TrendFire Safety
A HISTORY OF FIRE
PROFESSOR BARBARA LANE, ARUP FELLOW AND FIRE ENGINEERING PRACTICE LEADER, REFLECTS ON THE PIONEERING WORK THAT DEFINES FIRE SAFETY ENGINEERING TODAY
LAST MONTH MARKED THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRE SAFETY ENGINEERING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, THE FIRST AND LARGEST ACADEMIC FIRE SAFETY ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT IN THE WORLD. NOW FIRE ENGINEERING IS A CRITICAL PART OF THE ENGINEERING INDUSTRY, BUT THIS WAS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.
This position has depended on decades of pioneering work in the field, largely by researchers from Edinburgh, who have delivered significant pieces of analysis, including investigations into the Kings Cross underground fire (1987) and the World Trade Center towers collapse (2001). Throughout this period, Edinburgh’s graduates and researchers have continued to push the use of science within an industry that’s typically looked back
32 Architects Choice July 2014
towards historical evidence when solving problems.
THE SEVENTIES AND THE EMERGENCE OF A PROFESSION In the early 1970s, fire safety engineering as a profession did not exist. There was a collection of regulations and codes that design teams had to adhere to, but people were only just starting to realise that fire safety solutions needed specific attention. A major catalyst for change in this area was the development of the Centre Pompidou in 1971, a complex design completely different to anything previously engineered. The structure was formed from steel and glass, rather than the concrete typical of the time, and the architectural vision demanded all building services be installed outside the building to provide clear floor plates for full flexibility.
Existing codes could not be applied to something so extraordinary. Instead, engineers had to draw on their scientific understanding of fire and smoke behaviour to enable safe construction of the architect’s vision. This includes understanding of ignition, combustion and flame and smoke development and movement. If you’re a qualified fire safety specialist you understand these at a unique level; how materials are affected, the impact on structure and, very significantly, how human beings respond in fire events. This was one of the first instances where this level of expertise was applied to engineering. In the case of the Centre Pompidou, it led to the creation of water-filled main external columns with pumps able to circulate water in the event of a fire. In addition, the façade system was designed to include fire resistant shielding panels to protect the cantilever
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52