Passive fire protection has been implemented since the 17th century. During the Great Fire of London, in 1666, it was proved that the wooden construction of the surrounding buildings had exacerbated the blaze contributing to the destruction of 13,200 houses, 87 churches, 52 livery company halls and obliterating the city’s infrastructure.
In response to this, King Charles II instructed for all buildings to be made of stone and for the roads to be widened. In addition to this, the government introduced the 1667 London Building Act, which, among its laws, stipulated that buildings be constructed with masonry to resist the break out of fire and prevent the spread of it. It was thought that passive fire protection was created at this time.
Whilst building regulations have improved significantly since the 17th century, there is still more work to be done to ensure that correct modern standards are correctly implemented. According to Home Office statistics, the number of fires that the Fire Services have to attend and the number of deaths that are caused by fire related incidents are increasing.
The Importance of Passive Fire Protection
Passive fire protection is built into the walls and floors of buildings to separate them into areas of manageable risk. Each area is able to prevent the spread of the fire to other areas. The idea is that the fire is contained long enough in one of these areas for occupants to evacuate from the building and for the fire brigade to fight the fire.
Most products of passive fire protection resist the fire instead of fight it. Fire resistance is achieved through constructions such as columns, walls, floors and doors. Each of these constructions will be able to resist fires in one of three ways:
- resist structural collapse
- resist heat conduction
- resist the passage of smoke and noxious gases
All floors in a building must have components that resist fires in all three ways.
Passive Fire Protection in High Rise Residential Buildings
In the event of a fire, high rise buildings are designed to provide fire resistance that ensures the prevention of the fire spreading from where it originated. This can only be relied upon if the fire resistant materials were compliant with building regulations at the time of construction and they have been properly maintained and managed throughout their lifetime.
Due to the reliance of a high-rise building’s passive fire protection, residents are asked to stay put in the event of a fire breaking out. This is thought to be the safest option for them as the alternative may see residents leave their place of safety. Unfortunately, as we know in the recent events of Grenfell, the stay put method can only be relied upon if the appropriate passive fire protection is installed. If it isn’t, it can prove fatal as it did that day when 71 people tragically lost their lives.
Passive Fire Protection and the Law
Building owners who own property that do not pass regulations are now able to be prosecuted under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 with some sentences going as far as being custodial. Since this came to pass, more emphasis has been placed on buildings being compliant.
Under the Buildings Regulations of England and Wales, contractors have the responsibility of handing over appropriate fire safety information to a ‘responsible person’ on completion of the building or extension of the building and it first being occupied.
Furthermore, the fire safety information given should include all design measures in appropriate detail and accurate enough so the ‘responsible person’ understands what they need to do to maintain the building safely. Building work should have been completed with adequate and proper materials sufficient for their intended use.
Despite the specific detail that these regulations go into, it is very common for built in passive fire materials, to not be compliant.
Overcoming Non-Compliance
Currently, the construction of a residential building requires the input and expertise of many fields – from architects to fire engineers to contractors. Throughout the process, the building undergoes many inspections to ensure compliance. In her interim report into the Grenfell fire, Dame Judith Hackitt acknowledged that it is therefore difficult to focus the blame for non compliance on one specific area.
She recommended in her report that there is a process change and that duty holders be tasked with ensuring compliance to a new body made up of the Health and Safety Executive, Local Authority and Fire and Rescue Professionals. This new body would be called the Joint Competent Body.
If this were adopted and implemented, it would ensure not only that more residential buildings were constructed compliantly but be able to sanction duty holders if they weren’t.
Further Incentive for Getting Things Right
Passive fire protection items that are condemned at handover or any time after fall on the responsibility of the construction company to correct. Items that are enclosed within the building can be extremely costly to repair possibly resulting in the loss of millions of pounds. This would undoubtedly bring its own financial implications.
Improvements
Small changes to attitudes and processes could reap significant improvements in passive fire protection compliance.
It is important for the sake of a building’s fire compartmentalisation that drawings are understood accurately and that architects are encouraged to be more specific of what design and materials are used.
