Smoke inhalation is the number one cause of death from fires. In fact, approximately 50-80% of deaths are a result of smoke inhalation injuries rather than burns alone. When smoke is inhaled, harmful particles and gases enter the respiratory system, which can lead to distress syndrome, disorientation, unconsciousness, asphyxia and respiratory failure. Compared to burns alone, smoke inhalation can present more complex clinical challenges, affecting every organ in the body.

In this post, we highlight why it is important to maintain smoke control systems to keep your buildings legal and ultimately safe for occupants.

The Grenfell review from Dame Judith Hackitt concluded that the current legislation regarding fire safety equipment in the UK is not fit for purpose and that it needs to improve. Learning the best that we can from other countries (such as those in the European Union) while avoiding their shortcomings would be a good start.

But while well-considered fire safety regulation is essential, it is equally important for all those involved in the design and construction of buildings and construction products to have an understanding of what fire can do to a building and how damage and danger can be minimised.

With more online ordering than ever and customers expecting goods to be delivered rather than picked up, warehouses and logistics centres have never been busier. From a health and safety perspective, this can cause problems when staff are sharing workplaces with vans, trucks and other fume-producing vehicles on a daily basis. Adequate ventilation in these centres is absolutely crucial.

The case study below demonstrates how Colt helped create a safe, healthy atmosphere for the staff at the DHL warehouse in Lincoln with a tailored fume detection and hybrid ventilation solution.

To prevent an excessive build-up of carbon monoxide (CO) from diesel engines in enclosed spaces, sufficient ventilation must be provided. This will ensure that the stipulations of the Approved Document F (ADF) are met and that good air quality is sustained.

Here in the UK, we get more storms than we used to and Met Office have been giving them nice names. You may remember in February this year we had Storm Ciara followed immediately by Storm Dennis.

Their impact, though, can be anything but nice. Ciara recorded 97mph on the coast, with widespread gusts of 70 – 80 mph even in less exposed inland areas, causing trees to be blown down. The destructive winds and heavy rainfall of Storm Dennis claimed at least five UK fatalities.

The Met Office tells us that our next visitors will be named Bella, Cristoph and Darcy. But beware, they are unlikely to be as nice as they sound.

With strong winds and storms becoming a more frequent feature of the autumn and winter weather patterns in the UK, external building features are being exposed to these more unpredictable elements.

However, Brise Soleil systems and typical architectural shading products are generally overlooked when considering inspections for damage. Under BS EN 1991-1-1-4 2005, it is a requirement to carry out inspection works to the fixings of external architecture to prevent wear and tear, check for vibration, divergence, and fluctuations to the system which could cause fatigue and cracking.

The potential for property damage, personal injury and even fatalities could easily become a reality. You must ensure you have a maintenance engineer you can trust. One who will check for galvanic corrosion or wear and tear and who will ensure that the installation hasn’t become loose or damaged from high winds.

An example of what can go wrong if you fail to maintain your Brise Soleil systems:

As we all get to grips with the latest lockdown, businesses have to explore new ways of working in a COVID-19 secure manner. So how can you ensure that your workplace, be it a factory, warehouse or office, is properly prepared to reduce the risk of the spread of Coronavirus amongst your workforce.

In our previous blog we explored some of the latest scientific theory surrounding the potential for the airborne spread of COVID-19 through building ventilation. For building managers it is very important to be fully aware of every step they can take to limit the transmission of contaminants in the workplace.

In this blog we aim to suggest some practical steps you can take to make your building COVID-19 resilient – it’s important to remember that where viruses are concerned the realistic goal is to make your building ‘safer’ rather than ‘safe’. It’s simply not possible to eradicate completely the potential of a COVID-19 outbreak in a typical workplace as there are other factors, beyond your control, which come into play.

As the scientific knowledge around the spread of the Coronavirus continues to develop, it is important to know which information is both correct and relevant for ventilation systems. The airborne potential of COVID-19 is high according to a recent report by the British Medical Journal which stated that microscopic respiratory droplets containing COVID-19 can hover in the air for minutes or even hours, and potentially drift many metres horizontally. Therefore, it is necessary for the air ventilation industry to be fully up to date with the latest theory around the capability for the airborne transmission of COVID-19.

Why do these standards exist?

The need for a harmonised set of regulatory standards in relation to fire curtains is a necessity to ensure that all products meet a clearly outlined list of safety requirements. The standards mean that those selling or buying products such as fire curtains, can be absolutely sure that their products are fit for purpose. Many companies do not currently adhere to these new certificates, and will be continuing to sell products that do not in fact meet the new legal requirements.

Last month I wrote a technical review of the latest Fire Safety Bill, where I outlined the specific details of how the Fire Safety Bill legislation will be implemented and enforced.

Planes, trains, speedboats, racing bikes and Formula 1 cars might not have been what they are today if it wasn’t for a key technological advancement - wind tunnels.

When it comes to corridor ventilation, two things must be taken into consideration: effective smoke evacuation in the event of a fire and preventing overheating, for day-to-day comfort ventilation.

Back in April I wrote about the consultation that the Housing Minister, Robert Jenrick MP released inviting comments on the plans for the future of construction, encompassing the recommendations of the Building a Safer Future recommendations from Dame Judith Hackitt i.e. the forthcoming Building Safety Bill which has now had is second reading in the House of Commons.

Not all vehicle emissions are made equal. First, the pollution created in buildings by cars, vans and lorries must be detected. Once detected, we must understand which pollutants will be present in the air as a result of how the building is used. A qualified engineer can then install the optimal system to avoid the health risks associated with Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Dioxide.

Of late, there have been some high-profile news stories focusing on the fire safety of commercial buildings. During a fire, heat can cause parts of the building to collapse which can lead to secondary fires. This makes it difficult for victims to escape from the building and challenging for the emergency services to fight the fire. This is why buildings are designed with limited compartment sizes, so that there is a barrier, through the use of fire rated walls, floors and ceilings, to prevent fire spread throughout the building (amongst other fire safety provisions) – this is a branch of what is generally known as passive fire protection. Different building types have different limitations. Where the building owner, developer or designer would like to relax these limitations and have a more open plan building design, fire curtains can be used as an active form of passive fire protection – allowing unrestricted vision and movement across the space during normal building use, but dropping to floor level to seal the room off in the event of a fire to contain the heat, flames and smoke to a limited compartment, much the same as a wall or fire door would.

Sometimes, even a good HVAC system can be improved.

The effectiveness of a centralised air conditioning system is dependant on a number of factors and can change over time. Upon assessment, it may be the case that a system no longer operates optimally in its environment, and could be combined with another system to enhance its efficiency.

In this post, we illustrate this point, and explain how sometimes enhancing existing systems can be a great solution for industrial buildings.