News analysis with BESA


Damper testing – it’s the next multi-million pound industry


There are as many as 100 million fire and smoke dampers installed in UK buildings and each one should be tested at least annually, but BESA believes only a tiny proportion are meeting regulatory requirements. As awareness grows, can the industry cope with the potential explosion in workload?


B


uilding owners, managers and occupiers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of carrying out comprehensive fire


safety risk assessments in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy and the new Fire Safety Bill. Protecting a building’s fire integrity has never


been more high profile and the national press is full of alarming stories about the risks faced by building occupants, but the full extent of the problem is still largely hidden. Every time an electrician drills a hole in a wall to run a cable via the shortest route from A to B, there is a strong possibility they are breaching a fire wall and, therefore, undermining the fire and smoke compartmentalisation strategy. Fire and smoke dampers are another crucial


element of fire integrity, but one that has often been ignored. However, with clients now more anxious to meet their statutory obligations, this is a once-in-a- generation opportunity to get this aspect of fire safety firmly entrenched as a routine maintenance activity.


Market


According to the most recent market figures produced by BSRIA, there are approximately 146,000 mechanical curtain dampers and 70,000 motorised dampers installed every year. These are for new builds and replacements, which account for just 1% of the annual market, suggesting that the total number of dampers already installed in UK buildings could be as high as 100 million. If every damper that needed to be checked was tested and maintained in line with the legislation the market would be worth at least £500 million a year. The kitchen grease extract cleaning sector was just


as ‘out of sight out of mind’ as dampers a decade ago. The specialist industry had to scale up rapidly and improve training and competence assessment to take this on after several high profile and very expensive fires flagged up the risks to owners and their insurers. That market took at least 10 years to get to the


point that it is now more or less a routine part of commercial kitchen fire protection strategies. Before that asbestos was the hidden threat inside buildings but today most building owners can point to their asbestos register when challenged. The insurance industry is now taking a similar


interest in dampers, which provide a first line of defence in stopping the spread of smoke and fire


12 June 2021


Indepth Services


managing director Richard Norman


without the testing required to support fire risk assessments and satisfy building insurers.


Sophisticated


“Even in some modern, sophisticated buildings, there is little evidence that the dampers have ever been checked,” he adds. “There is widespread lack of understanding, which is similar to the kitchen grease extract market before a number of high-profile fires drove the message home. “That market is now quite mature and the BESA


through ventilation systems. This has also prompted BESA to update its technical guidance for Fire and Smoke Damper Maintenance (VH001) which it is making widely available to support the industry’s efforts to improve the overall safety of buildings. This guidance builds on the Association’s industry


standard for ventilation safety and maintenance TR/19 and will shortly be incorporated into DW/145 which is the industry standard for the installation of dampers. It is also in line with the Hackitt Review and


the newly enacted Fire Safety Bill that continue to raise awareness. As a result, more building managers are now sub-contracting this aspect of fire compartmentalisation to specialist firms, such as Indepth Services, whose managing director Richard Norman believes the sector is at a tipping point. “Damper testing has been a legal requirement for


many years, but it is only now that the penny is dropping with facilities managers and building owners that this is a crucial element of their fire safety strategy,” he says. “With only a tiny proportion of buildings fully tested and inspected, the industry will see a huge surge in demand for professional damper testing and repair in the next two to three years. “It is vital, therefore, that we have proper training


in place quickly to spread best practice throughout the sector in line with BESA’s guidance VH001 or an equivalent industry-recognised standard. We also need to ensure that end clients understand they need comprehensive evidence that testing has taken place and not just a series of tick lists simply telling them how many dampers are installed in their building.” Norman, who is a former chair of BESA’s Ventilation


Hygiene group, says there are too many firms offering to carry out what amounts to little more than a survey that merely identifies how many dampers are there


guidance TR/19 provided the necessary professional standard to underpin that work.” As with any growing market, there are a growing number of untrained, uncertified firms seeking to cash in, but they are not technically capable of providing the comprehensive service required to keep people and properties safe. VH001 was produced in response to urgent calls


for a methodology that could help the building services industry comply with the British Standard (BS9999) for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. It also supports the healthcare sector’s technical documents HTM 03-01 for heating and ventilation and HTM 05-02 for fire safety in healthcare premises. BS9999 requires all installed dampers to be tested


by a competent person and at regular intervals “not exceeding one year”. It also states that spring- operated dampers should be tested annually with those installed in dust-laden atmospheres checked even more regularly. BESA’s guidance explains how dampers should be located – in line with the responsibilities of the system designer and as part of a building’s fire strategy – and accessed for testing along with the levels of competence required to carry out this work. It states that an inventory of all dampers should be created and that every manually resettable damper must be individually released to ensure the spring- loaded shutter remains operational. All of which needs to be backed up with photographic


evidence showing the condition of each damper before, during and after inspection and testing. Without that evidence, the process is not compliant. The BESA document also sets out a comprehensive plan for providing reports to clients and any findings that need action including damaged and missing


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