Domestic Fires in Multi-Occupancy High-Rise Buildings - Research Proposal Example

 Report: Domestic Fires in Multi-Occupancy High-Rise Buildings Introduction The main feature of high-rise buildings is their height. It is difficult to define a high-rise building because they are complex to apply in relation to the real building. Before 1999, high-rise buildings were defined as buildings with seven floors, including both above the gray and below the ground. Nowadays, this definition is not considered comprehensive, since the building might have a certain number of floors above the ground from the front, while the back of the building would show a different number of floors because of a hill or uneven leveling of the land. A high-rise building is generally defined as one with a height of 75 feet. It is divided into several floors, where each floor is occupied separately and is a minimum of 2m in height. High-rise buildings are mostly offices, hotels or residential apartments. One of the major differences I single dwellings and high-rise buildings is the number of occupants. High-rise buildings can house several hundred more occupants than single dwellings. As a result, there are several more factors to take into account when building high-rise buildings. Going to the higher floors would require traversing great distances. In fact, high-rise buildings are also defined as those buildings which are greater than the maximum height that people are willing to walk up (Indianetzone.com, 2008). Besides the development of vertical transportation and the provision of electrical, water and gas supplies to each floor, building authorities also need to consider fire safety standards. This is not only necessary because evacuation of large numbers of people without fire safety protocol can result in huge damage to life and property, but also it would be difficult to contain the fire if there are no fire safety mechanism in place. A single dwelling can be relatively easier to manage in the event of a fire; however, fire can spread rapidly in high-rise buildings. So, the height of a building is a major risk factor to the community. The Need for a Fire Assessment This paper explores fire safety strategies that can be used to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities as a result of domestic fires in multi-occupancy high-rise buildings which are under construction and provide overpopulated temporary housing for migrant workers. A comprehensive fire safety program would attempt to alleviate the causes leading to fire, to manage and contain the fire and to safely evacuate the occupants and limit the spread of the fire. In order to formulate a strategy to deal with the prevention and the containment of fire in high-rise buildings, it is necessary to assess the fire risk. Fire risk assessment is an integral cog in the developing and implementing an effective fire safety model. Where risk assesses the chance of the harm occurring, hazard is referred to anything that has the potential to do harm (Great Britain: Department for Communities and Local Government, Odpm, 2006). Risk entails both the probability of any fire occurring and the harm that it can have on the environment and on people. Fires can harm in four main ways: life, environment, property and economy. They can cause harm to life. This includes harm to both occupants and the firefighters. The loss to property encompasses not only the monetary loss, but also will also have repercussions economically such as employment dismissal due to the fire, and tax assessment value. Fires can also have significant impact on the environment since they can burn down trees, release smoke and harm soil (Government of Ontario, 2009). Fire Risk Assessment The first part of the fire risk assessment involves understanding the causes of the fire and why fire safety protocol is necessary in high-rise buildings that are overpopulation and under construction. In accordance with Terpak (2010), fires that occur in high-rise buildings that have not been completed present unique challenges to the firefighters. Buildings that are under construction usually have high amounts of combustible materials and there are some places in the building where flammable gases and vapors may be present. The poor housekeeping and the non-functionality of ventilation shafts and airways can limit crossing of the wind and make the structure more prone to catch fire. In order to devising a comprehensive strategy to counter any fire risk, building authorities need to plan at every stage of the development. Data should be assimilated and analyzed early and construction sites must be visited to ward off the worst. One of the sources of ignition is cooking. A taller building also has a high population density. More number of occupants requires a thought-out and comprehensive evacuation plan. If a high-rise building is used for temporary purposes, the building authorities might not give the workers proper evacuation plans. This is also because the exit routes might not have been fully developed. The staircases may be in construction, which limits the number of staircases that can be used for evacuation. Also, there would not be handrails and other support for descending, increasing the time it takes for evacuation. Under construction buildings would not have adequate lighting facilities available and the lack of illumination can slow down the evacuation and cause yet more injuries and burns. Internal staircases also accumulate smoke. This can cause visibility and breathing problems to the residents of the building. Many people would prefer to stay in their rooms waiting for rescue surfaces, because the limited number of functional stairwells and the slow pace of flow will cause traffic congestion. It is also dangerous for workers to descend down stairwells that do not have handrails, and the potential for injuries is increased manifold in the event of a fire, where the