A Hotel Fire Strategy - Assignment Example

A hotel fire strategy A HOTEL FIRE STRATEGY GRACE SARKAR Order No. 420714 14 March A HOTEL FIRE STRATEGY Abstract The design of the hotel comprises three floors. Of these three floors, the ground floor has a lobby, a cinema and two functional rooms. Obviously, these two rooms are meant for hire. The first floor has 12 rooms, 3 stair cases and void that serves as a lobby. The second floor has 10 rooms and 2 stair cases and another 2 stair cases that lead to a billiard room. The admeasurements of the hotel rooms, cinema and billiards rooms are not provided. For the purpose of this report, we will assume that each room admeasures 72 square meters. That is the entire length and breadth of one room is 12 meters by 6 meters respectively. The entire cinema admeasures 40 meters length by 40 meters breadth. The lobbies admeasure 40 square meters at 10 meters length by 4 meters breadth. The two billiards rooms admeasure 12 meters by 6 meters each (Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, 2007, p52). The admeasurements of the staircases are also not provided. We assume width of each staircase to admeasure 1400 mm and of 5 meters height. "Elements of structure such as structural frames, beams, columns, load bearing walls and floor structures" are insulated from fire. The hotel owners have left nothing to chance while preparing the building for the hotel. Adequate care and provisions have been made that chances of fire is remote and even if it does takes place, it causes minimum damage (Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, 2007, p71). My work is to organize fire strategy for the entire hotel and comprises compartmentation, fire suppression, other internal fire spread and external fire spread Compartmentation The cinema on the ground floor has sprinklers. These sprinklers become automatically activated in the event of a fire. The closest sprinkler to the spot of the fire gets first activated. The heat above 45 degrees is immediately sensed by the sprinklers setting off water jets sprouting towards the fire. There are 30 sprinklers spread over the cinema. Four sprinkles are fixed on each wall totaling 16 all around the walls. Another 14 sprinklers guard the ceiling, 3 each in four rows and two hover over the screen (Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, 2007, p783). The cinema is one whole auditorium. So it is not possible to compartmentalize by means of walls or any other partition. The walls, floor and ceiling are, however, fire-proof. There are four large exit point that lead outside the building premises from the cinema. There are another four exit points that lead to the lobby of the ground floor. But these exit points have a wall in between the lobby and the exit points. There is a ten-foot passage between the exit points and the wall that lead to the main entrance of the hotel. An emergency exit almost the size of the passage width at one end of this passage leading outside the building premises is opened at the end of the shows to enable the viewers make their exit. Viewers are not allowed to exit from the hotel lobby except in emergency situations such as fire. The capacity of the cinema is 200 persons. In case of fire towards the exits leading outside the building, the viewers will naturally make exit from the exit points towards the lobby. A hundred viewers will exit from the lobby which will be opened for the exiting viewers in view of the emergency situation, and another hundred will exit from the emergency exit leading outside the building. The doors leading into the cinema are fire-proof. However, the large, dark curtains within the doors are not fire proof. Nevertheless, fire to these curtains will not result in large scale damage since the walls and floor are fire-proof. The seating arrangement in the cinema is fire-proof. The screen is not fire-proof. But sprinklers overhead will sprout water jets immediately the screen catches fire. Overall, the complete cinema is well-prepared for evacuation in case of fire. There are three fire extinguishers on either sides of the cinema totaling six fire extinguishers in the cinema hall. There are ducts across the cinema to suck out smoke in case of fire. The ducts have been so placed that as soon as the sprinklers have targeted and doused the fire, the residual smoke gets sucked out. The two functional rooms do not have sprinklers. But they have two doors each leading in and out to the lobby. These rooms have one wall serving to compartmentalize, so in case of fire in either rooms exit is possible from the room free of fire. These rooms have one door leading outside the building. But the keys to these doors are not given to guests and only used in case of fire. The walls, floors and ceiling of these rooms are fire-proof. The twelve rooms on the first floor open to a common corridor. The corridor is twelve feet wide and leads to stair cases at either end. There is another stair case in between four rooms at one side of the passageway. All these stair cases are 1400 mm wide and lead to the lobby on the ground floor. The stair cases at either end of the passage lead into lobby as well as outside the building. All the rooms are compartmentalized so that fire in one room will not prevent the occupants from exiting safely from either room. Also, there are four fire extinguishers installed in the passage. Hence, in case of any minor fire mishap it is possible to extinguish it on the spot (Residential Fire Sprinkler Information Kit). The second floor has ten rooms. These rooms are compartmentalized on the lines of the room on the first floor. There are four fire extinguishers on this floor. The billiard rooms are halls with two billiard tables each. There is no wall in between. The walls, floor and ceiling are fire-proof. The billiards tables are not fire-proof. There are stair cases at either end of the passage leading to the first and ground floors. There are two other stair cases leading to the billiards rooms. These staircases lead directly from the billiards rooms to the first floor and the lobby or outside the building premises. They are 1100 mm in width and are fire-proof (Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, 2007, p52). Fire Suppression The cinema hall is properly laid out with fire suppression systems. As mentioned earlier, the whole hall is overlaid with thirty sprinklers that are acutely sensitive to fire and will eject water at any spot where heat