Fire Engineering Solutions and Risk Assessment to Satisfy the Authorities - Coursework Example

Title: fire protection Dated: May 3, 2010 1. Discuss fire safety designs solutions with the architect and building control officer. As Fire Safety Officer, I have visited Lowery in Salford and had interviewed architects, building control officer and site manager regarding the issue of Fire Protection for the building. The crux of the interview regarding the safety designs solutions for the building with the architect and the building control officer as under: Fire Safety Officer: Please elaborate the nature and location of the building along with its significance. Architect: Lowery in Salford is located at waterside in the redeveloped Salford in Manchester as an architectural flagship with dynamic identity. The building has been regenerated and designed to reflect the surrounding landscapes and flourishing waterways at their glass and metallic surface. The building was opened on April 28, 2000 with a variety of performing and visual arts in the building(1). Fire Safety Officer: What are the major aims of the building and the type of visitors to the building? Architect: The major of the building is to give access to everyone in the fields of entertainment, education in the arts and new areas of creativity to expand the scope of the building. There are two main theaters and studio space in the building for performing arts with a seating capacity of 2376 for the presentation of drama ,ballet, opera ,musicals ,dance ,popular music and similar other types for education and entertainment. The building displays the work of LS Lowry beside contemporary exhibitions as to address the needs of the customers through entertainment in the building as in the shape of the provision of services and other facilities as are linked with the building structures(2). Fire Safety Officer: What type of design guides were used in the building. Architect: The building was constructed as in accordance with the local building design guides for ensuring the environmental and health related aspects of the design guide along with the fire protection measures. The basic needs of the customers were the guiding principles for the provision of services through the building(3). The design of the building has been selected and applied for the utilization of less energy, adequate facilities and safety in case of fire. Fire Safety Officer: Please highlight fire engineering solutions and risk assessment to satisfy the authorities. Building Control Officer: The building has been constructed with the inclusion of the fire engineering solutions and risk assessment for the security of the visitors, the administrators and the owners. Fire safety valves have been applied, wide open areas have been included, electric wiring has been installed as per fire safety standards. Risk assessment have been completed for the building and all the concerned authorities are satisfied with the measures as taken for the fire engineering solutions and risk assessment as taken by the concerned authorities as per international standards. Sustainable building guides have been applied in the building during the construction and post constructional stage for the building. These steps will promote the utilization of the building as on sustainable basis with low losses even during the fire incidents in the building as adequate fire protection measures have been taken and these measures will benefit all the stakeholders as on win-win basis(4). 2. Identify passive and active fire protection systems within the premises. The building has been designed and constructed through the application of passive and active fire protection systems with the objectives to ensure the security and safety of the building as well as of the occupants of the building. Both of these systems that are passive and active fire protection systems interact with each other for the creation of synergetic results as in favor of the administrators of the building and the visitors as part of the utility of the building(5). a) Passive Fire protection system as applied in the building. The building “Lowery in Salford” has been constructed through the application of a number of passive fire protection system. The building has been constructed with the installation of emergency routes and exit points in case of fire along with the fire fighting equipment. The building is triangular in shape having a ship like appearance from the outside. The geometric shape of the building has the capacity to resist the spread of fire in case of the fire cases as part of the fire protection strategy. The fire safety personals regularly administer the fire safety arrangements as to check the installation as a part of the fire safety. The inflow of outside fire is minimized by the constructional designs and the shape of the building. The constructional technology as applied in the construction of the building has also the capacity to help in the fire protection process. The building has applied walls, roofs, floors, linings and insulation materials as in the form of non combustible construction. A set of fire barriers like ducts, cavities and roof spaces have been applied as fire resisting ducts for cables and in the allied services(6). Moreover, fire resisting cable has been utilized in the building for the achievement of the targets of the fire protection strategy as have been formulated for the building. b). Active Fire protection system as applied in the building. The building has applied a number of active fire protection systems in the building for the security and safety of the building as well as of the inmates. The administration of the building has adopted a fire safety policy with adequate administrative arrangements for the implementation of the fire safety policy as a part of the fire safety protection. The authorities have formulated an emergency fire action plan as a part of the fire safety policy to protect the building in case of fire. The emergency action plan has specifically assigned the tasks to each member of team for achievement of the desired results. The training of the staff members along with safety information provides ample opportunities to all the members of the team deliver their assigned tasks as in accordance with the relevant part of fire safety policy. The safety signs have been displayed in the building as a part of the information campaign to educate the visitors as well as the inmates of the building. These drills motivate the staff to deliver their deliverables as per their requirements during the implementation of action plan. The maintenance of fire safety measures in the building help the fire safety team to perform their assignments during the fire incidents and will help in the achievement of the objectives of the fire protection strategy in the building. The building has been equipped with Fire extinguishers, Fire doors/shutters in compartment walls operated via an Automatic Smoke Alarm and / or a fusible link, smoke ventilation system and emergency exits during the fire incidents. 3. Appraise the different types of fixed fire fighting installations within the premises. The building has been equipped with the fixed fire fighting installations during the fire incidents with an objective to secure safety and security of the building as well as of the inmates during the events of the fire in the building. A sprinkler system has been installed in the building for its usage during the fire incidents. The system has covered the stage, back stage area and service areas. The system has the capacity to block the spread of fire in the area of its influence; hence, helps in the achievement of the objectives of the overall fire protection strategy as have been selected for fire protection purposes(7). A fire sprinkler system is a system as in the form of active fire protection measure against the spread of fire during the fire incidents. The system consists of a water supply system for supply of water during fire eruption, providing essential pressure and flow rate for the distribution of water through distribution piping system attached with the fire sprinklers in its operations. The System is operative in the commercial kitchen area for its utilization in the overall fire protection strategy as have been adopted for the building. Dry risers have been installed in the stair areas as the temperature in that area is in the cold to freezing range. The system provides enough support for the protection fire and therefore, helps in the implementation of the fire safety policy for the building. The system is of vital importance along with the sprinkler system for the achievement of the targets of the overall fire protection strategy. 