detection and alarm, fire resisting internal linings and structure, fire protection for load bearing elements, compartmentation, external fire spread, and access for fire fighters. The building has a basement where the Lecture Theatre is located. A ground floor where the offices are located including a large group workspace, kitchen, and several storage rooms. The second floor on the other contains several classrooms, a library, and staff rooms. The third floor houses the science laboratory, study area, a lecture room, teacher offices, and air handling unit plant. The Academic Building is 5.5m to elevation of existing History Building in the East, 15 metres from the centreline of main road in the South, 17 metres to elevation of the neighbouring Arts Building and more than 40 metres from an unoccupied land in the North. 2. Report Plan The Academic Building is subject to the requirements of Building Regulations 2010 thus this fire safety plan primarily consider the provisions and specification provided in B1 to B5. This fire safety plan also considers British codes such as BS 9999 to provide added information and code practice for fire safety. In order to clearly present the information and achieve the objectives of this safety plan, this report is systematically structured according to Approved Document B requirements as stated below. B1 Means of Warning and Escape B2 Internal Fire Spread (Linings) B3 Internal Fire Spread (Structure) B4 External Fire Spread B5 Access and Facilities for the Fire and Rescue Service Regulatory Reform Order and Fire Safety Management 3. B1-Means of Escape 3.1 Number of Occupants Calculating the number of occupants in a building requires dividingthe area of each storey by floor space factors as shown in the table below. Since this building is considered in Purpose Group 5 then the floor space factor will be taken from Table C1 of ADB. Details of the calculated occupant capacity for the Academic Building are shown in Appendix – B. 3.2 Section 1: Fire alarm and fire detection systems Approved Document B requires two important provisions in means of warning and escape and these include early warning of fire and appropriate means of escape. The fire alarm and detection system for this type of building is L2 which is a system than can be installed in particular parts of the building as categorised in BS 5839-1 and explained in Section1.3 of ADB. 3.3 Section 3: Design for Horizontal Escape Except basement, each floor in the Academic Building provides alternative escape routes to enable occupants to escape safely if the fire blocked the primary escape route. Alternative escape route is not a problem in the ground floor but on the second and third, these seems problem in the travel distance from the staff room to Stair No.1 which is approximately 21m and the only alternative route in case Stair No.2 is unusable. This is also the problem in one classroom near Stair No.3 but the travel distance is less than 18. Moreover the number of occupants in these floors is more than 60 and therefore require alternative route as shown in Table 3 of ADB. The limitations in travel distance as specified in Table 2 of ADB however allows escape routes with more than one direction at 45 metres and therefore acceptable. 3.4 Section 4: Design for Vertical Escape In case of simultaneous evacuation, Table 7 of ADB provides the maximum number of persons that can be served by a stair width. In this case, the number of floors served by each stair in the Academic Building is 3 and the number of persons served is more than 500 which by specification should have at least 1800mm width. However, since there are actually 3 stairs serving 3 floors the number of occupants should go down total number of occupants / 3 and therefore acceptable by ADB standard. 3.5 Refuges Refuges can provide temporary safe waiting areas thus the building should incorporate areas for refuge in each floor. The recommended area for refuge is the protected stairways as shown in Diagram 21 of ADB. 3.6 Lighting of Escape Routes and Exit Signs ADB requires escape routes to have artificial lighting including those listed in Table 9 of ADB. These lightings should be in separate circuit and complying with BS 5266-1:2005 specifications. Similarly, exit signs should be visible and conforming the with the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 in terms of location and size. 4. Internal Fire Spread Linings 4.1 Section 6: Wall and ceiling linings The surface linings of walls and ceilings for the Academic Building should be classified according to Table 10 of ABD Section 6. Circulation spaces in this non-residential building should be considered Class 0 -B while rooms not exceeding 30 square metres as Class 3 - D. Class 1- C on the hand should be applied for other rooms including garage. Classified rooms should conform to Table A8 of ADB where materials belonging to Class 0 are materials with limited combustibility such as brickwork, painted plasterboard, wood wool cement slabs, concrete, ceramic and so on. Similarly, Class 3 or rooms in non-residential buildings not more than 30 square meters refers to timber or plywood, wood particle, etc. Class 1 is not mentioned in Table A8 as those materials belonging to Class 0 are considered meeting Class 1 requirements. Note that fire protection of wall does not include doors and door frames. Suspended ceiling must be protected using the same classification in ADB’s Table 10 and limited by specifications contained in Table 11 for thermoplastic materials. For this reason rooms identified as Class 3 should consider 3 meter minimum separation distance between thermoplastic roof lights and lighting diffusers. However, in case where roof lights are evenly distributed and do not exceed 20% of the room area, spacing can be 1800mm. 5. Internal Fire Spread Structure 5.1 Section 7: Load bearing Elements of Structure This part of fire safety is to protect the stability of load bearing elements of the structure comprising the Academic Building against fire. Since the fire resistance of load bearing elements is measured by its ability to withstand the effects of fire such as collapse, fire penetration, and transfer of excessive heat, structural frames, beams, columns, load bearing walls, floor structures, and others should comply with the minimum fire resistance given in Table A1 and A2 of ADB. For this reason, the Academic Building which is considered here as a non-sprinklered place of assembly and recreation should have structural frames, beams, columns, and other load bearing elements with 60 minutes fire resistance. 