Fire Safety Plans and Facilities - Case Study Example

Fire Protection Strategies Submitted by [Client’s Name] Submitted to [Professor’s Name] In partial fulfillment of course syllabus in [Subject] [Date] Internal Fire Spread Structure Regulatory requirements on fire safety of buildings other than dwelling houses are important for two major reasons: first, it saves lives and properties. Building that conform to the fire safety standard and maintains the integrity of its fire safety plans and facilities are less likely to get serious damage in any event of emergency, if at all; second, conformance to building fire safety is the investments spent on fire safety facilities and conformance are outweighed by the importance of human lives and properties. For this reason, it is very important to evaluate any building designs and proposals in order to assess whether these are compliant to the fire safety requirements detailed in Approved Document B, Fire Safety Risk Assessment, and the British Standard 9999 (BS 9999). The fact that the building will house a large volume of occupants requires that fire risk assessment of the building should reflect the population that can be handled by the different areas of the building, the nature and functions of each enclosure, the accessibility to the outside world, and other similar factors. Each floor level of the building requires different fire risk assessments due to the fact that the internal structures of each floor level are different from each other. For this reason, it is necessary to assess fire hazards and fire risks of the building design on each and every floor and identify the necessary precautions to satisfactorily meet the regulatory requirements. At first glance, it is easy to identify that there are some areas in both Approved Document B and BS9999 that were not met in the building design. First, there is no provision in the design for the fire fighting system like the outline of the pipeline system for sprinklers, provisions for safe escape route and fire fighting stairs; second, there is nothing in the original design that indicates the possible locations of smoke detectors compliant to the provisions of Approved Document B; and lastly, there are no additional fire safety and fire prevention measures included in the design like an egress, fire hose inside the building, or emergency lifts that would be used by firefighters in any event of fire emergency. Analysis of fire-safety compliance of the building design is performed per floor level as well as the subsequent modifications of the floor plan to suit the regulatory requirements stated in Approved Document B, BS9999, and Fire Risk Assessment document. Another important thing that the building plan failed to include is the elevation of the floors from the ground level. The design submitted does not contain an isometric view on the sides of the building. The lack of perspectives on the possible height of the four storey building would make it difficult to integrate an efficient and functional fire fighting system as well as design provisions for fire exit and egress. This is because there are different fire safety requirements for flats at the ground level and for flats situated more than 4.5 meters from ground level as required by Approved Document B. There are also significant differences in the BS9999 requires that building profiles should provide for fire protection that would allow occupants to move from any compartment to safety (BS9999, 2008; 52). Any buildings should take into consideration the two stages to safety – the time to alarm and the time to escape. Similarly, BS9999 requires that vertical and horizontal means of escape must be provided with extra fire safety measures like slip resistance on floorings, additional fire resistance on the walls enclosing the escape route, and provisions for potential reverse flow situations (BS9999, 2008; 57). Section 2.6a of the Approved Document B requires provisions for an egress in the basement in the event that the stairways are impassable in an even of fire emergency but there was nothing in the floor design of the basement to indicate any opening for egress. Regulatory Reform Upon evaluation of the building proposal, it was found that the building design complies in part to all the sections of Approved Document B. Some of the sections that needs to be met are: Section 1.10 which determines the placement of heat and smoke alarm systems, particularly in areas where fire is most likely to occur (like in the switch room, electrical rooms, and in the kitchen); Section 1.35 which requires the provisions of fire alarm systems in Institutional buildings; Section 2.44 where stairs serving other floors should not be used to serve the basement level; Sections 5.2-5.6 which details the fire-resistance requirements of the doors and walls of enclosures; Sections 5-19 – 5.20 which details how escape stairs are to be constructed and what are the acceptable materials to be used; and 5.39 for evacuation lifts. It is also highly recommended that the detailed construction plan pertaining to the provisions set by Sections 6-10 whenever applicable must be submitted along with the basement design/plan. Basement Level It is important to prevent ignition of fires inside any of the enclosures in a building and making sure that when it does, fire spread can also be prevented or controlled to a certain degree. The basement level of the proposed school building houses two potential sources of fires which are the lecture theater and the switch room. The electrical and electronic materials found in the lecture theater can become a source of ignition and any combustible materials found within the premise of these potential sources of fires can help sustain the fire (HMSO, 2006; 9). There is also a risk of entrapments in case of fire emergencies when the two stairs leading to the ground level are on fire. The floor plan did not show any fire safety provisions integrated on it. There is no provision for emergency stairs of fire fighting stairs from the ground level to the basement. Moreover there are no mention of any fire protection systems like sprinklers, smoke detectors, and location of fire safety equipments (ex. fire hose, fire hydrants, fire alarm control panel, and fire extinguisher) which is in direct violation to the provisions set by Section 16.2 of BS9999. Ground Level The ground floor is a potential source of fire as it accommodates a large number of people and houses the kitchen (even though BS9999 does not consider the kitchen as a high risk area that needs specialized installations as per Sections 13.6 and 15.2). However, it is noted that the ground floor plan share similar fire risk observations with the basement level. There is nothing in the floor plan that indicates provisions for fire-fighting like sprinklers, smoke and heat detectors, and fire hydrants. It is very important for the building floor plan to indicate these items because the ground floor is the primary entrance and exit points in any event of fire emergencies. Failure to comply with the items