Fire Protection Strategy - Assignment Example

FIRE PROTECTION STRATEGY Academic Building Detection and Warning Systems 1. Summary of the Building The Academic Building, owned and run by an independent institution, is designed similar to a considerably spacious atrium with balcony access on upper levels. It has a basement, ground floor, and three other higher level floors. The overall dimension of the building is around 46x25 metres and a ground floor footprint of about 780 metre square. It has several common areas which are linked by a number of voids rising from ground floor to the 3rd floor. The new Academic Building will offer various facilities such as lecture theatre, classrooms, cafe and dining facilities, flexible group workspace, science laboratory, facilities for IT, and offices for staff. Inside the University campus, the Academic Building will be located between two existing neighbouring building such as the History Building to the north and the Arts Building to the South. Although the Academic Building is a modern building that will house a considerable number of students and staff, the University management is looking for a way to minimise the cost of fire protection system and does not want to make alterations to neighbouring buildings such as linking fire alarm systems etc. 2. Detection and Warning Systems Smoke alarms or automatic fire detection and alarm systems can greatly increase the safety of occupants in a building simply because it can an early warning of fire (Communities and Local Government 2000, p.18). Generally, these fire alarms should be installed in places where it can effectively warn people of any fire such as circulation spaces, sleeping spaces, and places where the likelihood of fire occurrence is high. These places may be the kitchen, the living rooms, and those that contain a significant amount of highly combustible materials. However, detection systems such as smoke alarms should be installed directly above heating or ventilating equipments and places where steam, condensation, or fumes can trigger a false alarm like the kitchen, bathrooms, and garages. Moreover, it should not be fitted in places where temperature gets very hot such as a boiler room or cold store (Communities and Local Government 2000, p.19). Selecting and installing detection and warning systems in a building depend on the type of occupancy and evacuation or means of escape strategy. For instance, when the means of escape strategy is based on simultaneous evacuation, a staged alarm system may not be appropriate since manual call point or fire detector can give a faster and immediate warning. Stage alarms work best in phased evacuation since enables two or more stages of alarm (alert or evacuate) in a particular location (Communities and Local Government 2000, p.20). Selecting the right detection and alarm system varies from one building to another thus guidance provided by different standards should be referred to before installing any device. For instance, guidance for automatic fire detection may found in BS 5839-1:2002 which also include guidance for installation, commissioning, and maintenance of these devices. Moreover, it can also provide knowledge about the different categories of the systems which include category L, M, and P. L is a detection and warning system specifically for protection of life while M is for manual alarm systems and P is for protection of property. The L category, which is a common preference in buildings with considerable number of occupants that needs to warned, the category is divided into several distinct group such as L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5 systems. Although most of them generally functions as an early warning device, they are required to be installed in specific parts of the building. For instance, L2 systems need to be installed in specific parts of the building where it is designed for while L3 systems are commonly installed to give warning to all people other than those located in the origin of fire. Similarly, the L4 systems should be installed along the escape routes, circulation areas or spaces such as stairways, corridors, and other areas that may be assigned (Communities and Local Government 2000, p.20). According to BS 9999:2008, automatic fire alarm and detection systems do not contain fire but it can initiate other functions other than sounding an alarm (BS 9999 2008, p.62). For instance, it can automatically close down ventilation and air conditioning plant or open fire suppression or smoke control device. As mentioned earlier, BSI recommends the installation of L3 detection and warning system in phased and staged or zoned evacuation. However, in environments where noises can affect the audibility of the fire alarm, flashing warning beacons may be installed (BS 9999 2008, p.62). Since the Academic Building is multi-level structure, a phased evacuation strategy may be adopted. This means priority will be given to those people directly affected by the fire and other floors which evacuation may be delayed by disability of occupants. According to BS 9999:2008, choosing this type of evacuation requires installation of fire warning system compliance with L3 standard (BS 9999 2008, p.54). The occupancy characteristic of the Academic Building is A according to the BSI since it’s an open-plan area of more than 60 square metres. Therefore, the minimum level of fire alarm or detection system is M (BS 9999 2008, p.63). In this case, L3 compliant system and some M type alarm are best to ensure occupants total protection from fire. Generally, installation of combined optical heat and smoke detectors is recommended because it can give both type of detection at the same time. These detectors will be mounted in points where heat and smoke is likely to accumulate. The highest points in an enclosed area are usually the ideal places where detectors can work best. Call points placed in strategic location is also recommended to allow occupants to manual sound the alarm in case fire is just starting and automatic detectors are not yet being triggered. In the basement level, the possible escape routes were marked to determine the ideal location for alarms and call points. This marking also enable determination of critical areas in which fire would likely start. The possible escape route leads directly to a stairway going to the ground floor where final escape is possible. Selected optical smoke and heat detectors locations which are mostly critical areas such as the switch room and IT HU were marked. Fire alarm was placed along the corridor. One break glass call point is recommended along the escape route. At the ground floor, it was determined that there are two possible escape routes to a place of absolute safety. These were marked using a red line. Selected rooms were marked with optical smoke and heat detectors indicating immediate fire detection whenever a fire starts in these locations. These areas were selected because they contained combustible materials and frequented by a number of people. Moreover, the kitchen, furniture, recycles, and cleaner rooms are commonly containing different types of materials that may cause ignition. In the kitchen, the lone optical smoke and heat detector was placed away from the source of heat to prevent false alarm. A fire alarm marking was placed near the reception area to allow more people to hear the alarm. A manual call point placed inside the escape route line enable people to manually sound the alarm in case of failure or delayed fire detection of installed smoke and heat detecting devices. In the first floor, two separate escape routes were also determined and marked by a red line. These escape routes are leading to ground floor through a protected stairway. Optical smoke and heat detectors were placed in selected rooms where possible fire starting is likely to occur. One smoke and heat detector was marked in the principal’s office where a number of combustible materials, electronic and electrical appliances are located. A fire alarm was placed near the waiting area along the corridor to allow more people to notice the alarm in case of fire. In the language rooms, separate detectors alarms were placed to allow detection of fire in each room. One break glass call point was placed inside the marked escape route line to allow manual sounding of alarm in case occupants notice the fire or smoke first. Detectors and warning systems are similarly laid-out in the second floor. The lines of possible escape routes lead to the first floor through protected stairways. Similarly, break glass manual call points were placed in separate location to ensure alarm with be triggered whatever situation arise. The third floor was also laid-out with two possible escape routes and the location of alarms and manual call points were determined. Although the chances of fire starting in study rooms is low, separate optical smoke and heat detectors were placed near the ceiling of every room to ensure that fire occurrence due to unforeseen circumstances is covered. For instance, the science lab contains chemicals and burning equipment use in experiments that may start a fire. Moreover, deliberate fire-starting is always considered in this fire protection strategy thus classrooms are not exempted for smoke and heat detection installation. Fire alarms were placed on both ends of the corridor to alert more people. 3. Marked Academic Building Floor Plan 3.1 Basement 3.2 Ground Floor 3.3 First Floor 3.4 Second Floor 3.5 Third Floor 4. References BS 9999, 2008, BSI British Standards: Code of Practice for Fire Safety in the Design, Management, and use of Buildings, BS9999:2008, BSI, UK Communities and Local Government, 2000, The Building Regulations 2000: Fire Safety, Approved Document B Volume 2 – Buildings other than Dwellinghouses, NBS, UK Read More