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Other issues arising with regard to PFP include damage or removal by other trades or residents and poor building management. Mr Brownhill highlighted the ASFP’s guide to PFP for assessors, and concluded that building owners should ensure such protection is installed with third party certified products by certified installers.
Sprinkler systems Looking in detail at wall and ceiling
linings, common issues identified include extensive overpainting, flammable paint and poorly adhered decoration, which should be redecorated with paint ‘proven to work’. In residential buildings, it becomes a management issue to keep escape routes clear of items, while materials hung from surfaces such as posters or carpets should be removed if hung in ‘significant amounts’ – though some can be flame retarded. Fire doors require a look at all elements,
including: voids; labels and plugs; whether gaps are correct; if a frame is fixed or sealed to an opening; if suitable ironmongery has been used; checking for the ‘presence and condition’ of intumescent strips and smoke seals; hold open devices; panic exit devices; air transfer grilles; and whether the products and door are from and installed by third party certified companies. Looking at walls, floors and ceilings, Mr Brownhill
stated that you should check if an existing construction is correct, and if any alterations are fire resisting; whether there are any changes to the escape route; what role, if any, suspended ceilings might play; whether hidden spaces are maintained for compartmentation; if there are any holes; and again if products and installation are undertaken by third party certified organisations. Finally, he looked at penetrating services such as cables or pipes. Building owners should check if these are ‘suitably fire stopped’ or supported; if they are in good condition; and if products and companies are third party certified. For such services utilising ducts or dampers,
he asked the same questions, as well as whether the method of air handling is understood.
46 APRIL 2018
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Discussing UK sprinkler standards, Nigel Chantler, chair of the Residential Sprinkler Association, noted that these included BS 8458 (though this was ‘not suitable’ for high rise buildings), and BS 9251. In 1998, BS 9251 was formulated and became a standard in 2005, but was based on a US standard ‘like most’, as the US ‘leads the way’. This was revised in 2014, with an EU standard coming soon to replace it – Mr Chantler noted that Britain installs 95% of sprinklers in Europe. Going into more detail on the design basics for the 9251 systems, he noted that these depended on the type of building. High rises fall under category two, and you first need to find out design parameters, with one or two heads required per flat ‘at least’. The system requires designing for one or two
in each room, and in a tall building, water supply is key – if this is not right, ‘nothing works’, with a dedicated tank only one of many options. Largely, supply depends on water pressure, and going through a list of variations, Mr Chantler removed options and listed those left by order of reliability. He noted that it was rare to have a gravity fed system in a new building, but that there is often a tank at the top of old towers, so you might not need to install a pump. In addition, with no electricity required, and no
pumps, it is all down to water and gravity, and when only water is used, that means that the sprinkler system’s only source works if the power does not. A shared tank and pump combination utilises gravity, while a dedicated sprinkler pump was ‘not as good’, with Mr Chantler pointing to the fact that it is ‘all down to dedicated tanks’, because you are not able to see if these are working compared to a communal tank at the top. A dedicated tank and pump combination, he
noted, was worst in reliability terms, while on cost a shared tank with no pump was again best, and a dedicated tank with a pump was worst. Reliability differences between options was ‘very minimal’, but Mr Chantler did note that under BS 9252 testing, which all sprinkler heads should be tested to, ‘no single head complies’. Referring back again to BS 9251, he stated that
this allows you to ‘ask for permission to use’ the heads, while UL 1626 (an American standard) is the one actually used on every residential set up, as it covers walls and floors and allows for curtains
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