The LWF Blog

Fire Safety for Facilities Management Personnel – Fire Service Facilities – Part 265

August 12, 2024 11:00 am

Lawrence Webster Forrest (LWF) is a specialist fire engineering and fire risk management consultancy whose aim is to give information on best practice in fire safety for facilities management personnel through this blog series. In part 264, LWF discussed the design and provision of access for firefighters. In part 265, we continue looking at the design and provision of access and facilities for firefighters.

In buildings where firefighting shafts are provided, there should be one shaft for every 900 m². The distance between the furthest point in a storey to the door of the nearest firefighting shaft should be no more than 60 metres, if measured along the route that a hose would follow.

Where a firefighting shaft is needed in a tall building, or one with deep basements, all upper or basement floors should be served by firefighting shafts. If the building in question has sprinklers installed, the number of firefighting shafts may be limited to two, if the relevant hose distances are satisfied.

The power supplies installed to support a firefighting lift are of the utmost importance in a fire protection provision. BS 9999 contains recommendations on the operation of a lift-control system, but BS EN 81-72 contains guidance on engineering of the lift installation.

An important aspect of firefighting lift design is security of the power supplies. Care should be taken to provide the following:

• An alternative power supply in case of failure of the normal supply
• Protection for cables providing power to the lift against fire
• A means for ensuring the cables of the primary power supply and alternative power supply cannot both be affected by a single fire

A switch should be provided at the fire service access level that will cause the lift to be returned to that level, after which it can be controlled from within the lift car. There must also be a means of communication between the lift car, the fire service access level and the lift machine room.

In part 266 of this series, LWF will continue discussing the facilities that should be provided in a build for the fire service. In the meantime, if you have any queries about your own facilities or wish to discuss this blog series, please contact LWF on freephone 0800 410 1130.

Lawrence Webster Forrest is a fire engineering consultancy based in Surrey with over 35 years’ experience, which provides a wide range of consultancy services to professionals involved in the design, development and construction and operation of buildings.

 

While care has been taken to ensure that information contained in LWF’s publications is true and correct at the time of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of this information.