5.2 Section 8: Compartmentation Compartmentation restrict the spread of fire within a building and therefore essential to the safety of the Academic Building against fire. The building should comply with the provisions specified for non-residential buildings where sub-division is required as stated in Table 12 and illustrated in Diagram 28a of ADB. The maximum sub-division therefore for a multi-storey building should be 2000 square metres. The construction of compartment walls and floor on the other hand must form a complete barrier to fire and with fire resistance specified in Appendix A, Tables A1 and A2 of ADB. They should run the full height of the storey which they need to protect with appropriate fire-stopping at every junction. Similarly, all openings such as doors and passage of piping in the compartment walls should meet the specified fire resistance in Table B1 and provisions in Section 10. Any stairway or shaft passing direction from one compartment to another should be enclosed in a protected shaft as shown in Diagram 31 of ADB. In actual application, this diagram should be applied around Stair No.1, 2, and 3 in the buildings second floor and other floors that has similar stair construction as shown below. 5.3 Section 9: Concealed spaces (cavities) Cavities or voids in the construction of a building often serve as passage way for smoke and a flame thus following provisions for cavity barriers is essential. As specified in Section 9.3 of ADB the edges of cavities must be sealed with cavity barriers including openings such as junctions between compartment walls and floors. More importantly, cavity barriers should be applied on the line of the enclosure to the protected escape routes as specified in Section 9.4. Since some part of this building is considered under Class 0 and 1, the maximum dimension of cavities in any direction is 20 metres as specified in Table 13 of ADB below. The cavity barriers as specified in Section 9.13 of ADB should have a minimum of 30 minutes of fire resistance. The recommended material for cavity barrier is steel tightly fitted to a rigid construction. 5.4 Section 10: Protection of Openings and Fire-Stopping In relation to compartment walls and concealed spaces, protection of openings and fire-stopping as mentioned earlier is necessary to maintain fire resistance of elements. Except for door openings and fire doors that has specific provisions in Appendix B or ADB, openings such as those created by pipes passing through a fire separating element must comply with the specifications contained in Table 14 of ADB. In the Academic Building with pipes made up of non-combustible materials passing through a compartment wall or floor should have a maximum nominal internal diameter of 160mm. However, if the pipes penetrate or passing through a structure, fire stopping should follow that recommended installation procedure in Diagram 37 of ADB . Similarly ventilation ducts, flues, etc. Must follow one of the recommended methods that include protection using fire dampers, fire-resisting enclosures, or fire-resisting ductwork. However, whatever method is selected fire protection should consider the applicability of such approach in actual situation as specified in Section 10.10 to 10.13 and use of alternative materials such as cement mortar, gypsum-based plaster, cement-based vermiculite, and others for fire-stopping. 6. B4- External Fire Spread 6.1 Section 12: Construction of External Walls The purpose B4 or External Fire Spread is to prevent the spread of fire over walls and from one building to another thus externals walls should be constructed with fire resisting materials that can withstand the size and intensity of the fire as specified in Appendix A, Table A1 of ADB. External walls of the Academic Building should meet the requirements states in paragraphs 12.6 to 12.9 or meet specifications provided by BS 8414-1:2002 or BS 8414-2:2005 for cladding systems. The provisions stated in Diagram 40 as shown in the right are applicable to Academic Building and therefore must be taken into account. Details of the Academic Building suggest that at the East elevation, the building is 5.5 metres away for the neighbouring History Building. In the South, it is 11.5 metres away from the centreline of the main road while 17 metres away from the neighbouring Arts Building in the West. In the North, the building is 40 metres away from unoccupied land owned by the university. Referring to Table D1, Appendix D, and the Academic Building belong to Purpose Group 5 and therefore should considering the requirements of Diagram 40c but although multi-storey, its external wall exceed the minimum distance from the relevant boundary. 6.2 Section 13: Space separation In relation to fire safe construction of external walls, space separation reduces the risk of fire through unprotected areas in the sides of the building such as openings and combustible surfaces. Considering the provision for relevant boundary in Diagram 41 of ADB, a relevant boundary should coincide with or parallel to or be at angle not more than 80 degrees to the side of the building. This requirement is not a problem for the Academic Building as although relevant, boundaries from all sides are not close enough to be considered as risk or cause for radiation. Note that the nearest structure is more than 5 metres in the East. Similarly, provisions for roof protection is not relevant as they are only required if the relevant boundary is close enough to cause fire spread. 6.3 Access and facilities for the Fire and Rescue Service The Academic should provide should have adequate facilities to assist fire fighters while saving lives during a fire. These include vehicle access for appliances, access for fire fighting personnel, fire mains, vent for heat and smoke in the basement area, and water supply. There is no indication of fire mains in the building thus alternative solution should be considered as specified in Section 16.2 of ADB and Table 19 where 15% of perimeter should be provided for fire and rescue service vehicles access. A portion of the ground floor plan below shows possible vehicle access point in the front of the building neat the main entrance. 