Principal contractors should be discouraged from splitting passive fire protection into different sub-contracted packages. This method could lead to a lack of focus and could result in non-compliance.
02380 675888
Fire Protection in Care HomesDecember 15, 2020 - 12:03 pm
Fire Protection in Care Homes
/0 Comments/in Fire Protection, Home Page news feed, News /by joannevickersA government report relating to fire showed that 47% of all fatalities from fires in England were people aged 65 and above with the most common cause being overcome by gas and smoke. Based on this the elderly are 10 times more likely to die in a fire than young people. For this reason, it is paramount that fire procedures within care homes must be meticulous. There is a lot more to consider than just a clearly signed fire exit or strategically placed fire extinguisher. Care home residents are often less mobile or completely bed bound, they could suffer from illnesses such as dementia or hard of hearing. All of these health issues pose significant concerns when considering fire safety and protecting residents in the event of a fire.
Who is Responsible?
Fire safety measures and the requirements are covered under the Fire Safety Order and the Care Act which is regulated by the Care Quality Commission. Under the Fire Safety Order, a responsible person must be appointed to have overall responsibility for fire safety. This is the employer, owner or controller of the premises. In a care home, the responsible person is usually the care manager.
The appointed responsible person/care manager is required to do the following:
Completing a Fire Risk Assessment
It is a legal requirement for the responsible person to get a fire risk assessment done for the care home premises and it will need to be reviewed and updated as appropriate. The fire risk must show that reasonable precautions are taken against all risks identified in order to protect the safety of their employees and residents. As care homes are high risk, the responsible person would need to ensure that the person carrying out the risk assessment has sufficient qualifications in fire safety.
The risk assessment is required to identify the potential ways a fire could start within the care home, identify all the people at risk, evaluate those risks and what steps are going to be taken to remove or reduce them and include evacuation plans, routes and trainings that staff and residents will have relating to fire safety.
Evacuation Plans, Drills and Training
The responsible person must devise an evacuation plan for the care home. It is a legal requirement for this to be in place and it must be frequently rehearsed in the form of a drill. Employees will need to be aware of the evacuation plan and when drills are to take place. Additionally, fire wardens must be appointed, the number required is dependent on the number of staff employed at the premises. For residents with health concerns that will impact on their ability to evacuate the premises, a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) will need to be completed outlining their condition and what action needs to be taken to mitigate risks. A PEEP needs to be completed before the resident joins the care home and will need to be reviewed 14 days after they arrive once the staff have got to know their needs. It will then be reviewed every 6 months or if there is a significant change to the residents’ health.
Fire Protection Systems
The fire precautions that have been outlined in this article so far have all come under the category of fire safety management. This is one of three precautions that the Fire Safety Order requires a workplace to have installed. Alongside fire safety management, the responsible person is required to have adequate passive and active fire protection systems in place. Whilst fire safety management is generally something the responsible person can do with some assistance from compliance manuals, the installation of active and passive fire systems require the knowledge and expertise of professionals and so it will be the job of the responsible person to find them.
Active fire systems are installed to detect and suppress fires. This can range from smoke detection systems within residents’ rooms and the rest of the care home to a sprinkler system set up in the building to actively keep the fire at bay until the fire brigade arrive. It is important that the correct fire-fighting equipment and systems are installed and reviewed to ensure that all are in good working order.
Passive fire protection systems are the use of fire-resistant materials to compartmentalise the care home to slow the spread of fire and smoke, protect the structural integrity of the building and to provide time for all staff and residents to evacuate the building without causing accident or injury. Having enough time to evacuate a burning building full of elderly residents with health concerns is going to be paramount for any care home and so it is vital that these systems are of good quality and installed to a high standard.
Put simply, implementing good fire safety within your care home could be the difference between life and death. This is a legal requirement and if the responsible person of the care home fails to carry out any of these requirements, they will be facing charges of negligence and prison time.