required by both BS9999 and Approved Document B may result to serious damages in lives and in properties in the long run. There is also nothing in the floor plan that shows that the enclosures near the exit points are made from fire-resistant materials specified in both Approved Document B and that of BS9999. There is no information about passageways and corridors leading to the exit points whether they are lined with fire-resistant walls that would allow at least 30 minutes (Approved Document B) to a maximum of 2 hours (BS9999) or not. There is nothing in the building design that indicates special provisions on stairs leading to the basement and the ones leading to the upper levels. Lastly, the dimension of the exit points in the ground floor are not satisfactory considering the large volume of people that would pour out from the building in case of fire emergences. All of these elements should be investigated and modified in accordance to the fire requirements set by the British government. The large number of people that can be accommodated in the ground floor level requires extra precautions on any fire-related issues. First to Second Level Majority of the considerations on fire safety requirements of the first and second floors pertain to enclosures that houses people. More than half of the enclosures on both floors are classrooms and offices and most of the time, these enclosures houses possible sources of ignition as well as combustible materials that could sustain the fire. The fire risks observations for the first and second levels of the proposed buildings are similar to that of the ground and basement levels – that there are no provisions for fire fighting and fire alarm systems in both floors. There is also no fire lifts indicated in the floor plan that would allow fire fighters to traverse one floor level to another. Third Level Every other fire fighting risks and concerns for the lower levels are also noted in the third level but with some major additions. First, the third level of the building houses the science laboratory which is considered as a high-risk fire hazard by BS99999. This means that additional fire fighting provisions must be set up in this floor to ensure that fire is contained in case it breaks out from this level since science laboratories are very prone to ignitions and fire spread. The third floor also contains an enclosure for multimedia laboratory which means that this enclosure is also a potential source of fire as electrical wirings can easily short out and ignites fire. While these fire hazards are present, there is nothing in the floor plan that indicates that the potential dangers caused by these hazards are addressed or are being monitored. There are no smoke detectors, fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, and water sprinklers included in the floor plan. Moreover, there are also no provisions for egress at this height even though it is very necessary to have one should the fire start from lower levels and the occupants from the higher floors need to be evacuated. Similarly, there are also no indications that the materials used in the construction of the walls of the corridors and passages comply with the requirements set by Approved Document B and BS9999. Fire Safety Management As was discussed, the building design and construction floor plan have numerous non-compliance issues. These non-compliance issues were identified by referring to the standard requirements of the Approved Document B and the BS9999. Before an approval will be given to this design, it is necessary that the fire risks and fire hazards identified above be isolated, removed, or modified into a more compliant structural design. This further implies that major modifications and ramifications will be done on the design, particularly on the inclusion of the fire safety features and fire fighting facilities for the building. Another thing is the need to provide an isometric view of the sides of the building, giving more attention on the height of the structure in order to recommend a good egress location or fire exit for higher levels. The building design plan lacks all the fire safety elements for buildings other than dwelling houses. Because the building will be used as an academic building which houses numerous enclosures with different functions, it is necessary that the building plan would reflect the specific fire safety and fire fighting requirements of these enclosures based on the standards outlined by the Approved Document B and the BS9999. The evaluation of the floor plan presented for the building showed non-compliance in various requirements set by both documents. The summary of findings is listed below together with the subsequent recommendations. (a) There are no fire alarm and detection systems installed in the building. Both Approved Document B and BS9999 requires minimum number of fire alarm and fire detection systems that are composed of smoke and heat detectors and fire alarms and water sprinklers located in strategic locations in enclosures and corridors inside the building. It is highly recommended that the floor plans should show various fire alarm systems and components and indicate their placement in all the floors and corridors. It is important for the civil engineers to indicate these items in their floor plan so that the fire engineers can evaluate whether the placements are compliant with the existing standards. (b) There is no information whether the interior wall linings are fire resistant. It is important to know whether the materials that will be used in the interior wall linings of any enclosure are fire resistant. If the wall linings are fire resistant, the spread of the fire to other enclosures will be prevented and the fire will be contained. Moreover, it will also allow inhabitants of other areas of the floor level safety evacuations. (c) There is no provision for centralized fire alarm mechanism. Centralized fire alarm will identify which part of the building is under fire and would enable fire fighters to create immediate response strategies to fight the fire. Without a centralized fire alarm mechanism, identifying the source of the alarm would take longer than acceptable. (d) There are no indications of the materials that will be used in stairs and in exit openings. (e) There is no information about the floor height from the ground level to the third floor. Without this information, it would be very difficult to identify how to minimize or control the risk factors on higher floor levels. The updated floor plans show the recommended placements of directions to escape routes to safety, the egress to safety, and possible locations for smoke detectors, fire alarms, and CCTV cameras. It also contains the recommended wall separations that must be made of BS9999- determined and Document B-approved fire-resistant materials. References BSI British Standards. (2008). Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. Communications and Local Government. (2000). The Building Regulations 2000. Approved Document B. Riba Publishing. Read More