fire safety


Hospitals routinely failing on key safety measure


Fire risk assessments should be carried out by a competent person


establish the scale of the evacuation that is necessary, if at all. Should patients who are seriously ill


or immobile need to be evacutaed, this can be facilitated with the help of the emergency services.


Assessing the risks Fire risk assessments should be carried out by a competent person within the building, but in the majority of cases this does not extend to inspecting the integrity of fire compartmentation. When building services work has


been carried out in a hospital or other healthcare building there is a high risk that fire compartmentation could have been breached, which significantly increases the risks of a fire spreading. This was the case on a number of


projects which we recently assessed in the North of England. The breaches were mainly above


ceiling level or within seldom-used cupboards and risers which were


In this article, Richard Sutton, general manager at Horbury Property Services, looks at fire compartmentation and reveals why it is so important to ensure this is not breached


hidden from normal view. On further analysis, it was found that


there were three main causes for the breaches. Firstly, it was found that fire stopping


had not been completed correctly at the initial installation. Secondly, repairs and maintenance


activities had been carried out since the building was occupied, but without adequate fire stopping. And, finally, parts of the building had


been remodelled and refurbished without adequate fire stopping. Our team carried out a detailed


survey of the fire compartmentation and fire breaches. This work was done using a smartphone-enabled survey system. Each penetration was marked with a


unique code and identification number and photographed for future reference. Building layout drawings were also marked with every penetration, which included instances of the wrong fire stopping material being used. Our


Breaches to


compartmentation often occur above ceiling level


FIRAS-accredited team was then appointed to complete the works to make each building completely fire safe. Each time we made safe a fire


penetration it was captured on our survey system and photographed. The client can then be supplied with comprehensive reports detailing all the works, materials used, and drawings. They are then assured that the fire compartmentation system will operate to the required specification, which includes giving occupants a certain number of minutes in which to escape – something that is extremely important in a hospital setting.


Minimising the impact Fire separation, if installed correctly, does have an enviable success rate. However, it is the weaknesses that must be constantly considered, particularly when building service alterations take place. As a result of this, the importance of


fire risk assessments cannot be underestimated and if the assessment is not sufficiently rigorous, it could lead to a potential failing of fire compartmentation, allowing a fire to spread. There are very serious considerations


for healthcare trusts and care home managers that do not undertake adequate fire risk assessments as it could compromise the safety of the whole building. Fire risk assessments should include a


review of a building’s fire compartmentation by a competent person or external fire inspection company, thus minimising the risks to occupants and a building.


www.horburypropertyservices.com healthcaredm.co.uk 59


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