Rescue and Fire Service Management - Le Royal Meridien Hotel - Case Study Example

rescue and fire service management By [ name of the author] rescue and fire service management from [name of the organization] [author’s name] [date of fulfillment] Acknowledgment Abstract I am working towards the application of various rescue processes that are included in the situation of fire. The case of my study is to find out the risk factors that are to be found in a 32 storey high-rise hotel building in Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates. It is a famous hotel and in general is well equipped with fire rescue measures. However the losses were heavy and few people expired on the spot. The paper is about how the various rescue factors can get together in such a situation and what the ways for managing fire crisis. Table of Contents Cover sheet 1 Title page 2 Acknowledgment 3 Abstract 4 Table of Contents 5 Executive Summary 6 The report 7 references 17 Executive Summary This paper is a report over an outburst of fire in a 32 storey high-rise hotel in Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates. Under a very speculative attempt of I am trying to find out all those rescue measures for the purpose of such crisis management. It is tough to rescue people from dangerous fire. I am aiming at giving those tips through which the rescue measures can be much stronger. After all it is all about patience, intelligence and proper management. It is the team that follows up under proper discipline. This paper is in relation to rescue and fire management proceedings under professional guidelines. The report Pic. 1 Le Royal Meridien Hotel Source- Emporis1 introduction Name of the building - Le Royal Meridien Hotel Number of the floors - 32 storeys Fully occupied – 1700 guests Location – Abu Dhabi, UAE It was on the 11th of June, Wednesday that a devastating fire broke in Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE. The fire broke in that huge building of 32 floors2, due to some short circuit in the 25th floor. The effects were tremendous. It hardly took any moment for the fire to spread all over the places. The consecutive buildings were all under its influence. Within a span of 40 minutes the fire spread all over the floors above the 25th floor. The whole atmosphere got chaotic and people all over started screaming. Due to the short circuit the automated main switches got tripped and as such darkness was everywhere, except for the few emergency lights that glowed dimly in the smoked filled atmosphere. There were heavy losses of property as many buildings were interconnected. In the hotel itself there were at least a population of 1700 guests in the various floors. The fire spread all over with huge affect and was immense till the 19th floor. Everywhere there is running and rushing people. It was till the 29th floor towards the top and the 20th floor towards the ground that the fire spread. Later it was discovered that fortunately there was no life lost. The fire also spread all over the other buildings creating more threats. As it was an accident due to electrical disorder the spread was though comparatively slow but the affects were much more than anybody could ever imagine. Everything that was a good conductor of electricity started getting the impact of the current. The place became riskier and people were all in a very dangerous state. The fire broke at about 3 o’clock in the morning. It was a time when almost the streets were empty but people were all thronged in the hotel. The Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE, is such a hotel that is well known for its services and as such usually is crowded round the clock and throughout the year. The time when the sparking started in the 25th floor the matter was not noticed well, but as it grew and people started seeing fire in the curtains the whole episode began. All the people started running towards the ground floor and there was this huge crowd followed. As it was a moment when everybody was fast a sleep the chaos took some time to grow but as everyone woke up it was a huge massive crowd. Risk assessments As it was darkness all around the process of saving more people became more difficult and the risk kept on increasing. There was a situation of helplessness and nervousness in everyone. It was more because people who were in the building were hardly aware of the ways to get rid of that fire. They were all just running nowhere. There was attempt of saving life in a more technical way. People were screaming all over for help. The fire brigade people were called and the rescue team were on their way. Added to this the trouble was more as it was dusk and the sunlight was not that prominent. Most of the people could not come out if the building as they could not find the way. There was no electricity and the emergency lights were not helping much. Children were more terrified and people were trying to get rid of each dangerous situation. However most of the rescue processing got speed after 4.30am when there was much light and the sunrise happened. The crisis seems to be under control but it was not exactly the solution. The evacuation process was more active after daybreak and people were coming out of the building by themselves3. The most dangerous part was that almost every thing turned into electrical conductor. People could not touch anything for support to come out of the building. Every window and door pane was full of electric current. The children were more at risk as they were not aware of this conductivity. Elders were more in concern and somehow the evacuation took place in a more proper way. Risk profile graphs As elaborated in the graph below, it was the speed in which the fire spread all over the floors within a short notice. The initial problem was darkness. Due to darkness the rescue mission could not perform well but soon as the day break everybody got active and more and more people were saved. Some came out of the building by themselves and the children were all helped by the elders. There were few people in the 25th floor itself who could not make any move but the rescue team took them out one by one. Figure 1 decrease in risk with the day break Initially the rescue team could not find people in the floors. Most of them were detected as per the sounds they were making but it became very hard to find those who were not in a state to move. As it was an electrical short circuit it was very hard to approach each of the floors. Everything was turning into electrical conductor. The bathrooms were much unsafe places as those have got water and people were all made conscious about it. The rescue was hard due to darkness, but as the day broke at about 4.30 the task became much easier. As people were not much aware of the precautions in every level4 the blunders were more common to happen. The basic demand was to save as many people as could be and let them not get into the electrical periphery. It was tough as people were all ignorant about many minute things. However the team was smart enough and they were making all the announcements. The risk was decreasing along with the day break and lives were getting safer. Figure 2 floors would have got affected without the rescue team