touches 45 degrees. The cinema hall also has six fire extinguishers. The hotel building complex has proper fire suppression systems for its size. The electrical fittings are done with enough care to spot any malfunction and have them repaired. The hotel employs two full-time electricians to oversee the proper functioning of electrical fittings and gadgets in its premises. The fire alarm systems in place are those that detect fire or smoke and raise an alarm. There are eight such fire alarm systems in the cinema and two each in the other rooms including the billiards rooms. These systems are highly sensitive to smoke and fire and begin to raise an alarm once it detects smoke and fire. A fire of high intensity is unlikely because the walls, floors and ceiling are fire-proof. However, there are enough fire detection gadgets in the hotel to warn people of fire as set out in B1 (Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, 2007, p1). The hotel has not experienced any major fire. But it has learnt from fires at other locations, particularly other hotels and has wisely taken enough care to warn occupants and engage in fire fighting. Besides, the hotel is not so big to engage complex and sophisticated fire resistance. Other Internal Fire Spread Internal fire spread is controlled by using fire-resistant material in the entire hotel complex including the cinema. This material not only prevents fire from damaging the building or any part thereof physically but also withstands the fire's fury for substantial time. The choice of internal lining material also enable prevent fire from causing any damage. Other internal fire spread as mentioned in B2 can happen due to furniture and fixtures in the hotel. But these do not have the capacity to cause large scale damage. Once detected, they can be put out with the help of fire extinguishers. These furniture and fixtures are so placed that they do not come close to each other (Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, 2007, p65). The staircases are wooden and not fire-proof. However, they are so placed that they are not likely to be affected by fire that emanates from any place in the hotel. The fire has to be around for sometime before it reaches the staircase. As a precautionary measure, two fire extinguishers are placed close to the stairs on the first and second floors. Internal fire spread is also controlled through proper care and awareness. Guests and other occupants must be educated on first aid tips in case of fire. Along with the fire extinguishers there must eye-catching notices with fire fighting notices. There is no mention of any place for kitchen in the hotel complex. However, we assume it is there on the ground floor. It is possible that the kitchen is housed in one or both of the functional rooms on the ground floor. The kitchen is a place where fire can happen. The kitchen is also a place where sprinklers are necessary. But kitchen is also the place where fire and smoke exist. Hence, sprinklers must be so placed that they do not come within the range where fire and smoke exist. In case it is not possible to find such a place, it is better to keep fire extinguishers instead. External Fire Spread The hotel complex is well laid out and has enough exits and escapes to maneuver in case of fire. Also, as a comparatively small structure, it can manage any outbreak of fire rather quickly and bring it under control. The hotel does not have lifts. There is no mention of fire mains anywhere in the hotel complex (Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, 2007, p109). There is no mention of any building in the hotel's vicinity that can be damaged due to fire in the hotel premises. It is assumed that other building structures are at safe distance from the hotel. However, the likelihood of fire spreading to other buildings in the vicinity depends on the intensity of the fire in the hotel premises. The hotel owners have taken enough precaution to insulate the external walls and roofs from fire. Nonetheless, there is likelihood of fire taking place in case inflammable material like fuel is cast on the hotel complex. It is also necessary to have proper security around the hotel to prevent such happening. Since the hotel is a relatively small structure of ground plus two floors, it is enough that it is situated at a place that is accessible to fire fighters in case that becomes necessary (Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, 2007, p108). Nonetheless, it is necessary to take all factors into account. External fire spread can happen in any ways apart from precautionary measures taken to avoid them. Safety tips must be placed at prominent places so that guests and other occupants in the hotel know what to do in case of fire. "Objectives for life safety will, in practically all cases, be paramount to the strategy. The main objective will be to ensure that all persons can be evacuated safely from the building in the event of a single fire incident" (Fire Strategies, p13). Conclusion Fire fighting is not an isolated incident. It can happen anywhere. It is important to maintain adequate vigilance to spot fire and extinguish it before it causes harm. It is within the control of the hotel management to do everything necessary to prevent fire internally and externally. The best part is, however, educating the occupants on measures necessary for fire fighting. Sometimes it is easier to spend billions of dollars in fire prevention measures than to stop fire from happening due to careless acts. Technical factors on fire fighting are important and must be followed. However, it must be remembered that great fires have been caused by minor actions. Throwing away live cigarette butts or match sticks without extinguishing them have been the biggest cause of huge fires. It is avoiding carelessness such these that enable prevention of fires. Source: Buildings Other Than Dwelling Houses, April 2007, http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_App_Doc_B_v2.pdf Farmer, Antony; 01 October 2009, Alder's Point Fire Summary, http://www.cityofws.org/Assets/CityOfWS//Documents/forms%20and%20reports/Fire/AlderPointFireSummary_2oct2009.pdf Fire Strategies, August 2007, http://academia-research.com/files/message/2082269_PAS%20911%202007.pdf Historic Fires, 05 February 2005, http://www.utexas.edu/safety/fire/safety/historic_fires.html Residential Fire Sprinkler Information Kit, http://www.firesprinkler.org/downloads/AFSA-8060.pdf Read More