The Broadsword Promise
At Broadsword, we understand the responsibility that care managers have to comply with the law, protect their building and ensure the safety of their staff and residents. This is a job that needs to be done correctly, first time. As a FIRAS accredited company, Broadsword have the knowledge and expertise to ensure fire safety compliance for all required works without the need for additional contractors. It is our promise to you to carry out work to the highest standard and the utmost professionalism. Care managers never need to worry again with the peace of mind of total fire protection.
The Importance of Passive Fire Protection within your Business
/0 Comments/in Fire Protection, Home Page news feed /by joannevickersThe importance of passive fire protection (PFP) is vital information for any business owner. Whether your company be private or public, passive fire protection could be the difference of life and death for the people in your building and life and death for your business if it were to be found negligent of fire safety compliance.
Why is Passive Fire Protection necessary?
Passive fire protection is your building’s ‘first responder’ in the event of a fire. Generally integrated within the structure of the building, it works to contain a fire in its point of origin, prevents it spreading to other parts of the building, protects the structural integrity of the property stopping it collapsing and provides time for personnel to evacuate safely. These principles are achieved by the use of fire-resistant materials to manufacture fire walls, fire doors, fire-resistant glass, intumescent door seals and emergency lighting.
Passive fire protection, is a legal requirement, in accordance with British Standard BS 476. It must be installed in all non-private buildings, including businesses, schools, universities and hospitals by a qualified provider, with required maintenance checks completed and recorded accurately for the purpose of risk assessment procedures.
The bottom line is that if your building has not been installed with required passive fire protection, you are breaking the law. If people were to lose their lives in a fire in your building, the penalty is time in prison. This places a huge responsibility on all business owners to have the necessary fire protections installed and ensure compliance.
Passive Fire Protection and Your Business
When considering necessary costs to your business, some of the first thoughts are commonly the required materials, technology or tools, staff wages and important licenses, permits and insurances required to operate.
One that is generally not considered in the first instance is the installation and maintenance of passive fire protection to your property. Although not the most considered, this is a necessary and vital cost to any business owner and should be considered as one of the most important.
Each year people die or are seriously injured as a result of fires in non-private buildings. Besides the tragic loss of life, fire costs UK businesses millions of pounds in property damage, loss of revenue, fines, compensation and insurance costs. The cost of fire damage stands at record levels according to Association of British Insurers (ABI). The average cost in damages to a commercial building is £60,000. This cost does not include the detrimental impact to your reputation which could potentially cost you thousands more on top of that? Can you as a business owner afford not to give significant funding to fire protection systems?
This is an increasingly important issue; according to the National Fire Chiefs Council, there are still thousands of business owners that are unaware of their responsibilities when it comes to ensuring their building is compliant. Fire prevention is key to a safe environment for your employees and clients. Assessments must be undertaken, with adequate measures installed and routinely maintained by qualified professionals. Failure to do so could result in prosecution or worse; a fire destroying your business.
Who Should I Instruct to Manage the Passive Fire Protection within My Business?
To ensure maximum fire safety measures and full compliance of the law, building inspectors will recommend that the installation and maintenance of a passive fire protection system be carried out by a FIRAS accredited company. FIRAS stands for Fire Accreditation Scheme and is a certification that companies installing fire protection systems can voluntarily put themselves forward for. The FIRAS brand is recognised and respected among fire safety professionals. Instructing a FIRAS accredited company to install fire protection systems gives business owners peace of mind that the work carried out on their building is completed to the highest standard.
The Passive Fire Protection Federation warns that leaving the installation of such a vital part of fire protection to certain architects and developers that are not committed to the importance of fire safety could be, “viewed as a hindrance towards their creativity and another restrictive regulation to adhere to rather than a vital and highly important part of the process.”
Their Vice Chairman, Mike Wood was quoted saying that fire safety, “too often seen as a constraint in design, limiting flexibility, adding cost and preventing the full expression of other cherished design niceties.” There is a worry among fire safety professionals that short cuts are being taken when installing passive fire protection in order to cut costs and to not encroach too much on the overall design of the building.