Figure 3 Floors got less affected by the application of precautions Civil protection role The fire got broke all at once but the legal authorities will ask lots of questions to the hotel authorities. It is the duty of the hotel authorities to apply possible thing to add precautions to the accident and they indeed did. However there will be a detailed inspection aver the whole building tall the constructive methods will be checked and all types of inspection regarding the accident will be done. As for the insurance company the same is applicable. They will not provide the hotel with the insurance money unless they are all satisfied about every particular thing. The inspection will be over the use of fireproofing materials and structures in the hotel. The legal authorities and the insurance company will check how safely the building has been made for such accidents. The whole speculations will be over the construction of the building and the materials as has been used for the same. The securitisation will also be over the availability of a reliable fire resistance things and foam restoration specialist5. Fortunately enough all the elements that were used in making the building were the for the purpose of fire prevention and to reduce the sources of ignition6. Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE is always famous for its services and this was well shown by the staff members during the crisis. They all came up professionals with trained fire rescue procedures and were found to be aware to deal with such risky situations to a building fire. Added to all these there were the availability of passive fire protection and active fire protection systems in the hotel controlling the damage to a great extent. The damages were comparatively low and were further minimised as Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE was well equipped with the maximized passive fire protected things. Being such a big hotel the building materials and furnishings of Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE are tested for fire-resistance, combustibility and flammability during the construction of the building. All the decorative elements like carpets and plastics that were used in the rooms and the corridors were also well tested. The Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE was having the privilege of fireproofing measures related to the passive fire protection equipments. Almost 75 percent of the materials used in the construction of the building were done with the materials and structures that were having more resistant to fire Le Royal Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE. This carefulness in the time of construction was of great use during this crisis. This has added more fame to the company and for sure it is going top get more popular now. Hazardous situations The whole problem would have been worse if the fire brigade and the rescue team would not have arrived in time. They were proved to be of great help and no human life was lost. They were proved to be quite professional and their quick response is highly appreciated. They worked and rescued in the most hazardous situation of darkness7. Added to this, was the risk of electrical conductivity. Most of the people were unaware of the fact of handling this situation and their ignorance was the cause of more risk. However no body was allowed to throw water in the fire by the announcements as has been made. Time From the first time of call until the arrival of fire engine to the location The rescue team arrived within a very short notice in spite of the traffic on the road. Evacuation The act of evacuation from the unaffected storeys was done in more proper way only after the daybreak. These were all those people who were stuck in between while trying to get out of the building. People who were below the 20th floor were all were evacuated in a much comfortable way than those who were towards the top. The floors above 25th floor were all at high risk. Fire precautions The rescue team acted very swiftly and the first thing they did was to remove fuel for the fire from all possible ends. The cut off the domestic gas supply and moved away all the combustible objects from the path of the fire. They blocked all the sources and switched off all the main switches that would have helped the fir e to grow. They also cut off the domestic gas and electricity, and switched off all the working machines. All the ventilation and air conditioning were turned off to prevent the fire to grow. One of the fire fighters was announcing all the safety tips constantly on a loud speaker and those were of great help. Due to the accident that happened out of electricity the application was of Grimwood's modified '3D attack strategy' the ceiling is first sprayed with short pulses of a diffused spray. This is the best possible way discovered till date8. The purpose is to cool the smoke and as such the fire lessens its growth. The pressure of the gas drops and as such the atmosphere becomes breathable. In case of electrical fire the chemical sprays are used instead of water and thus is of great help. For any fire related to electricity it is highly suggested to asphyxiate the fire. As we have found that some chemicals get mixed with water like that of sodium and create poisonous gases that are very harmful for human beings. In such cases it is more preferable to use a layer of water-b ased fire retardant foam that is to keep the oxygen in air separated from the fuel. Products like hydrocarbons, viz. gasoline, oil, alcohol, etc. needs to be separated first as the fire breaks. There can be nothing better than prevention than protection and as such one should be particular about it. references Begal, Bill. "Restoration With a Capital E-P-A: A Case Study", Restoration & Remediation, August 23, 2007. http://www.randrmagonline.com/CDA/Archives/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000156172 [retrieved on 22.06.08] Dept for Communities and Local Govt: Fire and Resilience - Introduction to the New Dimensions programme, http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/resilienceresponse/newdimensionequipping/introduction/ [retrieved on 22.06.08] Le Royal Meridien Hotel. Emporis.com. n.d., http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=leroyalmeridienhotel-abudhabi-unitedarabemirates [retrieved on 22.06.08] Finalised guidance notes, n.d., www.somersetfirebrigade.co.uk/IRMP/irfmp/html/guidance.html [retrieved on 19.06.08] Fire & Life Safety Education, Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner, n.d., http://www.firecomm.gov.mb.ca/safety_education_nero_and_ashcan.html#6 [retrieved on 22.06.08] FRS Online, links to full report PDF: Independent Review of the Fire Service pub Dec 2002 http://www.frsonline.fire.gov.uk/publications/article/17/306 [retrieved on 22.06.08] Government Response to the Communities & Local Government Committee’s Report on the Fire and Rescue Service, 29 September 2006, TSO, http://www.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm69/6919/6919.pdf [retrieved on 22.06.08] Independent Review of the Fire Service (2002) The Future of the Fire Service: reducing risk, saving lives, available on http://www.irfs.org.uk/ [retrieved on 22.06.08] Read More