smoke and the traffic congestion can cause the workers to panic. Under construction buildings also facilitate the spread of fire by convection. Since the ceilings are not completely fitted and there are holes and gaps through out the building, smoke gets trapped by the ceiling and spreads through gaps and holes to other parts of the buildings (Great Britain: Department for Communities and Local Government, Odpm, 2006). Fire can also spread quickly via ventilation shafts and airways. Such shafts allow the rapid spread of fire vertically. The problem becomes even more acute in high-rise buildings where the fire might be able to successfully evade any firewall that has been installed. The number of fatalities can also increase if people are not aware of the layout of the building (King, 2008). This can be an implication of housing temporary residents in the building. Since the workers have not been living in the building for a long time, they would not know of any safe passages, or short exits, that they can take for evacuation. Altering electrical and gas supplies can also create problems and can raise the potential of a fire. Fires caused due to faulty or misused electrical appliances are also common in high-rise buildings. Statistics report that over 25% of fires are caused by improper functioning or fault in the electrical equipment, wiring, or both. Electrical appliances can be used for cooking purposes. In an under construction high-rise building, not all occupants would have access to electrical and gas supplies, so they might extend the pipes and wires themselves to other parts of the building, increasing the chances of loose connections. If temporary residents alter electrical supplies and are not trained enough in handling electrical equipment, they would not be able to install the appliance properly and might damage the insulation of the wires. Moreover, lack of proper maintenance of the appliances can result in electrical fires (Hughes & Ferrett, 2007). Overheating of the appliances and short circuits can result from defective insulation. An unintended flow of current occurs between the two conductors or between the conductor and the earth, gradually worsening and heating up the appliance as the insulation becomes even more damaged. If insulation is fully damaged, it can cause large amounts of current to flow, leading to overheating, and ultimately fire (Hughes & Ferrett, 2007). Cooking materials like grocery bags are also susceptible to catching fire. When cooking, there is a lot of moisture in the environment, and can be another source for the spread of fire. Overpopulated areas mean that there is little space for mobility. Therefore wires are stepped upon more frequently and often coiled up to increase the space; both can cause damage to the wires and increases the probability of fire. Gas supplies can also be a reason for fires. In a high-rise building that is under construction, residents might attempt to extend the gas supplies to meet the needs of the occupants in parts of the building devoid of a functional gas supply. Problems such as loose connections, leakage of gas and malfunctioning appliances can emerge. In areas that are under construction, the risk of fires due to gas leakage is multiplied because construction and machinery can cause damage to the pipelines (National Fire Protection Association, 2005). If the appliances used for cooking purposes have not been capped, or if burners have not been turned off, leakage of gas can occur, resulting in explosions and fires. Delinquent firesetters can be another reason for fires. The number of juvenile firesetters is incrementing over the years, and is posing greater implications for the community safety (Slavkin, 2002). Moore, et al. (1996) observed that adults with personality problems can also cause fires. Strategy to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries The aforementioned causes of fires imply the strategies that need to be adopted in order to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries in under construction high rise buildings. The aim is not only to reduce the damage from fires, but also to prevent them from occurring in the first place. The first step in developing a strategy is to visit the site and assess the fire risks that it poses. By augmenting and hardening the structural aspects of the building and vulnerable parts like critical junctures can give the occupants more time to egress. The staircases can be hardened structurally and some sort of handrail must be provided so that the occupants can escape quickly. Secondary evacuation procedures would be more effective than primary ones. There have been advances in technology and more efficient secondary evacuation systems are now available in the market. Automatic harness-based lowering devices, mass-evacuation carriages that are set up from the rooftop of the building and inflatable slides that are present on each floor and go down till the ground can be used as an alternative to the staircases and can provide residents and building authorities a failsafe evacuation method (Lifesavingkit.com, 2008). The shortest distance to the exit can be calculated and an egress plan can be devised by authorities to aid the workers in evacuating the building. An analysis should be made of the number of functional stairwells and how the flow of people can be distributed amongst them to promote faster evacuation. The authorities need to tell each floor what staircase they have to use in case of an emergency. They should also be trained for evacuation through secondary evacuation means as discussed above. Equipment that is used by the firefighting personnel must be fire-proof. The building authorities that are responsible for building the high-rise should ensure that combustibles are not used in the construction. Halogen lamps and cooking substances can also cause fires. Authorities need to ensure that workers have