Feature
One of the most obvious items across Europe is the drive to use more natural products. For example, the use of timber is considered to be more sustainable for certain buildings than other traditional methods of construction. However, we also know these materials burn. High profile fire events have raised questions around the detailing and resilience of buildings where natural products are used as a structural material. There is a clear need for research in this area but also thinking in terms of what this means for long term sustainability.
Fires in new buildings with high-level ratings in green certification schemes have occurred. Some have been completely destroyed by fire, meaning their potential saving and green credentials are gone. Valuable resources are needed to recreate them, and their function has been interrupted for several months, if not years. Some see this as a signal that fire safety regulations deliver the wrong outcome for sustainability and others that there is a blind spot in certification schemes.
This is neatly illustrated by the Carbon Neutral laboratory in Nottingham, UK which was constructed using mass timber but destroyed shortly before it was completed in 2014. When it was rebuilt following the fire it was in line with regulations; it followed the original design and there was no increase in fire resilience – no active fire protection. The rebuild was showered with shortlisting for awards relating to its green credentials. Somehow the resources lost in the original fire did not matter or count. The original fire was consigned to history and had no bearing on the claims for the efficiency and carbon neutral credentials.
Active fire protection does not feature in this discussion.
Instead, it is assigned to mirroring the state fire regulations in differing countries where the focus is on safety and limiting conflagration. A recent update on a study from 2015 by the Fire
Protection Research Foundation summarises this by looking at the challenges that need further research3
. Active fire protection
Active protection systems such as sprinklers are part of the building system and add to their overall carbon emissions. However, before dismissing active fire protection because of these emissions their benefits need to be weighed. Studies show their benefits in minimising the impact of fire and emissions4
.
A future view of the world wherein protecting the hard- won resources so that they can be used and reused leads to a path where minimising fire incidents will be important. Active protection systems will increasingly make sense for this reason. They will also make sense when thinking of the desire for buildings that can be flexible in use throughout their life. The whole life cost of a building and its value will be tied to both these concepts.
That said active fire protection systems will need to continue to adapt to demonstrate their improving whole life costs and sustainability credentials too. This will require adapting test regimes, increased recycling of water and perhaps new technology to improve their already high effectiveness. In a world where sustainability is key, a disposable building will no longer be the ‘right thinking’. I would contend that a sprinklered one will be.
For more information visit:
www.business-sprinkler-alliance.org 1 2
2020 GLOBAL STATUS REPORT FOR BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION, Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction - UNEP
The influence of risk factors on sustainable development – FM Global 2010 3
Fire Safety Challenges of ‘Green’ Buildings and Attributes – FPRF - 2020 4 Environmental Impact of Automatic Fire Sprinklers – FM Global - 2011
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