Fire Safety Flashcards
You’re asked to modify an office, with provision of an meeting room within a larger room. What design considerations must you consider from a fire safety perspective?
- Is there a way to design this out - e.g. opening up onto a corridor?
- Means of escape / travel distances
- Fire separation of materials.
- Rating of the fire detection and alarm system.
In the context of the definitions in the Approved Documents to the Building Regulations, explain the difference between a “compartment wall” and “fire-resisting wall”.
- Fire-resisting wall - ability of a wall to withstand to a given period of time, the criteria set out by a relevant standard.
- Compartment wall - is also a fire resisting wall but has been designed and constructed to separate one building, or part of building, from another. May be different use classes. Relates to ‘Fire STrategy’ for that building.
Who is responsible for fire safety in multi-occupied hi-rise resi buildings?
- Principal Competent Person - Building Safety Act 2022
What is the Building Safety Act reform that is on the horizon?
- Requiring all design relating to fire safety to be conpleted prior to the commencement of contruction.
What RICS guides are there for surveyors following Grenfell?
*Cladding for surveyors 1st edition 2021
What is an EWS1?
External Wall System Fire Review Certificate. Needed when multi-story resi property is being bought, sold or remortgaged.
What is the New Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022?
Clarifies obligations of owners, landlords and manageing agents in terms of structure and external walls.
Implement the Grenfell Tower Recommendation.
Require ‘responsible persons’ of high and mid rise resi block to submit information to the Building Safety Regulator to assist the fire department in planning.
Claifies that the structure, common parts, external walls etc of high-rise are covered by the Fire Safety Order.
What are the Building Safety Act requirements for Principle Competent People?
Required to submit information to the Building Safety Regulator (part of the HSE created by Act) by Oct 2023.
What is Regulation 38 and the Golden Thread?
This is a reference to the Hackett Report, and that too many buildings do not have enough information about how they are designed and built. Regulation 38 is a requirements under the Building REgulations that information about the construction is passed to owners and occupiers.
The requirements for this and for the construction phase are likely to become much more stringent with the new Building Safety Act.
What is the PII update from the RICS relating to fire safety cover?
Insurers providing RICS approved PI cover may try to impose exclusions around fire safety.
HOwever, from May 2021, any exclusions should not aply to work relating to buildings four storeys and under.
What are the pros and cons of sprayed coatings, fire-resistant boarding, intumescent coatings and concrete encasement in protecting structural steel elements from fire?
*sprayed coatings - relatively cheap and can be applied to complex shapes easily. Messy, difficult to ensure even application, easily damaged.
*boarded systems - better finish than spraying and easier to control thickness. Labour intensive and more costly than spraying.
- Intumescent coatings. Good for complex shapes. Can be unsightly but achieves a thin coat. Relatively expensive.
What are Approved Doc B requirements for resisting fire spread through wall and floor cavities?
- This is required of the floor or wall are ‘compartment’ walls and floors - will typically need 30-60 min of fire resistance, with use of rockwool fire separation or similar fire break.
*Min periods of fire resistance for elements of structure are 30-120min and are shown in Table B4 of Approved Doc B. Depend on use-class, height, existing of sprinklers
