The LWF Blog

Fire Safety for Facilities Management Personnel – Fire Service Facilities – Part 270

September 16, 2024 10:55 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 269, LWF talked about private water supplies. In part 270, we begin to discuss smoke control facilities which may be operated by the Fire Service.

When the Fire Service attend a fire, they may need to be able to open windows in the building. Any windows or vents provided should be fitted with simple lever handles. A proportion of windows in sealed, air-conditioned buildings should be fitted with locks that may be opened with a square ended key. The location of the windows should be marked on the plan provided to the Fire Service and made available in advance of any incident/as part of the emergency response.

If there are windows and vents that are inaccessible, a remote-control should be provided, suitably marked and located at a position agreed prior with the Fire Service.

In some instances of modern buildings, a complex air-conditioning system means that there should be controls provided to allow the Fire Service to shut down or modify the air flows. Some of these actions will be automated, for example by the fire alarm system, but override may be necessary. In such cases, these should be discussed with the Fire Service at the design stage to allow for appropriate input and advice. Local fire crews should also be made familiar with the location and operation of the facilities.

Information for the Fire Service

Advance planning can be invaluable to the Fire Service in a fire situation. For this reason, large buildings and sites should have information on the building layout, any hazardous storage, locations of service controls, sprinkler stop valves etc. Plans should be drawn up in consultation with the Fire Service, with the intention of them being used in case of fire.

The plans may then be kept in a sealed and suitably labelled container and located in an easily accessible position, e.g. entrance or reception desk. It is still usual for a responsible person to meet and assist the Fire Service on their arrival (the definition of a responsible person is as per The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

In buildings where there are complex basement areas, the display of plans of the basement are of use to the Fire Service and signs to indicate the presence of potentially hazardous materials are also advisable and in some cases, required under legislation.

In part 271 of this series, LWF will discuss communications facilities for the Fire Service and Firefighters emergency switches. 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.