The Broadsword Promise
At Broadsword, we understand the responsibility that business owners have to comply with the law, protect their building and ensure the safety of their people. This is a job that needs to be done correctly, first time. As a FIRAS accredited company, Broadsword have the knowledge and expertise to ensure fire safety compliance for all required works without the need for additional contractors. It is our promise to you to carry out work to the highest standard and the utmost professionalism. Business owners never need to worry again with the peace of mind of total fire protection.
Fire Protection within Schools
/0 Comments/in Fire Protection, Home Page news feed, News /by joannevickersThe impact of a large-scale fire would have devastating consequences to a school for all involved. Putting aside the unthinkable possibility of loss of life to staff and students, there are also logistical issues to consider including: dealing with the aftermath, loss of important school work, school closures, job losses and complying with investigations. Negligence in fire safety is not something a school governing body wants to contend with and so it is of the utmost importance to ensure fire protection is complied with. It is crucial that schools familiarise themselves with the information detailed below and understand the responsibility that they hold.
Fire Safety Responsibility within Schools
Fire safety within schools was previously the responsibility of the owning local authority until 2006 with the introduction of the Regulatory Reform of Fire Safety Order 2005 (also known as the Fire Safety Order). This order was introduced to standardise the fire safety requirements of all work places so as to protect people in the event of a fire in or around the premises.
One of the key changes that the order made, is that the responsibility of fire safety for schools was transferred from the local authority to a named ‘responsible person’ within the school. This tends to be either the head teacher or the school governing body; however, if any employee holding a fire safety obligation within their contract, like a maintenance manager, failed to carry out their duties, they would also be held responsible and liable for prosecution if necessary. Under the order, the responsible person is required to take general fire precautions to ensure the safety of the employees and students within the school and to ensure that the premises that they operate from is safe for all relevant persons. One of these requirements is to carry out a fire risk assessment, to identify any significant risks that can be reduced or removed and stating any other general fire precautions needed to ensure fire safety and compliance.
The government guide Fire Safety Risk Assessment – Educational Premises was published to assist the responsible person with completing the fire risk assessment along with outlining the basic fire safety measures required within schools to remain compliant.
What are the Fire Safety Requirements for Schools?
According to the Fire Safety Order, fire safety requirements can be divided into three groups: passive, active and fire safety management.
The Role of the Responsible Person
As the designated responsible person for the school premises, it is their job to ensure that both the active and passive fire systems are installed and well maintained within the building. Building inspectors and fire safety experts will recommend that the work is carried out by a FIRAS accredited company. A company holding the FIRAS certification will have the knowledge and expertise to ensure that the work is not only done to the highest standards but in full compliance of the law which guarantees the safety of your employees and students.
In terms of fire safety management, it is the duty of the responsible person to prepare an evacuation plan, appoint fire marshals to assist with the evacuation and to arrange fire drills to take place frequently so the plan is rehearsed. Added consideration must be given to boarding schools where students may be asleep when a fire breaks out as well as evacuating students with reduced mobility.
In addition to an evacuation plan all schools must have a fire safety policy that includes the following details:
Highwood Construction in Westergate
/0 Comments/in Home Page news feed, News /by joannevickersLife Build Solutions for Broadsword Screeding
/0 Comments/in Home Page news feed, News /by joannevickersWork on site for one of our valued clients Life Build Solutions begins today for Broadsword Screeding with the installation of RIW Blue Damp Proof Membrane prior to laying Xtratherm insulation and floor screed.
Work continues on the Botley Grange residential care home
/0 Comments/in Home Page news feed, News /by joannevickersBoris Johnson promises thousands of construction jobs to boost recovery
/0 Comments/in Home Page news feed, News /by joannevickersPrime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed his government’s commitment to using construction to help rebuild the economy in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
He has pledged to fund 40 new hospitals and provide large-scale investment in roads and rail projects.
A statement from Downing Street said the government was committed to an immediate £5bn package of capital investment in infrastructure projects, although some of those specifically named – such as a £1.2bn spend on schools – had been announced before, including in the Infrastructure and Project Authority’s pipeline of planned projects two weeks ago.
