FOCUS
The rating approach Justin Francis presents his outline of a new fire and safety rating system designed for medium and high rise buildings worldwide
buildings. The B-FLSR will provide information to occupants on the level and type of fi re and life safety protection within the building that they occupy, and has the ability to encourage a proactive approach to building fi re and life safety. An alternative name for the B-FLSR is the Fire and Life Safety Rating (Fals Rating). Within buildings, the variety of occupants is
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diverse, ranging from young children and families to customers passing through retail space, offi ce workers, schoolchildren in vertical schools and elderly occupants enjoying their retirement years in high rise retirement apartments. All of these people possess different capabilities with regard to responding to emergencies, and in general are unaware of the level of fire and life safety that is in place. Buildings are constructed to standards and
codes, and these important guidelines continually evolve as more advanced solutions are identifi ed. It is true that most new buildings are constructed to very high standards in order to meet the newest and most advanced standards and codes. In respect of compliance with current fi re and life safety standards, the goal is often to build to meet
32 JUNE 2019
www.frmjournal.com
HIS ARTICLE will outline a Building – Fire and Life Safety Rating (B-FLSR) system aimed at both old and new medium and high rise
the minimum standard, or potentially provide fi re engineered solutions when they cannot be met. Currently, the benefi ts of constructing above
the minimum standard range from limited to none. When we assess existing buildings that are built to older standards and codes, there is very little option or incentive to improve or retrofi t. The life span of most buildings is unknown and we need to determine when a building built to a 50 year old standard is deemed no longer suitable without some form of modifi cation. Changes to codes and standards are often
implemented after major incidents have revealed defi ciencies. Amongst the major incidents that have driven change are the: • 11 September World Trade Centre attack in New York, USA (2001) – building evacuation concepts and structural integrity were highly analysed and changes implemented, including the third stairwell for buildings over 128m (420ft), and incorporating occupant evacuation lifts and widening stairwells for new buildings
• Grenfell Tower fi re in London, UK (2017) – a wide ranging, ongoing review
•
Lacrosse fi re in Melbourne, Australia (2014) – this brought existing standards and
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