Current affairs


reality’ of ‘prepare, practice, evacuate’ be adopted, as well as focusing on post evacuation and management. Asking ‘will people stay put?’, Mr Timpson added that fires ‘don’t match the strategy’, with half of tall building fire deaths occurring in means of escape, while cramming and hoarding – ‘a real concern’ – create falling fire hazards into impact zones. Grenfell ‘happened on our watch, and we will be judged on how we deal with it’, he said, showing images illustrating the ‘truly horrific’ threat of falling debris into impact zones during the fire. Delaminated panels, once falling, ‘can plane 1.5 times the height of the building’, adding a major new risk element to those escaping or fighting the fires. Preparation and practice should cover managing means of escape, ‘meaningful’ training and walking evacuation routes, as well as understanding how lifts work and situational awareness, with this last improvable with dot matrix screens or smartphone push messages. Improving evacuation could include:


reducing pre movement time; assertiveness training, as ‘people respond’ to authority figures; appointing further fire wardens and marshals; ‘you are here’ maps for orientation; clear floor numbering and signage; and alternative exits, taking impact zones into consideration. Post evacuation, you should account for people as they leave, and plan for no reentry. Mr Timpson concluded on areas in which management can be improved: offering building occupants a forum so that they can become aware of issues and share their concerns; knowing the building; understanding the fire strategy; assessing and managing fire risks; liaising with FRSs; and understanding insurance cover.


Active, passive and integrated


FirePro’s Tony Hanley gave an overview of active fire suppression standards and requirements, discussing sprinklers, watermist, foam and extinguishers, as well as newer technologies such as foam deluge and environmentally friendly gas agents. The objective over time is to engineer the


solution ‘best suited’ to certain scenarios. Change will come through resources, competency and skill sets, costs, evolving fire risks, standards and approvals, the impact of Brexit and insurance cover, all of which are set to affect suppression technology development. As technology improves, a ‘great deal of


flexibility’ has emerged, and it should ‘not be the tail wagging the dog’, with the industry needing to review procedures. Flexibility and dialogue are required to ‘build a hierarchy based on the means of intervention’ – suppression is the ‘ultimate backstop’.


FOCUS


While false suppression activations do happen,


Mr Hanley stated that air sampling technology can help with early intervention, such as laser sampling chambers detecting smoke particles, or linear heat detection technology monitoring air pressure changes. His view was that there is ‘no excuse for not considering technology’ in fire safety strategies, and that a fire ‘doesn’t have to get to the escalation point’. In the future for active options, ‘all have a place’,


while FirePro’s technology offers what he called a ‘strong alternative’, utilising condensed aerosols to change the molecular structure of a fire. On fire and smoke resisting doors and seals, Lorient’s Sarah Lewis explored their role and performance, covering fire statistics and the science behind smoke killing 60% of fire victims, specifically the effects of carbon monoxide and low oxygen levels. Reflecting on Approved Documents of the Building Regulations, she stated that doors and seals are referenced in Approved Documents B (ADB), E and M. In ADB’s Appendix B, doors are required to be tested as a complete door set, with components ‘critical’, while in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 [FSO], the responsible person has a legal responsibility to inspect and test doorsets regularly to ensure they offer a safe compartment. She ran through a range of materials used,


and noted that door safety is defined in minutes, discussing case studies where doors prevented further fire spread. Ms Lewis then showed a BBC report on parallel door tests at a UKAS accredited centre, undertaken on full size doors under controlled conditions.


www.frmjournal.com SEPTEMBER 2018 49


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