Fire safety Flashcards
What is the definition for means of escape
Structural means that provide one or more safe routes for people to go, during a fire, from any point in the building to a place of safety
What is a protected escape route
The route along which people can escape from any point in a building to a final exit
When are protected corridors required
Corridors serving bedrooms, Dead end, shared by two or more occupants
What is a final exit
The end of an escape route from a building that gives direct access to a street, passageway, walkway or open space, and is sited to ensure that people rapidly disperse away from the building so that they are no longer in danger from fire and/or smoke.
How do you calculate the width of a final exit
BS 9999 & Approved Document B have a merging flow formula to calculate the width the final exit taking into consideration number of people served by ground floor storey exit and stair width.
What are some typical travel distances
Residential one direction = 9m, multiple direction = 18m
Office, shops and commercial one direction = 18m, multiple direction = 45m
what do travel distances take into account
travel distances in Approved Document B take into account; number of directions, use of the premisis and normal or high hazard rating (exclusive to industrial buildings)
How does the RRO 2005 describe escape lighting
‘emergency routes and exits requiring illumination must be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in the case of failure of their normal lighting
What is the difference between emergency lighting and emergency escape lighting
Emergency lighting this comes on when power supply to a normal lighting system fails.
Emergency escape lighting is required in specific locations such as Exit doors Any escape routes Intersections of the corridors Outside exits External escape routes
What 3 things are required to sustain a fire
- Heat
- Oxygen
- Fuel
What are the four stages of a fire
- Incipient
- Growth
- Fully developed
- Decay
At what temperature does an Intumescant product activate
Activated typically between 200-250°C
What are the duties of a responsible person under the RRO 2005
- Undertaking risk assessments
- Taking fire precautions to ensure the safety of employees and premises.
- Eliminating or reducing risks from dangerous substances.
- Providing information and training to employees.
- Providing information to employers from outside organisations and the self employed.
- Co-operating and co-ordinating with other responsible persons.
What must a Competent Person do under the RRO 2005
- Understand the relevant fire safety legislation and the associated guidance documents
- Have appropriate education, training, knowledge and experience in the principles of fire safety
- Have an understanding of fire development and the behaviour of people in fire; understand the fire hazards, fire risks and relevant factors associated with occupants at special risk within buildings of the type in question;
- Have appropriate training and/or experience in carrying out fire risk assessments
What is a Relevant Person under th RRO 2005
The relevant person refers to any person, including responsible and competent persons, who are or may be on the premises and any person in the immediate vicinity of the premises who is at risk from a fire on the premises.
What types of buildings do the RRO 2005 apply to
it applies to: offices and shops; premises that provide care, including care homes and hospitals; community halls, places of worship and other community premises; the shared areas of properties several households live in; pubs, clubs and restaurants; schools and sports centres; tents and marquees; hotels and hostels; and factories and warehouses.
What types of building do the RRO 2005 not apply to
It does not apply to people’s private homes, including individual flats in a block or house.
What does the RRO stand for
Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005
What is a catagory P fire alarm system
“Property protection system”
P1 - Protects they whole building
P2 - Installed in defined parts of the building only
What is a catagory L fire alarm system
“Life protection system”
L1 - Automatic Fire Detection to be installed into all areas of a building.
L2 - Same as L3 as well as high risk or hazardous areas effecting escape routes.
L3 - Automatic Fire Detection with smoke detection should be installed on escape routes with detection in rooms opening onto escape routes.
L4 - Automatic Fire Detection within escape routes only.
L5 - Automatic Fire Detection a specific risk that has been identified.
What is a catagory M fire alarm system
M Fire Alarm System is a manual operation only system which has call points on all exits as well as corridors where persons are not expected to walk any more than 45m to operate one. All categories of life protection will have a type M system installed.
What are the fire classification of materials
A1 - Noncombustable e.g. Stonework
A2 - Limited combustability e.g. A1 with organic coating
B - Comustable e.g. foams
C - F - Comustable e.g. PIR, PUR
NPD - no proformance considered to be combustable
What are the characteristics “s” and “d” in relation to the fire classification of materials
s1 = Weak or no smoke s2 = Medium smoke s3 = High smoke d0 = No dripping at all d1 = Slow dripping recorded d2 = High dripping recorded
What are the potential issue with Euroclass 0 material
Class 0 only checks the spread of flame over the surface. A Class 0 material could be a
At what height is a building prohibited from having combustible cladding
A Floor Level Above 18m. This is expected to be reduced in the next few years
What do the Euroclass fire tests consist of
Combustability test, ingitabilty test, flame spread, calorific value, smoke release, burning droplets.
