Fire Sector Summit


Traditional construction is ‘poorly understood’, water’s interaction with porous material being a particular issue. Its tiny molecules bounce into surface pores, and will ‘start hitting the walls and lose energy’, condensing into vapour which ‘doesn’t pass through’ – though once in pores it can remain, with certain stone types like GoreTex serving as tunnels. Water is able to get through thick masonry ‘in the right conditions’, liquid water being able to ‘bond together as one and pull in’ more, and to ‘travel quickly through complicated surfaces’. If there is a path flow to the surface, you can evaporate, but if done too quickly you can ‘break the string’, meaning ineffective drying. Water must then be removed in vapour form, Dr Pender discussing stages of drying and pointing out that when flow is from inside to the surface, drying is faster. It is best to wait two weeks after rapid drying until


water in cores ‘can set up flows again’. With some pores empty, there might still be surface water and some may still be full, with distribution ‘not static’. Permeable materials used in construction behave like raincoats and stop water from being drawn in. In firefighting and extreme weather however, joints and junctions are equally susceptible. There is a tipping point after which a ‘vicious cycle’ begins, Dr Pender pointing out a fire hose or flood is ‘more likely to tip things over than rain’. Materials in good condition are more resistant,


the Merchant Adventurers Hall in York being one example where there was no water ingress in a flood bar one wall, but by the time monitoring began it had already dried out. The ‘worst thing’ to do after fire is not cover a building, as exposing it to rain can ‘make a bad situation worse’. She gave two examples from the North West floods, where one shop kept fittings and naturally dried, opening two weeks later. Another was insured, stripped out and speed dried, but was unable to open for a year due to ‘major moisture problems’. With traditional materials, there is ‘no need to


panic’ about water – it is best to ‘allow good, steady natural drying’, and ‘leave timber’ if possible. If it needs to be removed, it should be ‘properly stored and not dried too quickly’. Barrier materials such as damproofing can be used ‘just in case’, but are ‘not innocent bystanders’ as they can ‘whip water through’. There is ‘no doubt waterproofing is a terrible idea’, as it won’t keep all water out and creates stress points at the ‘junction between original and treated materials’. Dr Pender was ‘struck’ that she ‘couldn’t find


any real consideration of how repair might affect future resilience’, adding there is always a factor in the ‘possibility of increased future risk through repair’. Owners need to ‘keep a watchful eye’, copy systems ‘that worked’, remedy weak points and ‘take the time you need to develop the best and safest response’.


Warehouses and sprinklers


Mr Cox summarised the BSA’s report, The costs of fires in warehouses and the benefits of sprinklers, which aims to ‘increase the number of business premises protected from fire’, showing government and businesses that ‘sprinklers make businesses resilient’, and that ‘resilient businesses benefit the national finances, communities and the environment [...] we aim to drive a culture change so that sprinklers are commonly used in UK business buildings’. A CEBR report, The financial and economic impact of warehouse fires, found that there are 80,000 warehouses in England in which 621 fires occur annually. Of these, 588 are in warehouses without fire sprinklers, meaning a ‘direct financial loss to business’ of £230m a year, and £190m in GDP. Environmentally, such fires cost £11m per annum


in terms of carbon dioxide emissions through smoke and use of water. Over five years, cumulative economic loss can reach £1b in GDP, and on the cost benefit size threshold, BRE found a 1:3.7 cost benefit in installing sprinklers in buildings up to 2,000m2


buildings and as such ‘therefore only a fraction of the total costs of fires’ in industrial buildings. On the ‘true cost’ of commercial building fires, the


BSA believes a ‘thorough and broad ADB review will improve the fire resistance of buildings’ and make businesses ‘more resilient’, reducing ‘the impact and cost of fire on your economy and community’. Mr Cox highlighted case studies where


replacement buildings were not sprinklered or where fires had been averted in ‘sprinkler saves’ – over 190 of the latter took place in commercial buildings in the last three and a half years. Only 20% of warehouses between 2,000 and 10,000m2


are sprinklered – fire safety


building regulation guidance is ‘determined by a consideration of life safety only’, or ‘does not consider the true cost of fire’, guidance considering warehouses 20,000m2


or over should


have automatic sprinklers. Additionally, 69% of businesses thought that


following ADB guidance meant ‘business premises are adequately protected from fire’, while developer, ownership and use patterns of warehousing and commercial buildings ‘deters sprinkler installation’. Finally, a ‘lack of knowledge’ means benefits ‘are


not realised’, architects not knowing design benefits, developers not knowing design and business benefits, and occupants not appreciating business resilience and insurance benefits – these different parties seeing ‘only the cost and not the benefit’


William Roszczyk is editor of Fire & Risk Management and Jan Wassall is its production editor. For more information, view page 5


www.frmjournal.com FEBRUARY 2018 51


FOCUS


, with warehouses 15% of all UK business


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