Tall building fire safety Julia Cotton Lead Safety

[Tall building] fire safety Julia Cotton Lead Safety Auditor Imperial College London

Tall buildings fire safety management course 1. Russ Timpson, Horizonscan 2. Held in Shard / Borough Market – 5 days 3. Attended – Shard Fire Safety Team, Canary Wharf 1, LFB, Dubai FB My training already put to good use. . . Follow-up audits of College accommodation and other buildings found a number of concerns all now being addressed 3

What did the course teach? Relevant to all premises regardless of height. . Definition of tall building 1. Prevention and planning 2. Detection and alarm 3. Means of Escape 4. Containment 5. Fire fighting 6. Aftermath 7. Business continuity 8. Everything we learnt on that course came horribly true two weeks later 4

1 Prevention and planning 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Building Regs: not retrospective, legacy of unknown risks Fire Risk Assessments: look only at visible, superficial Causes of fire: electrical, catering, arson, hot works Taller buildings: wind-driven fires, reverse stack effects Compartments – maintaining /checking part of works contract/process? 6. Compartments - only as good as a shut window, the sealant installer and your checks 7. PU foam – certificated installer and product (e. g. Hilte) 8. Vertical penetrations - intumescent collars fixed to slabs; crush collars for pipes 5

Fire retardant stopping – how good is yours? https: //www. allerdale. gov. uk/downloads/labcpd 0715_techg_f irefoam_0. pdf

Compartments and PU foam

2 Detection and alarm 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Fire panel goes down – inform insurer immediately Detectors in ceiling voids - not tested if unseen Only one detector in room – is it a false alarm? First responders trained what to do – and not to do? All your staff trained to sound the alarm? Personal Announcement Voice Activated systems (PAVA) – complex buildings 7. Degraded systems matrix – what if part of system fails? 8

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3 Means of Escape – false assurance? 1. Is it really a fire door? 2. Refurbishment to lower standard, suspended ceiling. . . 3. Where is your smoke really going to go? Hot smoke testing will tell you 4. Cladding, composite insulated panels – hidden legacy risk? 5. Are your fire wardens trained to manage evacuation? 6. Who/how are you going to evacuate disabled persons? 7. Human behaviour – ignore fire, habituated, re-entry 8. Evacuation policy may fail – stay put, simultaneous or phased – social media. . 9. Does your assembly point compromise Brigade access or is it too close (1. 5 x building height – not always possible in built up area) 10. Dispersal policy more appropriate? 10

4 Containment 1. Fire loves vertical surfaces and corners – inside / out regardless of height 2. Rolling black smoke – high energy, full of carbon, flash over 3. Ceiling vents let smoke out – help prevent flash over 4. Sprinklers damp fires down –domestic or commercial 5. Retrofit portable mist sprinklers for £ 2 K (kitchens)* 6. Sprinklers - good idea in ceiling voids 7. Sprinklers - not too high or water evaporates 8. Review sprinkler strategy if hazards or layout changes 9. If sprinkler system fails, inform insurer immediately 10. Only one sprinkler activates, not all http: //www. mistek. co. uk/? gclid=EAIa. IQob. Ch. MIo 56 fws. X 11 g. IVx. Z 3 t. Ch 10 z. QB 1 EAAYAi. AAEg. KIZv. D_Bw. E * 11

5 Fire fighting 1. Annual wet riser test for flow [not pressure] 2. Way-finding signage for fire fighters - level indicator/plan per floor 3. Staff trained to use extinguishers 4. Know where your isolations are 5. Clear access for the Fire Brigade vehicles 6. Daily checks on accessibility of fire hydrants 7. Familiarisation visit from Brigade – up to date floor plans 8. Competent person to meet Brigade if called out 9. Stairwell lobbies big enough for Brigade to establish bridgehead in tall buildings 10. Electrical cables held in trays with metal cable ties 12

Unsecured cables melt and trap firemen Shirley Towers fire 2010 – changed BS 7671 https: //www. voltimum. co. uk/articles/amendment-3 -bs-7671 -tackles-cable 13

6 Aftermath 1. The aftermath of a fire is a crime scene and you must preserve evidence. 2. If there is a resulting pollution incident – you may be fined by EA. 14

7 Business continuity 1. Do you have business continuity and disaster recovery plans? 2. How are you going to get your staff home if they can’t re-enter the building? https: //www. sungardas. com/en. GB/resources/articles/disruption-planning-business-continuity -disaster-recovery/ 15

Could this apply to you? 16

Any questions? Thank you for listening 17

references • https: //www. designingbuildings. co. uk/wiki/High-rise_building what is a high rise building? • https: //www. designingbuildings. co. uk/wiki/Building_regulations_ completion_certificate - what is a completion certificate? • https: //www. hilti. co. uk/firestop-and-fire-protectionsystems/firestop-foams/r 26040#documents-videos Hilte – how to video • https: //youtu. be/dj. B 4 dmf. Hh. Qk fire blocking foam differences • https: //www. allerdale. gov. uk/downloads/labcpd 0715_techg_fire foam_0. pdf • https: //nationwidefiresprinklers. co. uk/wpcontent/uploads/2017/08/BAFSA-Water-Mist. pdf • http: //www. mistek. co. uk/? gclid=EAIa. IQob. Ch. MIo 56 fws. X 11 g. IVx. Z 3 t. Ch 10 z. QB 1 EAAYAi. AAEg. KIZv. D_Bw. E