FOCUS


Building safety John Newbury looks at factors to consider


when specifying a fire alarm system for a construction site


of fire protection because of the presence of flammable materials, use of hot works and limited escape routes. Set in the context of this background


C


is the fact that there are hundreds of fi res on construction sites each year, and that these potentially put at risk the lives of workers, occupiers of buildings and members of the public at risk. Until relatively recently, fire safety in construction was primarily focused on preventing fires from starting in the first place. As logical and sensible as that is, it is never going to be 100% successful all of the time. The result is that construction companies


now have a duty to comply with legal requirements regarding fi re protection, one of which is having an effective fire alarm system in place.


32 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.frmjournal.com


ONSTRUCTION AND refurbishing projects carry with them a number of additional challenges in terms


System compliance


It is an undisputed fact that personnel on site and those living and working nearby need protection from fire. As such, the Fire Protection Association’s Fire Prevention on Construction Sites: Joint Code of Practice (JCOP) (9th edition), reinforces the need for fire alarms on construction sites to be compliant with BS EN 54-25. This important document now contains the following advice: ‘Components of automatic fire detection and alarm systems should be marked as complying with EN 54 (13.8)’. Not all wireless fire alarm systems


are the same: to comply with EN 54, the complete unit and every unit in the system including base station, fire call point or smoke and heat detection units, should have been tested to the relevant part of EN 54. If in doubt, ask your supplier for the Declaration of Performance to see what has been tested.


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