Transcript The Millennium Dome - Community Housing Cymru Group

Designing residential fire safety &
the challenging area of extra care facilities
21st January 2015
Andy Nicholson
BEng, Mst, CEng, MIFireE
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Agenda
About the Fire Surgery
Fire statistics
Residential fire safety design
Extra care facilities
Case study
Summary
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
About The Fire Surgery
Small Fire Engineering design consultancy based in the City of London
The company commenced trading in October 2011
18 years experience in multidisciplinary firms
We specialise in designing unique fire strategies
Principal author of BS 9999
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Residential Fire Statistics
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
The general approach
Prescriptive Guidance
Approved Document B ‘Fire safety’
B1 – Means of warning and escape
B2 – Internal fire spread (linings)
B3 – Internal fire spread (structure)
B4 – External fire spread
B5 – Access and facilities for the fire service
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Evacuation Principal
Defend in Place - only the apartment of fire origin will escape. All other
residents remain in place within their fire protected apartment.
The associated active and passive measures within the building, such as
periods of fire resistance and the type of fire alarm and detection systems
are therefore derived to support this concept.
Mainly localised fire alarm and detection and high levels of
compartmentation
No or little fire safety management
No consideration for those with disabilities
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
BS 9991
Published December 2011
Comprehensive guidance
Brings together the latest thinking
Mechanical smoke extract shafts for common
corridors
Open plan apartment design
Includes for sheltered housing and extra care
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Open plan apartments
NHBC produced a fire engineering design guide
Based on fire potential the main points are:
Residential Sprinklers throughout
Increased smoke detection
12m x 16m max flat size
Thorough consultation with approvers
CFD analysis required
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Common escape routes
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Smoke shafts
0.6m2 shafts
Duty and Stand by fans
Increasing travel distance
Use of mechanical assisted smoke shaft
Colt shaft or FDS shaft
Push pull system
CFD analysis
Corridor length 15-20m
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Extra Care Facilities
The recommendations in this standard cover those buildings that are
designed for independent living.
Where residents are likely to be less mobile, have other impairments or are
otherwise vulnerable to emergency situations, designers need to consider
the characteristics of the residents of the building and incorporate an
appropriate range of fire precautionary measures that will secure a full level
of fire safety that is compatible with both the residents’ needs and abilities
and a feasible and reasonable supporting management regime.
Residents are likely to display varying levels of physical ability and mental
cognizance and many will therefore require assistance to respond to a fire
event
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Recommendations
Design as self contained flats
Travel distances limited to 9m and 7.5m (no extension with sprinklers)
Adequate refuge spaces (possibly more than one)
Use of lifts for evacuation
Free swing self closing fire doors
Storage points for scooters
No open plan flat design
Fire alarms from units relayed to a central point
Warden or remote monitoring centre to investigate
Extra care housing should contain sprinkler coverage in all areas.
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Fire safety management (FSM)
Fire safety in buildings is a balance between the technical systems within the
building and how the building is used and managed
Prevention is better than cure - Erasmus
All buildings require some level of FSM
In social housing higher levels would be expected due to risk
Important to understand the competency and resource availability of staff
Effective management of fire safety can contribute to the protection of the
building in many ways:
By working to prevent fires occurring in the first place,
By monitoring the fire risk on an on-going basis and taking appropriate action to eliminate or reduce
risk,
By ensuring that all of the fire safety measures in the building are kept in working order,
By training staff
By taking command in the event of a fire until the fire and rescue service arrives,
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Quantifying fire safety management
How do you assess Fire Safety Management?
Response to certain questions
Review of existing documentation
Relationship with the Fire Service
History of fires
BS 9999 Management levels
Quality of management is given a levels
Level 1 – highest
Level 2 – Normally acceptable
Level 3 - very basic
The amount of reliance can then be integrated
Identify Responsible person under the RRO
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
The risk to the individual
The fire risk to those in extra care is high
Fire Safety Order not applicable in private domestic dwellings
Quality Care Commission has additional responsibilities
Can/should we do more to safe guard the risk to the individual
“designers need to consider the characteristics of the residents of the building and
incorporate an appropriate range of fire precautionary measures that will secure a full
level of fire safety that is compatible with both the residents”
As Low As Reasonably Practical
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Case Study - Cottesmore House
Standard design for private residential
Low travel distance and evacuation lift to BS 9999
Defend in place fire strategy
Standalone alarms
No sprinkler protection
Ground floor communal spaces
Limited 24 hour management
Very high needs of individuals
A number of key stakeholders
Communal alarm throughout
Assisted evacuation strategy
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Strategy
Occupants brought to Cottesmore house will not be placed at
any greater risk then their previous residence.
Decision to move to defend in place
Remove the communal alarms in corridors
Investigate retrospective sprinklers
Determine roles and responsibilities
Develop an operational fire safety manual
Undertake an occupant fire risk assessment
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Individual fire risk assessment
The process involves a meeting with the tenant and their carers/family to
understand mobility and cognitive impairments and mitigating measures put
in place to reduce the risk to as low as reasonably possible
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Fire Safety Manual
Developed to identify responsible person between the landlord and
tenant
Useful document to show clear roles and responsibilities of all people in
the building
Set down clear lines of communication and expectations
Provides a good audit trail for decision making and review
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Assisted living - Lewisham
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Summary
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Defend in place strategy
Layout of apartments
Design of common corridor
Use of sprinklers important
Undertake individual risk assessments
Assess level of management
Understand roles and responsibilities
Develop a Fire Safety Manual
Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns
Registration no:07713184
Treating your fire safety concerns