4. Assess building construction materials and impact of heat on the structure. The buildings are constructed with the utilization of material as the building blocks for the construction of building within a specified time period. These materials are used as input for completion of the task and for the creation of a structure in the form of new building. Basic materials like concrete, timber, glass, steel and masonry are used as the building materials. These materials are influenced by the fire in case of the fire in the buildings, the intensity of the damage is determined by the identification of the site of the fire in the building and location of the building material as is influenced by the fire eruption in the building. a). The effect of fire on concrete: The effect of fire on concrete depends on the side of the concrete which has been exposed to the fire, the duration of the fire and the angle of the fire. The concrete on the fire side which is towards the fire is badly damaged as compare to the side which is away from the fire. A relatively new method for determining the impact of fire exposures has been used by the fore protection engineers is through the calculations of the fire load density in a compartment the changes in concrete property are due to high temperature as is received by the building material during the fire incidents. 1. Carbonate, The concrete aggregate include dolomite and lime stone as their components for the synthesis of aggregates. 2. Siliceous The siliceous aggregate includes materials that are consisting of silica and they include sand stone and granite. 3. Lightweight. Lightweight aggregates are usually produced by heating shale, clay or slate. The effect of temperature during the fire incident varies for all of these concretes. The impact of high temperature is in the shape of reduced elasticity. Similarly, high temperature also has their impacts on the creep and in the relaxation for concrete increase at a significant rate. b). The effect of fire on timber: Timber is an essential building block for the construction of buildings and, therefore, a segment of the building structures and the accessories. Timber serve as a fuel during the combustion process with the help of oxidizing agent like oxygen, therefore, during the fire incidents all the timber products which are in the vicinity or in the close proximity of the fire sites. The administrators take necessary precautionary measures for the utilization of the timber during the construction of the buildings and the usage of the timber product are applied with the assistance of non-combustible items. c) The effect of fire on Glass: Glass as a product is used in a number of structural arrangements and the building accessories and during the fire incidents has the ability to catch fire with its negative impact. The structure, composition and configuration of the glass products are damaged during the fire situations in the buildings. d) The effect of fire on Steel: Steel in the shape of reinforcing steel is much more sensitive to the high temperatures as compared to other structures like concrete. The high temperatures have negative impacts on the strength of the steel, its elasticity and overall strength. The resistance rating of the steel has also been affected during the fire incidents in the large buildings and therefore, has the potential to affect on other building components like glass and timber. e) The effect of fire on Masonry: High temperatures as are produced during the fire incidents have also their negative impacts, however, these impacts are of varying degree depending upon the chemical composition and structural arrangements of the stones as are used in the construction of the buildings. 5. Identify appropriate building codes and approved documents used in the design and construction of the premises. The buildings are constructed with an assistance of building codes or building control arrangements in the shape of a set of rules that determine a minimum acceptable level of safety for the constructed structures such as buildings of various sizes and non-building structures for the observance of relevant building byelaws in their true spirit. The building codes relates to the construction and the occupancy of the buildings along with their structures for their utilization as in accordance with the priorities of the inmates (8). The building codes take the shape of building laws of a particular jurisdiction through their enactment by the appropriate authority. The observance and utilization of the building laws provide and opportunity to the citizens to come-up as law abiding citizens of the country, at least in the domain of the construction of the buildings. Non-observance of the building laws initiates a chain of legal proceedings which has the chances for the imposition of financial and legal penalties to the violators of the building laws. Therefore, the citizens are advised to observe all the details of the building laws for the benefit of all the stakeholders like the owners of the buildings, the occupants and the concerned government agencies for upholding the authority of the national governments, at least in the field of building constructions. A list of important building acts and laws are as under: 1) The Building Act 1984, in the United Kingdom and the building regulations in England and Whales which has determined power to make building regulations for the promotion of security and safety of all the stakeholders through the observance of the relevant provisions of the building act. The same act has sufficient provisions for the prevention of waste, undue consumption of the materials, misuse or contamination of water and promotion of sustainable development as in favor of all the stakeholders as on win-win basis. 2) Sustainable and secured Building Act 2004, has provided an arrangement for the promotion of sustainable development through the construction of secured buildings and their utilization, 3) climate change and sustainability energy act 2006, has elaborated the need for the protection of environment through the issue of climate change as both of these items are interconnected and interrelated with each other and safe utilization of one component will help in the conservation of the other element and vice versa. References: 1. Wisner, Ben; P. Blaikie, T. Cannon, and I. Davis (2004). At Risk - Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters. Wiltshire: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-25216-4.    2. Alexander, David (2002). Principles of Emergency planning and Management. Harpenden: Terra Publishing. ISBN 1-903544-10-6.  3. Jaffin, Bob (September 17, 2008). "Emergency Management Training: How to Find the Right Program". Emergency Management Magazine. 4. Buchanan, Sally. "Emergency preparedness." from Paul Banks and Roberta Pilette. Preservation Issues and Planning. Chicago: American Library Association, 2000. 5. Aballa, Kathleen. ‘’ Health and environmental benefits of clean fuel and vehicles.’’ Keynote presentation. Cairo, Egypt: UN DESA, 2006. 6. . Gari (2002), "Arabic Treatises on Environmental Pollution up to the End of the Thirteenth Century", Environment and History 8 (4), pp. 475-488  7. "Chapter 1 Historical Overview of Climate Change Science" (PDF). Climate Change 2007: Read More