FIRE SAFETY
document deals with fire safety in the design of healthcare premises. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has made the comment that this guidance should be updated to include stronger recommendations for areas where automatic fire suppression systems (AFSS), which includes sprinkler systems, should be used – for example, to support areas where a progressive evacuation strategy is used in the event of a fire. They also commented that sprinkler systems should be considered in any project which involves significant refurbishment of a hospital or healthcare building. It has been argued by developers that there is a risk that sprinklers could lead to the spread of Legionella bacteria, and thus precludes their use in healthcare buildings. This risk has not been widely researched. A counter-argument to this perceived
risk would be that the water used for fire suppression is a separate water main to the main supply, and the sprinklers are only used in the event of a fire. There is a dearth of research in this area, which could make a good PhD thesis for an engineer.
Need for a derogation The NFCC has also suggested that where suppressions systems are fitted it is acceptable to apply a derogation for other fire safety systems, particularly the level of structural fire compartmentation. However, they have also noted that where sprinklers are not fitted, a new requirement is introduced to make patient bedrooms fire-rated. David Butler, AE Fire Safety for DRLC,
says of this: “HTM 05-01 is just a starting point for any AE Fire Annual Audit which looks at the organisational Fire Safety Management System (FSMS) in place, as detailed in BS 9997. My 30 years’ experience in the Fire Service provide me with a wealth of experience as to what to look for. I also worked as a Fire Safety manager in the NHS, so I do understand the constraints that Trusts are working under. I like to interview as many relevant stakeholders as I can when I do an Annual
Figure 2: An evacuation and fire plan – Level 3 Theatre and Recovery.
Audit to get a good overall picture of the site. I describe my approach as being a ‘critical friend’ to the client. By this I mean that if I document any defects in the management systems, I am ready and willing to advise on how to implement remedial actions.
‘Pushing at an open door’ “With any luck the client will ask us for a repeat Annual Audit the following year, where I can document the year-on-year improvements. I have never visited a Trust that was not committed to the best quality fire safety systems, and that makes my job so much easier, as I am always pushing at an open door.”
HTM 05-03 – Part B Fire detection and alarm systems HTM 05-03 is concerned with the operational provisions for fire safety in healthcare buildings, and is divided into 11 parts, alphabetically numbered from A to M. Fire detection and alarm systems are covered in Part B, and
the topic of reducing false alarms in hospital premises is covered in Part H. Fire alarm maintenance in some areas of a hospital environment can pose issues. An example is maintenance of fire alarms in an intensive care unit, where the noise and disruption caused by essential fire alarm maintenance can be deemed unacceptable. An article in Health Estate Journal pointed to the benefits of aspirating fire detection systems – which can be designed so that planned preventative maintenance can be carried out with little access to patient areas.13
HTM 05-03 – Part H – Reducing false alarms False alarms from remotely monitored fire alarms are a problem. They use fire and rescue resources unnecessarily, and, in addition to this, result in the fire service not being available for genuine emergencies, and put the public at risk from fire appliance road movements.14 The number of false alarms reduced from a peak of 393,000 in the early
October 2022 Health Estate Journal 109
Courtesy of Liverpool Heart and Chest NHS Hospital
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