Johnson said a taskforce called ‘Project Speed’ would be set up to “scythe through red tape” and get projects delivered faster and hinted at changes to procurement rules to speed up appointments.
He said: “With every flood-defending culvert that we dig, with every railway station, hospital or school that we build, we will of course be tackling the next wave of this crisis by helping to create thousands of high-paid, high-skilled jobs.
“Because we know in our hearts that the furloughing cannot go on forever, and as the economy recovers we also know that the jobs that many people had in January are also not coming back or at least not in that form; we know that is the biggest and most immediate economic challenge that we face.”
A long-awaited National Infrastructure Strategy is due to be released in the autumn, Downing Street confirmed.
Balfour Beatty chief executive Leo Quinn welcomed Johnson’s speech: “The prime minister’s commitment to accelerate the UK’s long-term infrastructure pipeline is a critical factor for the country’s recovery. As well as stimulating regional and national economies, it will generate vast employment opportunities across the country and help provide our younger generations with employable skills. Without this, following the fallout from COVID-19, we could see widespread structural unemployment issues,” he said.
But Pinsent Masons infrastructure partner Jon Hart warned that the “eye-catching” commitments lack substance. He said: “The previously announced ‘pipeline’ contains a number of anomalies in respect of projects that have already been announced.
“During such an economically turbulent time, the government needs to remove uncertainty around approaches to procurement, particularly for schools and hospitals,” he added. “It will be interesting to see how tendering processes can be sped up and how the public-sector capacity gap within government for procuring schemes, when coupled with the industry’s own skills shortage, is going to be addressed.”
Federation of Master Builders chief executive Brian Berry called for the repair and maintenance sector not to be overlooked in government investment plans, and called for a VAT cut to boost that market.
UK Green Building Council chief executive Julie Hirigoyen said there needs to be more investment in specific measures to hit net-zero carbon emissions targets by 2050. She said: “The plans announced by the PM today make no reference to energy efficiency – perhaps the most urgent of all infrastructure priorities – that can create jobs right around the country, improve health and reduce costs to NHS, and increase consumer spending power by lowering energy bills.”
Source: Construction News
The Importance of Air Sealing
/0 Comments/in Home Page news feed, News /by joannevickersAir sealing is the process of restricting air movement through tiny cracks and gaps in your house. When you run heating or ventilation in your home this builds pressure. If leaks and gaps are present it can transfer conditioned air to the outside reducing efficiency. Air leakage can account for around 30% of a home’s heating costs. Air sealing prevents the loss of this conditioned air by filling in the tiny cracks and gaps.
A massive amount of energy is wasted due to the air leaking from cracks, holes and gaps in your house. This can cause several issues in your house spanning from thousands of pounds worth of repairs to medical issues. You can protect your home and family by air sealing your home. This will prevent high energy costs and create a comfortable living environment.
How Air Leakage Affects your Home?
Air leakage not only affects energy loss but also contributes to house deterioration. Obvious air leakages will be easy to spot and easily resolved; however, hidden air leakages are the root problem and can be harder to find and treat. Air that leaks must be replaced and is usually drawn in from the ground. If you don’t have an effective vapour barrier, moisture can be absorbed causing mould development, water damage or animal infestations. Moisture can enter your home using the tiniest gaps. This can aid in the damage of your home’s foundations.
How to Air Seal your Home
Depending on the location, cracks can be sealed with caulk, spray foam or weather stripping. In general, you should apply caulk to cracks no smaller than ¼ of an inch and foam for anything larger though exceptions can vary. To see whether your home needs air sealing, you should perform a check of the following areas in your home:
Exterior
Interior
What are the Benefits of Air Sealing?
Broadsword Group are experts in Air Sealing for our residential and commercial customers to find out how we can help you seal your property or project contact us today.
Passive Fire Protection in Residential Buildings
/0 Comments/in Home Page news feed, News /by joannevickersPassive fire protection has been implemented since the 17th century. During the Great Fire of London, in 1666, it was proved that the wooden construction of the surrounding buildings had exacerbated the blaze contributing to the destruction of 13,200 houses, 87 churches, 52 livery company halls and obliterating the city’s infrastructure.
