SAFETY, SECURITY 32 & FIRE PROTECTION
No substitute for performance
David Sugden, Chairman of the Passive Fire Protection Federation, warns of the dangers of complacency when it comes to specifying fire safety.
TWELVE MONTHS AGO I SPOKE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ECONOMIC PRESSURES LEADING TO COST CUTTING AND SUBSTITUTIONS OF FIRE PROTECTION MEASURES. THE SITUATION IS WORSE TODAY.
Anecdotal evidence points to a shocking 80% substitution of alternative products in any construction project – a significant and rapid increase over the last few years. Of course, in the majority of cases it doesn’t matter. But when it comes to fire safety products and measures, it definitely does.
T ake a Fire Door with a 60 minutes’ fire
resistance, for example. If a builder or contractor decides to substitute, say, a cheaper letter-plate in the door it’s important to check that the new one is made and tested to the same standard, and that it is certified to provide the same fire protection as the original. Don’t think that any substitute will do. Safety certification is for a specific set-up. As soon as that changes, the certification is invalid. Make sure your supplier hasn’t made any substitutions or switches – something which may look the same or even better will not necessarily have the same properties.
Speaking recently, a London Council employee who come across this problem told me: “From my own experience I’ve seen how difficult it can be to match the fire tested, certified product with what is actually fitted. There are so many points at which the specification can be changed – the supplier substitutes what he believes to be a similar component, the contractor uses an unqualified installer or, I’m sorry to say, someone along the line thinks they can get away with supplying an inferior product.”
Specifiers must be confident that what they are designing can be built and will provide the necessary level of fire safety. But responsibility doesn’t end there. Every specifier should ensure that what he specifies is what he gets. It’s easy for seemingly unimportant changes to pass unnoticed as building goes on, but it’s very important to keep track of the original specification, and to check at every stage that the design hasn’t been compromised.
At first glance the 21st century upmarket apartment development at Pacific Wharf, Rotherhithe, is worlds away from Lakanal House, a 1950s social housing tower block in Camberwell, but they have more in common than you’d think. In July 2009 a tragic fire at Lakanal House showed up the inadequacy of the fire protection which should have been in place. Fire and smoke spread unchecked from floor to floor and flat to flat. Six people were killed and fifteen treated in hospital. Pacific Wharf residents were luckier – the lack of mandatory built-in fire safety measures was discovered in the course of maintenance work the building was brought up to standard. Both buildings had seriously compromised passive fire protection and nobody realised because it isn’t easy to see. Pacific Wharf must have had adequate built-in fire protection specified in the original plans to pass Building Controls, but the finished building was at serious risk of a disaster like that at Lakanal House.
Products specified must also be installed correctly, which is where Third Party Certification (of products and installers) comes in. Failure to properly select products and installers is a failure in the duty of care. One of the most significant changes introduced with the last edition of AD B is the requirement to hand on fire safety information – such as the fire protection design and its accompanying specification – so that there can be a link with the obligatory risk assessment of the available fire safety measures actually in place (reference Regulation 16B).
The chain of responsibility extends from the original specifier down to the owner or occupier. The RRO Fire Safety Order 2005 became law on 1st Oct 2006. Prosecutions of landlords and owners who haven’t complied are now underway, with notices served under the RRO and heavy fines handed down. It is only a matter of time before the focus of attention shifts to those further up the line.
www.pfpf.org.uk PFPF
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