FEATURE
This is possibly the most significant measure within the reach of facilities managers. The designated ‘responsible person’ – often the FM – is exactly that. It’s essential to not only conduct annual reviews but to ensure properties are inspected after any modification or maintenance procedure which might compromise compartmentation. If there have been modifications, there are questions which must be answered. Were any fire doors changed? If so, were new fire certificates provided? Are any replacements equal to or exceeding the original specification? Were holes made in floors, walls or ceilings for wiring or plumbing? Were the gaps sealed with fire-resistant filling? Any modifications to energy saving, security or appearance can compromise fire safety.
And of course, FMs have to ensure that any fire protection in place is used as it should be, too. One common feature of recent high-profile fire disasters has been the rapid spread of fire and smoke, along channels which should not have been open. Grenfell had the additional factor of inflammable cladding but on that warm evening, with many fire doors open to let in air, it also suffered from severely compromised compartmentation.
When refurbishment or fitting-out, FMs should also look for products with a comfortable safety margin in fire tests because there will inevitably be variations in manufacturing and installation. Most importantly, I believe we should rethink attitudes to value-engineering and over- engineering. When everything (including 30 minute fire doors) works as specified, we have 30 minutes to escape a burning building. In an ideal world, products and systems can be value-engineered to remove ‘excess’ value and cost, so they just meet this 30-minute threshold. In reality, small product variations and numerous modifications in construction and maintenance eat into this time. Small
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variations can turn a comfortable safety margin into a near- miss or catastrophe.
Enfield fire doors, for example, are deliberately over- engineered for extra safety. These higher-level fire doors are bespoke products, not made for stock. In recent tests sponsored by MHCLG, Enfield’s doors exceeded the ‘opening in’ time by 19% and ‘opening out’ by an exceptional 70%.
Higher level bespoke fire doors are often required for a variety of different projects, from social/private housing or renovations, to multi-use or commercial buildings. Think private medical clinics, swimming pools, music studios, cinemas (or cinema rooms in upmarket self-builds), interview/conference rooms and more.
Enfield Speciality Doors is one of the few manufacturers in the country that can supply doors with high levels of noise reduction and fire resistance (FD30 doors with up to 48dB acoustic performance, for example, or FD60 doors with up to 41dB, and a multitude in between). We have two factories on site – one focusing on larger, phased delivery contracts, the other on smaller contracts (e.g. under 20 doors) which require delivery within three to 14 days.
The lessons learnt from Grenfell must be implemented quickly before another preventable tragedy occurs. If it initiates a lasting change in our thinking as a nation, we’d all sleep a lot safer. Knowing the implications of different specifications and the importance of fire safety inspections whenever there have been any modifications to the original building means facilities managers can be confident the premises they are responsible for comfortably meet fire safety requirements.
www.enfielddoors.co.uk/ TOMORROW’S FM | 39
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