In response to this, King Charles II instructed for all buildings to be made of stone and for the roads to be widened. In addition to this, the government introduced the 1667 London Building Act, which, among its laws, stipulated that buildings be constructed with masonry to resist the break out of fire and prevent the spread of it. It was thought that passive fire protection was created at this time.
Whilst building regulations have improved significantly since the 17th century, there is still more work to be done to ensure that correct modern standards are correctly implemented. According to Home Office statistics, the number of fires that the Fire Services have to attend and the number of deaths that are caused by fire related incidents are increasing.
The Importance of Passive Fire Protection
Passive fire protection is built into the walls and floors of buildings to separate them into areas of manageable risk. Each area is able to prevent the spread of the fire to other areas. The idea is that the fire is contained long enough in one of these areas for occupants to evacuate from the building and for the fire brigade to fight the fire.
Most products of passive fire protection resist the fire instead of fight it. Fire resistance is achieved through constructions such as columns, walls, floors and doors. Each of these constructions will be able to resist fires in one of three ways:
All floors in a building must have components that resist fires in all three ways.
Passive Fire Protection in High Rise Residential Buildings
In the event of a fire, high rise buildings are designed to provide fire resistance that ensures the prevention of the fire spreading from where it originated. This can only be relied upon if the fire resistant materials were compliant with building regulations at the time of construction and they have been properly maintained and managed throughout their lifetime.
Due to the reliance of a high-rise building’s passive fire protection, residents are asked to stay put in the event of a fire breaking out. This is thought to be the safest option for them as the alternative may see residents leave their place of safety. Unfortunately, as we know in the recent events of Grenfell, the stay put method can only be relied upon if the appropriate passive fire protection is installed. If it isn’t, it can prove fatal as it did that day when 71 people tragically lost their lives.
Passive Fire Protection and the Law
Building owners who own property that do not pass regulations are now able to be prosecuted under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 with some sentences going as far as being custodial. Since this came to pass, more emphasis has been placed on buildings being compliant.
Under the Buildings Regulations of England and Wales, contractors have the responsibility of handing over appropriate fire safety information to a ‘responsible person’ on completion of the building or extension of the building and it first being occupied.
Furthermore, the fire safety information given should include all design measures in appropriate detail and accurate enough so the ‘responsible person’ understands what they need to do to maintain the building safely. Building work should have been completed with adequate and proper materials sufficient for their intended use.
Despite the specific detail that these regulations go into, it is very common for built in passive fire materials, to not be compliant.
Overcoming Non-Compliance
Currently, the construction of a residential building requires the input and expertise of many fields – from architects to fire engineers to contractors. Throughout the process, the building undergoes many inspections to ensure compliance. In her interim report into the Grenfell fire, Dame Judith Hackitt acknowledged that it is therefore difficult to focus the blame for non compliance on one specific area.
She recommended in her report that there is a process change and that duty holders be tasked with ensuring compliance to a new body made up of the Health and Safety Executive, Local Authority and Fire and Rescue Professionals. This new body would be called the Joint Competent Body.
If this were adopted and implemented, it would ensure not only that more residential buildings were constructed compliantly but be able to sanction duty holders if they weren’t.
Further Incentive for Getting Things Right
Passive fire protection items that are condemned at handover or any time after fall on the responsibility of the construction company to correct. Items that are enclosed within the building can be extremely costly to repair possibly resulting in the loss of millions of pounds. This would undoubtedly bring its own financial implications.
Improvements
Small changes to attitudes and processes could reap significant improvements in passive fire protection compliance.
It is important for the sake of a building’s fire compartmentalisation that drawings are understood accurately and that architects are encouraged to be more specific of what design and materials are used.
Principal contractors should be discouraged from splitting passive fire protection into different sub-contracted packages. This method could lead to a lack of focus and could result in non-compliance.
What is the difference between Active and Passive Fire Protection?