7. B5- Fire mains, hydrants, and Vehicle Access 7.1 Section 15: Fire mains and Hydrants Although alternative solution is possible, this fire safety plan recommend the installation of fire mains and private hydrants following the provisions and construction in Section 15.2 to 15.6 of ADB. The private hydrants on the other hand should provided in compliance with provision stated in Section 15.7 or 90m of dry fire main inlets for buildings with fire mains. In the absence of fire mains however, hydrants should within 90m of an entry point of the building and 90 metres apart. As discussed earlier, the open area near the ground floor entrance is the most ideal location for these hydrants. 7.2 Section 16: Vehicle Access Note that provision for vehicle access is not necessary if there are fire mains where fire fighters can connect their hoses for water supply. However, if no fire mains are provided then 15% of Academic Building perimeter should be allocated for vehicle access. An example of the perimeter and footprint is below. 7.3 Buildings fitted with fire mains If the Academic Building is fitted with fire mains then there should be access for pumping appliance to within 18 of each fire main inlet connection point. More importantly the building should provide adequate access route for fire fighting vehicles as listed in Table 20 of ADB. 7.4 Design of access routes and hard-standings Access routes should meet the requirement in Table 20 and turning facilities complying with Diagram 50 of ADB. Hard-standings on the other hand should comply with the specifications provided in Diagram 49 of ADB. 7.5 Section 17: Access to buildings for fire fighting personnel In multi-storey buildings similar to the Academic Building, the fire and rescue personnel should be provided with means to access the upper storeys. These include provisions form fire fighting lifts, fire fighting stairs, and fire fighting lobbies. The last two are already provided in the Academic Building (see second floor plan in Section 4.2 of this plan and Diagram 52 of ADB below ). Note that fire fighting shaft can be protected stairs and lobbies and does necessarily include fire fighting lifts. In Section 17.3, it is clearly specified the buildings in Purpose Group 5 with height more 7.5 metres above vehicle level should provide fire fighting shaft that can serve all floors. It should be located in an area where it can be effective in term of hose length which is 45 metres shown in Diagram 51 of ADB (see Appendix). 8. Fire Safety Management ADB does not contain any guidance in fire safety management thus BS9999 provided this fire safety plan the necessary information particularly in occupancy risk profile. In BS9999, the Academic Building occupancy has a type A characteristics requiring management level 2. However, in order to accurate determine fire safety management level required, BS9999 recommend the following strategies. A. Planning for changes in risk profile This strategy entails anticipating the effect of any changes in the occupancy or structure of the building in relations to fire growth and safety occupants. B. Resources and authority This strategy requires assurance that those who will manage fire safety is empowered and supported by all concern in terms of command and resoures. C. Staffing level or the staff-occupant ratio This strategy requires checking the availability of building staff to effectively handle the fire safety of occupants and keeping the building safe against fire. D. Fire Training This strategy requires checking that the fire safety plan is supported by sufficient number of individuals with fire training. E. Work Control This strategy requires checking the ability of management to control work on site such as repairs to structure, hot works, and other hazardous activities. F. Communications procedures This strategy requires checking the ability of the organisation to warn others about a fire or communicate with proper authorities about the event. G. Maintenance and testing of fire safety systems This strategy requires checking the ability of individuals managing fire safety to maintain fire safety equipment and devices. H. Liaison with fire and rescue service This strategy requires checking the ability of the organisation to coordinate with the fire and rescue in terms of fire safety I. Contingency Planning This strategy requires checking if there is a contingency plan or preparations made to ensure continuity in case of emergency and incident. 9. Regulatory Reform Order and Fire Safety Management Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, building owners are responsible for identifying, managing, and reducing the risk of fire. The recommended method is risk assessment which in essence is conducting an inspection of the premises, reduce or eliminate the risk or provide measures to keep the workplace safe. The responsibilities of the “responsible person” under the Order is to undertake general precautionary measures, conduct a regular risk assessment, and maintain the facility, equipment, and other devices correctly so that no untoward incident can occur. In the UK law, it is the Health and Safety Executive that has the power to enforce fire safety by serving notices to the concern organisation. Building owners who neglected their fire safety responsibilities are often fined or imprisoned if the violation is repeated. 10. Conclusions Following the provisions of ADB from B1 to B5, this fire safety plan enhances the safety of Academic Building occupants against fire. The recommended fire safety strategy contains provisions that can significantly reduce fire spread, enable fast and safe escape, protect the stability of structure, and assist the fire and rescue service during a fire. 11. References Approved Document B Volume 2 – Buildings Other Than DwellingHouses BS9999:2008, BSI British Standards: Code of Practice for Fire Safety in the Design, Management, and Use of Buildings. 12. Appendix A. Miscellaneous Tables and Diagrams B. Table Of Occupants Capacity Read More