The LWF Blog
Fire Risk Assessment for Healthcare Premises – Fire Protection Measures Solutions – Part 130
March 20, 2023 12:26 pmLWF’s blog series for healthcare professionals aims to give information on best practice of fire safety in hospitals and other healthcare premises. In part 129 of Fire Risk Assessments for Healthcare Premises, LWF discussed the third example given in HTM 05-03 Part K – Ground to second floor with poor observation of patients’ beds. In part 130, we consider the fourth example – Floors on or above the third floor level accommodating patient-care areas.
In a healthcare building that exhibits certain characteristics or particular challenges to effective fire safety management, particular arrangements may need to be put into place to mitigate risks.
In a healthcare building, it is generally considered best that patient-care areas are kept below the third floor, as the greater height they are located at, the more challenging it is for them to be provided assistance in the event of a fire, or to use vertical egress when necessary.
Where accommodation is unavoidable on or above the third floor, the additional protection required may involve a combination of the following:
- An increase in the number of compartments and/or sub-compartments (fire-resistant walls, floors, door sets etc.)
- The installation of escape bed lifts for evacuating patients who cannot be moved from their bed without endangering them
- Small compartments of less than 900 m2
All compartments should be adequately ‘fire-stopped’ and this is, basically, the protection or sealing of services that pass through the building’s walls and floors. These measures must be maintained to ensure the compartment’s period of fire-resistance is preserved. This is a requirement of all compartmentation, regardless of height or storey level within a building.
These measures are intended to enhance facilities for progressive horizontal evacuation (moving patients from one compartment of fire origin or next to the one of fire origin to a safe compartment of at least 30 minutes resistance) and vertical evacuation where necessary.
If it is possible to relocate patient-care areas to below the third floor in the future, this should be pursued.
Although it is not mentioned at this point in HTM 05-03, it may also help to mitigate the additional risk of housing patients on the third floor or above if a fire suppression system were installed to subdue and control a fire if it were to start.
In Part 131 of LWF’s blog series, LWF will discuss ‘Dependent patients with highly infectious diseases’. 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 since 1986 to produce innovative and exciting building projects. If you would like further information on how LWF and fire strategies could assist you, please contact LWF on freephone 0800 410 1130.
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.