FOCUS


FIREX International 2018


learning objectives, he explained that the intent is to show a spectrum of fire safety with depth and breadth; a holistic system providing a route by which individuals and organisations can select the elements of competency (skills, knowledge, training and experience) they need, along with external assessment and verification (certification and accreditation). ‘It’s as much about what you don’t know, as what you do,’ he commented. (See ‘Imperfect discipline’, F&RM March 2018, pp20-23).


Stay put strategy


by an Industry Response Group to develop a comprehensive and coherent system aimed at assuring the competence of those managing building safety in HRRBs, and the process by which residents have access to fire safety awareness training. Moreover, Chapter 5 of the Hackitt report


recommended that within a year, professional and accreditation bodies in the construction and fire safety sectors present a coherent proposal to government, covering as a minimum the role and remit of an overarching body ‘to provide oversight of competence requirements and support the delivery of competent people working on HRRBs’. To avoid prescription in delivery, a competency


framework has been devised that adapts what exists, while allowing innovation. It is designed to provide the context ‘within the holistic activity of fire safety’ for each related element. ‘Fire is a cross cutting issue… it can’t just be bolted on.’ Originally, the Construction Industry Council, Build UK and the Construction Products Association, then the FSF, were involved. Now 11 working groups – engineers; installers; fire engineers; risk assessors; enforcement officers; building control/ standards inspectors; building design/architects; building safety managers; site supervisors; project managers; and procurement managers – must map themselves onto the framework by summer 2019 and add curriculum detail, including assessment, evidence portfolios and continuing professional development. Presenting examples of modules for levels


1-4 in core areas (fire science and fire safety; escape; design; specification; maintenance etc) which state the required subject knowledge and


36 JULY/AUGUST 2018 www.frmjournal.com


FPA special projects group manager David Sibert aimed to clarify confusion since Grenfell over the most common building evacuation strategy – stay put, other strategies being progressive horizontal, phased and delayed evacuation. According to BS 9991 (3.58), stay put is normally adopted when a fire occurs in a flat or maisonette within a block, the occupants of which evacuate, while ‘occupants of all other dwellings can safely remain in their dwellings unless directly affected by heat and smoke or directed to leave by the fire and rescue service’. However, he believed it more complex than that, eg if firefighters can’t access the building, how can they direct residents to leave? Whilst the standard discourages a ‘pick and mix’ approach, he believed it important to consider stay put in the context of all other related issues in BS 9991. For instance, robust compartmentation is based on the assumption in BS 9991 (17) that fire is unlikely to spread beyond flats and maisonettes, and 18.2 says walls should be constructed using a material that doesn’t support fire spread. ‘Flame spread over or within an external wall construction should be controlled to avoid creating a route for rapid fire spread bypassing compartment floors or walls. Note 1: This is particularly important where a stay put strategy is in place.’ It adds that in buildings of 18m or more, cladding, insulation and filler material used in the external wall construction should be of limited combustibility. Since Grenfell, it has become clearer that there


are two classes of HRRBs, stay put evacuation only being suitable in those with the ‘full package of fire safety systems’. This is not a reflection on stay put, which has worked worldwide, Mr Sibert stressed, ‘but when a poorly constructed building overwhelms the strategy, firefighters have to do something else, such as telling residents: “Stay where you are and we’ll try to rescue you”’. People incorrectly confuse this with: ‘You are safe where you are.’ Stay put is only relevant if the building is robust,


therefore a thorough risk assessment is needed, and a compartmentation assessment is recommended first, as compartmentation should


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