/0 Comments/in Home Page news feed /by joannevickersOver the years, it has become more and more apparent that buildings need appropriate fire protection. This means a bit more than the usual fire extinguisher and smoke detection systems that people usually think about when considering fire protection. These two elements are part of a bigger protection system that are mandatory in buildings at all times. There are two types of fire protection: Active Fire Protection (AFP) and Passive Fire Protection (PFP). One type of protection must not be chosen over the other. Both AFP and PFP should be used alongside one another for full fire protection in your building. It is important to understand both types so that you are confident that they are both present in your building.
What are Active and Passive Fire Protection Systems?
Active fire protection systems consist of elements such as water sprinkler systems. These are widely used in buildings to protect the storage of vessels, process plants and warehouses. The job of the active fire protection system is to extinguish or control the fire or provide adequate exposure protection to prevent a domino effect. For some buildings, foam pourers or mixed water monitors may be a more appropriate method than sprays or sprinklers. Other specialised systems include the use of inert or halogen based gases which are used for flooding enclosed spaces.
Passive fire protection systems are used for protecting against building failure. It generally consists of a coating of fire resistant insulating media generally applied to a steel surface. It is often used where water or other active fire protection systems are inadequate such as remote locations. Fire walls are another form of passive fire protection that are used to prevent the spread of a fire and the exposure of equipment to thermal radiation. An important requirement of deciding which fire protection system to use in each part of the building is the likely duration of the exposure to fire as passive fire protection is only effective for a short time (typically 1-2 hours).
General Principles
The owner of the building must be able to demonstrate that it has an effective plan for the fighting and containment of a fire if it were to break out. The following factors should be considered when determining whether active or passive fire methods are required.
Design of System
Active fire fighting systems need to be reliable and the design should demonstrate this. The designs of these systems should conform to standards such as the Health and Safety Executive’s BS 5306 Code of Practice for extinguishing installation and equipment.
As part of these standards, valves and cabling for the system should be a safe distance from any hazardous installation and should be able to withstand the effects of fire and heat. The system should be supplied by a secure water supply which should include back up diesel pumps where appropriate and it must ensure that the active fire protection system is not starved of water due to other demands on the water supply system during a fire.
The Choice of Fire Fighting Media
The selection of your fire fighting media will depend on what you are wanting it to do. This may be to extinguish the fire, control the fire or provide exposure protection. The types of fire fighting media are:
Water is not recommended for low flash point liquids but is used widely for fire control and exposure protection. Foam is more effective for low flash point substances and is used widely on liquid fires. There are various types of foam but the most common is protein foam. Specific foams have been formulated to fight specific fires such as solvent based or to improve extinguishing properties. Active fire protection systems can deliver agents such as inert gases, chemical powders and halogen based gases. A common use for these are in control panels and switch rooms; however, there has been less use of halon based media over the years due to its impact on the environment.
The Choice of Passive Fire Protection
There are a number of passive fire protection systems to choose from including:
Protective based systems are normally sprayed on to the surfaces. A reinforced glass fibre scrim or steel wire gauze is applied to prevent cracking of the coating under fire conditions and provides additional strength to resist the power of high pressure water jets frequently used by the fire brigade. It is further protected by a weather protective top layer. The performance of the fire resistance of the coating is dependent on its thickness. Fire walls are sometimes installed in process and storage areas to prevent the spread of fire and protect equipment from thermal radiation. Firewalls are normally built from brick, concrete or masonry and the number of openings in them should be kept to a minimum.
A Summary
Active and passive fire protection systems, together are important to a building’s overall fire safety. AFP uses systems that actively try to put out a fire, whilst PFP prevents the spread of fire and smoke. Just because one is installed and working does not mean you don’t need the other. AFP takes action in putting out a fire but should not be relied upon solely. There are times, particularly during the winter, that sprinkler systems often fail due to frozen pipes, roads could become icy and water supplies could freeze which all delay a firefighter from doing their job. PFP compartmentalises a building into smaller sections to prevent the spread of fire and smoke, while also providing occupants enough time to evacuate. As effective as this is, PFP is not effective by itself either. Therefore, to ensure total fire protection, both systems must work together in unison.