The LWF Blog
Fire Engineering Design and Risk Assessment – Achieving Fire Safety Standards – Part 20
June 2, 2017 9:42 amIn this blog series for Architects and others in the building design business, we have been looking at Fire and Smoke ventilation and in Part 19, we went over how adverse wind pressures can affect natural smoke ventilation in buildings. In Part 20, we are going to talk about achieving fire safety standards in terms of fire engineering design.
The first step towards achieving adequate fire safety standards is the initial fire engineering design plan. The plan should encompass the needs and requirements of the design team, the client and the end user of the building.
Issues which will need to be addressed in particular, as a part of the fire strategy, include:
– The effectiveness of communications about concepts and design ideas between members of the design team.
– An engineering system component fault analysis should be carried out at the early stages of planning to ascertain what impact the failure of any given component will have on the system as a whole. If the success of the system relies upon one single part, then that component must be as reliable as is practically possible and may be subject to a particular maintenance and checking timetable. Back-up arrangements may also need to be made in case of damage to the part. For this reason, fail safe modes and the introduction of adequate diversity is advantageous and can allow increased flexibility and reduced or removed safety margins.
– Each and every component within the system must be assessed for reliability and for its reliance on another component. It should be appraised in terms of long term use and during fire conditions to ascertain what the needs are with regards to standard testing and maintenance.
– Where a dedicated smoke control system, or indeed a smoke control system that is not dedicated, is to be used, this should be assessed in combination with the fault analysis and component failure.
– Normal building services design should be co-ordinated with fire engineering requirements at the early stages and throughout to ensure the most cost-effective solution for each area.
While taking into account finance and practicality, the engineering system must meet the requirements of the fire strategy. It can be difficult to accurately predict the effects of a fire and while an engineering system aims to meet safety standards, it can be impractical to guarantee 100% safety. For this reason, the utmost care, knowledge, judgement and analysis are required to achieve the required level of fire safety at a reasonable cost.
In Part 21 of this series, we will look at the considerations which should be taken into account to assure those aims are met. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this blog, or wish to discuss your own project with one of our fire engineers, please contact us.
Lawrence Webster Forrest has been working with their clients for over 25 years to produce innovative and exciting building projects. If you would like further information on how LWF and fire strategies could assist you, please contact Peter Gyere on 020 8668 8663.