BSEE
FIRE, SECURITY & SAFETY
Does the proposed fire safety regulatory system overhaul go far enough in Fire Engineered Solutions?
n June, as part of the ‘Building a Safer Future’ initiative, the fire safety industry got sight of the government’s proposal for improving the current building safety regulatory system, which indicates that a much needed ‘overhaul’ is planned for high rise residential buildings. This welcome move by the government, sets out to make the framework more accountable, better regulated and provide long term enforcement measures throughout a building’s life cycle whilst also opening clear channels through a consultation process, enabling residents to raise their voices in the system.
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By Nelson Godinho CEng (IMechE) BEng(Hons) Fire Eng, fire engineer at SE Controls
Regulations and legislation
By necessity, there is a plethora of regulations and legislation that cover the design, installation and maintenance of smoke control systems along with the performance of individual products that comprise the system.
Building Regulations ADB, for example, is very clear about every aspect of smoke control systems for residential buildings. However, where a building’s design falls outside of the scope of ADB, such as where escape travel distances extend beyond the specified limits, then the system must be fire engineered rather than ‘code compliant’.
With the introduction of a dutyholders regime within the latest proposal document, people involved in the construction are legally responsible for ensuring the building is designed, built and maintained to be safe. They also need to look beyond the scope of meeting the minimum standards to comply with building regulations. In addition, more accountability has been placed at each stage of the building lifecycle. The challenge then lies when certain fire safety measures are mitigated through fire engineered solutions which fall outside the
prescriptive requirements and are often dealt with by specialist contractors who may be brought in late in the design stage.
Smoke control systems which form part of fire engineered solutions can often be left out of the early consultation design process, which could result in uncovering significant and costly issues late in the project. The same goes for the life of the building in ensuring such systems are installed by competent, qualified personnel and maintained in working order long after handover at completion stage.
Government guidance
To help address the issue, earlier this year, the government released a guidance document ‘Advice for owners of buildings with smoke control systems’. In addition, the Smoke Control Association (SCA) introduced the IFC SDI 19 independent assessment of installer competence, which is a condition of membership.
It seems a costly error for the person responsible for the building, to have employed professional design and installation services and gone through a rigorous approval process, only to have the systems fail to operate effectively due to poor maintenance regimes. BS7346 Part 8 provides clear guidelines on effective maintenance, yet even with the threat of prosecution, fines and imprisonment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, lack of maintenance is still a real issue that compromises safety and puts lives at risk.
Like other specialist systems, smoke control should form one part of the holistic integrated fire safety system for a building rather being designed in isolation as a sub-system.
If dutyholders maintain a broad view during design especially in fire engineered solutions, they will be able to make approval submissions with confidence, knowing that not only has
a smoke control system design proven to make the building safe by achieving its fire safety objectives, but that they are also feasible to achieve and able to be maintained throughout the building life cycle.
The government’s building safety reform proposals are a major step forward and the inclusion of residents and regulatory bodies alongside the fire safety and construction industries gives it an inclusive strength that should enable fire engineered solutions to be part of the final legislative framework.
www.secontrols.com Hazard detection devices take fire protection to next level
n a step to provide greater protection from ‘silent killer’ carbon monoxide (CO), ABB becomes the first company to integrate CO detectors into its home automation system. To provide holistic fire protection solution, ABB launches its new Alarm-Stick, which integrates ABB’s smoke, heat and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors into ABB-free@home.
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Providing ultimate security and control, both in the home and remotely, the solution which consists of USB stick and the new detectors, has been designed to take fire protection to the next level. Thanks to the CO detectors, the system is not only suitable for residential homes, but for any location where carbon monoxide can be produced, for example fire places, chimneys and waste gases.
Oliver Iltisberger, managing director of ABB’s Smart Buildings business, explained: “We know that protecting people and property from fire and Carbon Monoxide is a major concern for homeowners. That’s why we’ve used our knowledge of smart home solutions to create the first solution on the market to integrate CO detectors, that will ultimately provide greater piece of mind for end users.”
The new Alarm-Stick connects to the ABB-free@home System Access Point via USB and communicates wirelessly to
the detectors, utilising the VdS 3515 certified detector protocol, making the integration process extremely easy. Connected via the Alarm-Stick and configured via ABB- free@home, the complete system of smoke, heat and CO detectors can operate autonomously.
The solution is so comprehensive, that when a fire alarm goes off, all detectors in the property will sound and a push notification will be automatically sent to the owner’s mobile phone, informing them whether the alarm has been caused by fire or carbon monoxide.
It will also show which room the incident was detected in, so that measures can be taken to prevent further damage or risk to life. The Alarm-Stick provides additional fire protection measures, including the option to switch on all the lights or open the blinds.
“ABB has been at the forefront of accelerating progress in smart home technology for decades, with more than five million installed components of our connected ABB- free@home automation systems in over 40 countries worldwide. The launch of our new Alarm-Stick takes home and people protection to the next level, providing greater peace of mind for residents, especially from the silent threat of CO poisoning,” added Iltisberger.
14 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER OCTOBER 2019 Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk
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