Fire Safety Regulation - Fire Engineering Group

Passive Fire Protection & the RR(FS)O;

A fire-fighters view

GM Paul Jenkins

LFB Fire Engineering Group

Copyright of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority

Why do we need fire protection?

Regulatory - Life Safety

Building Regulations – functional requirements in case of fire.

Reasonable period of stability for occupants/fire-fighters.

Reasonable restriction of fire spread including unseen spread within concealed spaces.

Using either or both

• Fire resisting construction

• Automatic Fire Suppression

Why do we need fire protection?

Other

Property Protection – damage mitigation

Economic impact – cost/growth/employment

Societal risk reduction

Environmental damage

Sustainability

Fire - Residential Block

Residential flats built in the late 1970’s

Timber-framed construction

Refurbished since construction including replacement uPVC windows

Fire occurred in flat on first floor

Fire spread into wall cavity via window openings

Extensive further spread resulting in the destruction of the whole building (12 flats).

Evacuation procedures changed in adjacent blocks as a result

Fire - Residential Block

Residential flats built in 2006

Timber-framed construction

Fire started from cigarette in bark chippings on flower bed outside the building

Fire spread into wall cavity via ventilation opening ‘air brick’

Extensive further spread resulting in severe damage to roof and 14 flats.

Most of building uninhabitable.

Fire - Residential Block

New Residential block – being occupied

Conventional construction

Fire started in basement car park

Fire spread into riser

Extensive further spread into common escape routes

All floors damaged.

Building unusable

Fire - Warehouse

Document Storage

Sprinklered (but!)

Sub-compartmented

Fire spread throughout

Ineffective fire compartment walls

Building destroyed

Fire - Office

Partially occupied

Undergoing refurbishment

Fire started on upper floor

Fire spread upwards and downwards

Compartment floors compromised

Building severely damaged and demolished

01:30hrs 02:10hrs

01:30hrs 02:10hrs

01:30hrs 02:10hrs

01:30hrs 02:10hrs

01:30hrs 02:10hrs

01:30hrs 02:10hrs

Fire – Construction Site Development

Partially finished building

Furnished and ready for partial occupation

Fire spread from construction site

Building destroyed

No prizes for guessing where the fire protection was that worked?

Structural Fire Engineering

SIPS Panels

ICPT/MMC

Engineered floor joists

Engineered Wood Products

Exposed to fire

Structural Fire Engineering

Courtesy of Arup Fire

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Temperatures (oC)

Time (min)

Beam D - Standard

Fire

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Temperatures (oC)

Time (min)

Beam D - Standard

Fire

Temperature-time curves:

• Data provided by intumescent paint producer

• Material properties Eurocode

Courtesy of Arup Fire

Structural Fire Engineering

Structural Fire Engineering

Performance depends upon effective passive fire protection of specific structural elements

Courtesy of Arup Fire

OK I install Passive FP – am I responsible ?

Mr D Brent

Reading Regional Manager

Wernham Hogg Ltd

Sole occupier of the Reading office building – employ 20 staff

HQ in London

The RR(FS)O legally defines the person with responsibility for fire safety as Responsible Person.

So, its not me then!

(a) in relation to a workplace, the employer, if the workplace is to any extent under his control;

Article 3 The Responsible Person

But who is the employer David Brent or Wernham Hogg Ltd?

OK- I’m neither of these, again it’s not me.

32(8) Where an offence under this

Order committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate is guilty of that offence, and is liable to be proceeded against and punished

accordingly

Will be the body corporate

But it could also be him!

Great, I don’t trade on the premises or own it, still not me

(a) in relation to a workplace, the employer, if the workplace is to any extent under his control;

(b) in relation to any premises not falling within paragraph (a)—

(i) the person who has control of the premises (as occupier or otherwise) in connection with the carrying on by him of a trade, business or other undertaking (for profit or not); or

(ii) the owner, where the person in control of the premises does not have control in connection with the carrying on by that person of a trade, business or other undertaking

Article 3 The Responsible Person

So I can be me – but what does this mean in reality ?

Duties under the FSO

5(4) Where a person has, by virtue of any contract or tenancy, an obligation of any extent in relation to—

(a) the maintenance or repair of any premises, including anything in or on premises; or

(b) the safety of any premises,

that person is to be treated, for the purposes of paragraph (3), as being a person who has control of the premises to the extent that his obligation so extends

What am I responsible for ?

Article 8 Duty to take general fire precautions(1) The responsible person must—

(a)take such general fire precautions as will ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of any of his employees; and

(b) in relation to relevant persons who are not his employees, take such general fire precautions as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case to ensure that the premises are safe.

Relevance to passive fire protection

Article 4 defines general fire precautions

paraphrased:

1. reduce the risk of fire on the premises and the risk of fire spread

2. providing means of escape from the premises

3. securing the means of escape

4. means for fighting fires on the premises

5. detecting fire and giving warning in case of fire

6. action to be taken in the event of fire on the premises

Conclusion

Passive fire protection is very important

Professionally specified, installed and maintained it:

Protects occupants

Reduces potential damage

Supports a sustainable built environment

Underpins innovative fire engineering design

From a fire-fighters perspective, is often the first (and sometimes the last) really

useful aspect of building construction that helps us do our job safely and effectively.

PLEASE DO IT PROFESSIONALLY