FOCUS
Safe and sustainable Iain Cox believes that buildings’ resilience
to fire, increased by installing sprinkler systems, can help them become more sustainable
I
N A world where new commercial and industrial buildings are designed to be more energy effi cient and sustainable, sprinkler
systems are playing an increasingly important role in achieving and maintaining the required sustainability standards. When sprinklers are activated to reduce the impact of fires, they also lower carbon emissions, reduce the water used to control fi res and limit the consequences for the wider environment and local communities. Their sustainability benefits become clear. By looking at case studies of real fires, we
begin to see the wide ranging environmental, economic and social implications of fires in supposedly sustainable developments. This highlights the need to consider resilience to fi re to achieve continued sustainability performance.
Unfortunate fates
Early on 12 March 2018, a newly opened 40,000m2 warehouse in Daventry, Northamptonshire, suffered a damaging fi re that destroyed the site, despite the best efforts of more than 50 fi refi ghters
52 JUNE 2020
www.frmjournal.com
tackling the blaze. The warehouse, the supplies distribution centre for the Gardman garden supplies business, had no sprinkler system. Not only was it completely destroyed by the fi re, but it impacted the business, its employees and retailers, the local economy and the environment, and had an undeniably lasting effect – though fortunately there was no loss of life. In total, £20m of stock was lost, which was
felt by retailers relying on more than 4,000 lines of garden products produced by the company. Disruption and smoke warnings were issued following the fi re, alongside those fl agging the need for fi re water runoff to be monitored by the Environment Agency. This environmental impact also extended to disposing of damaged property, and the costs of resources and materials required for a rebuild were over £30m, a signifi cantly higher cost than installing a sprinkler system (in the region of £900,000).
As a consequence of the fi re, the business
faced both operational and fi nancial pressure, and was eventually sold for a fraction of its value before the fi re. This raises a fundamental issue about how sustainable such a project can be when fi re is a
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