enough awareness about the use of combustible substances. Grocery bags should not be placed near stoves and burners. Halogen lamps should be avoided and other light alternatives can be used for illumination. Cooking awareness needs to be raised amongst the workers. Rubbish from cooking should not be littered, but be disposed off on regular basis, since rubbish can cause fires to spread rapidly. Authorities need to ensure that the living space is sufficient for the workers, and the building should not be allowed to be overpopulated. Lesser number of occupants would translate into faster evacuation rates. However, residents that do alter the supplies should ensure that they do not step on the wires and cause them any physical damage. Moreover, they should be given the awareness that altering supplies without technical knowledge can cause malfunctioning of the appliances and overheat them. Authorities should therefore provide adequate electrical and gas supplies so that workers do not feel the need to alter the supplies. Workers should also be instructed to not to overload junctions with appliances, since it could lead to short circuits and ultimately fires. The lack of adequate illumination can be covered up by installing emergency lights in the hallways. Workers can be encouraged to keep a flashlight in handy. Gas supplies need to be checked regularly. Before housing inmates, authorities need to give the all-clear that there are no gas leaks. Gas leaks can be checked through combustible gas indicators, soap bubble solutions and pressure drop method. Also, malfunctioning of pressure regulators can culminate in dire consequences; therefore, effective pressurization of the gas system needs to be done. The gas system can be made to undergo high pressures but this pressure should not exceed the pressure that was present in the system at the start. Also, a precaution that needs to be taken when testing is that no equipment is taken apart (National Fire Protection Association, 2005). Authorities can install gas detectors in the building. Gas detectors measure the relative changes in the level of gas concentration and are used to alert people of a gas leak. In addition, emergency shutdown systems can be installed which will turn off supplies as soon as the alarm is sounded and would help avert explosions and fires (Shelley, et al., 2007). The most important fire protection is a smoke detector. Smoke detectors that are powered by battery need to be changed for batteries on a regular basis. A smoke detector needs to be installed on every floor and in an open area near the rooms (Creative Homeowner Press, 2006). Authorities have the choice of using many detector systems like voice alarm systems, visual devices, fire alarm systems, flame detectors, audible devices, heat detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. When the residents hear the alarm, they can get alerted immediately and call up the fire brigade. Another way of curtailing the spread of fire is by cutting off the power supply from the mains. A non-conducting extinguishing medium such as carbon dioxide or powder can be used to turn off the power. Dealing with moisture can prevent fires in cooking, and can be achieved through keeping appliances at a distance from moisture and clean dust by vacuum cleaners. One of the most effective methods of fire suppression is sprinklers. Sprinklers can be installed at various places on every floor. In case the sensor detects fire or smoke, the sprinklers can set off. High-rise buildings that do not have sprinkler systems have very high rates of fatalities and injuries. Installation of sprinklers can reduce property and life damage substantially (Arnold, 2005). A system of communications also need to be installed like telephones and paging services to inform the firefighters and other occupants of the building about the fire. Conclusion Thus in conclusion, analysis of the factors that can lead to fires need to be made. Strategies can then be devised to curb these factors. However, any strategy to reduce fire fatalities and injuries can not be implemented effectively without the coordination of the building authorities and the firefighters. The cooperation of the workers is also needed since their observation of fire safety measures can significantly mitigate the risk for fire. Reference List Creative Homeowner Press, 2006. Ultimate Guide to Home Repair & Improvement. 2nd ed. Creative Homeowner. Government of Ontario, 2009. FIRE RISK Sub-Model. [Online] (Updated 17 February 2010) Available from: http://www.ofm.gov.on.ca/english/fireprotection/model/FireRisk.asp#3.0__community_fire_risk_factors [Accessed 19 June 2010]. Great Britain: Department for Communities and Local Government, Odpm, 2006. Fire Safety-risk Assessment: Offices And Shops. The Stationery Office. Hughes, P. & Ferrett, E. 2007. Introduction to Health and Safety at Work: The Handbook for the NEBOSH National General Certificate. 3rd ed. Butterworth-Heinemann. King, C., 2008. bre. [Online] Available at: http://www.assemblywales.org/dfs16_-_bre.pdf [Accessed 19 June 2010]. Indianetzone.com, 2008. High Rise Buildings. [Online] Available from: http://construction.indianetzone.com/1/high_rise_buildings.htm [Accessed 19 June 2010]. Lifesavingkit.com, 2008. Double Exit Rescue & Evacuation Solutions. [Online] Available from: http://www.lifesavingkit.com/Whitepaper.pdf [Accessed 19 June 2010]. Moore et al, 1996. Profiles of adolescent boys with a history of firesetting. Journal of Personality Assessment, 67, pp.4-20. National Fire Protection Association, 2005. User's Manual for Nfpa 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. 2nd ed. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Shelley, et al., 2007. Industrial Firefighting for Municipal Firefighters. Oklahoma: Fire Engineering Books. Slavkin, M., 2002. Juvenile fire setting: an exploratory analysis. Psychiatry Services, 5, pp.1237-1238. Read More