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Technical Bulletins
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BS9999:2008 – Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings
LWF PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN Introduction to the new Code of Practice for Fire Safety in the Design, Management, and Use of Buildings.
EB-15 Means of Escape Assessment – The Basics
LWF PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN How do I know people in my building can escape safely? How many people can I have at any one time in my premises? Where should I locate my fire exits? So many questions architects, designers and building managers cannot answer until a fire safety advisor / engineer is involved. The main objective of the Building Regulations, Approved Document B – Amended 2002 (ADB) – Fire Safety is Life Safety. This bulletin therefore concentrates on the various parameters that must be taken into account to ensure such a level of safety is achieved when designing or refurbishing means of escape in buildings.
EB-14 Fire Safety Engineering of Composite Steel-Framed Buildings
LWF PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN Fire Safety Engineering of Composite Steel-Framed Buildings. Since 1991 the requirements of the Building Regulations for England and Wales have been performance based rather than prescriptive.
EB-13 The role of the Fire Engineer
LWF PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN The Role of the Fire Engineer Fire engineering, in relative terms is a new discipline and is growing faster than ever before. The benefits that fire engineering can bring to projects is becoming increasingly understood and enjoyed by design teams and end clients.
EB-12 Fire Engineering Strategy
LWF PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN Fire Engineering Strategy – ‘What is its Purpose’ A fire strategy, in conjunction with scale drawings, should unambiguously detail the type of fire safety facilities that are to be incorporated within a building, along with their respective specifications. The method of operation of any system (i.e. cause and effect), whether active or passive, should also be clearly stated within the strategy. All buildings are different, although the individual types of buildings will fall into certain categories. The categories obviously vary but could include: industrial type buildings, which may lead to high-bay storage and abnormal fire loads or manufacturing/processing risks; healthcare or hospital establishments, leading to risks associated with human incapacitation and the implications associated with horizontal escape; or, office, shop, public or commercial premises, which may lead to risks associated with high population densities or building unfamiliarity.
EB-11 Approved document B – Proposed Revisions II
In July 2005 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) issued a revision of the Approved Document B (ADB) for consultation. The amendment was considered necessary to adapt to the current standards and changes in construction practise, approaches to European terminology concerning fire rating and an integration of other technical references and associated legislation. As such the proposed new edition of ADB has been split into two parts – Volume 1 (Dwellings) and Volume 2 (Buildings other than Dwellings).
EB-10 Residential Sprinklers
A sprinkler system can be defined as a series of pipes and sprinkler heads that is intended to spray water over a fire with the objective of controlling and suppressing it. Residential sprinklers are a relatively new concept in the UK, although sprinkler systems in industrial and commercial premises have demonstrated their effectiveness and usefulness over a number of years. It is for this reason that they are now being considered for use in homes, and the Home Office and the fire service now recommend this technology for residential premises.
EB-9 Approved Document B – proposed revisions
There has been much speculation about the proposed changes to Approved Document B, since these were announced by the Government two years ago. December’s bulletin discusses the proposed revisions and the impact they will have on the design of buildings where people live (changes to buildings that are not dwellings will be covered in a future issue).
EB-8 Car Park Fires
According to Home Office statistics, there were 92,800 road vehicle fires in the UK during 2003. This is a 30 per cent rise since 1997, when there were 71,500 such fires. The increase is mainly due to arson.
EB-7 Fire safety and the disability discrimination act
The Disabled Discrimination Act (DDA - 1995) came into force on the 2nd of December 1996, and made requirements on employers and service providers relating to the provision of disabled access into and around buildings.