38 SAFETY, SECURITY & FIRE PROTECTION
New rules mean greater fire safety By James Fisher, Bilco UK
NEW LEGISLATION AND STANDARDS MEAN THAT SPECIFIERS MUST PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO FIRE SAFETY EQUIPMENT – PARTICULARLY IN MULTI-STOREY BUILDINGS.
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n England and Wales, the Building Regulations set out fire safety requirements in Approved Document B:
Fire safety. Other responsibilities for specifiers are contained in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2006 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
In Scotland, the safety of buildings is dealt with by the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.
Deaths in fires In 2008/9 there were around 75,000 building fires in the UK and 370 people were killed. Most of the deaths were caused by the effects of heat and smoke – so smoke control is crucial to preserving life.
Integrated systems Many smoke control systems are simply an opening in a roof or wall to let smoke escape. Complexity arrives with the control systems needed to ensure that this opens when needed but otherwise remains shut to keep the building weather-tight and secure.
Of course, these controllable openings can also play a role in natural ventilation systems and can also provide an exit route for building occupants – either in an emergency or to provide maintenance access to roofs and equipment placed on them.
In some circumstances, therefore, specifiers are looking to meet all three requirements – natural ventilation, smoke ventilation and egress – with a single system.
Design principles A fire is most likely to start in a single room. As the occupants of the ‘burning’ room escape, smoke may get into the corridor or lobby. This must be ventilated to prevent it impeding fire fighting and evacuation.
Approved Document B sets out detailed requirements for sizes and locations of smoke vents. It does not specify the nature of the vents but it refers to BS EN12101 standards. Products which meet these standards will meet the Building Regulations requirement for building works to be carried out with proper materials and in a workmanlike manner.
EN12101 specifies such things as how swiftly the vents should open and how far they should open – single leaf vents should open to at least 140 degrees to reduce the possibility of wind forcing smoke back into the building.
The vents need to be capable of regular testing and it therefore makes sense on larger systems to ensure that they can be automatically closed as well as opened, to avoid the necessity of manually closing a large number of vents.
System requirements Typically, Approved Document B requires the corridor or lobby adjoining the escape stair to be provided with a smoke vent and there should also be a vent from the top of the stairway.
Approved Document B sets out locations and minimum sizes for the vents that should be installed as well as specifying the performance of control panel(s), power supplies and associated components. It also specifies where smoke detectors should be located.
Engineered systems
Buildings can be designed other than in accordance with Approved Document B if the designer can demonstrate that fire safety is at least as good as if the requirements of the document had been applied.
Typically, such buildings have smaller vents than required by Approved Document B but have smoke shafts and powered fans to ensure effective smoke removal. To ensure that the system is at least as good as one designed for Approved Document B the vents should meet EN12101 standards.
Energy conservation
This Bilco UK Ltd double leaf smoke vent installed at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture in London not only opens automatically in the event of a fire, to help clear smoke from the building, it also provides ventilation as part of an integrated system for the natural ventilation of the building.
Of course, for much of its life a smoke vent is closed and forms part of the building envelope. As such it must conform to other aspects of the Building Regulations with regard to such things as thermal insulation and air tightness.
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Students living at the newly-built John Bell House in Shadwell, east London, are protected from smoke in the event of fire thanks to smoke vents from Bilco UK Ltd
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