According to the *latest government statistics (published Feb 2021), there have been 790 car park fires between 2010 and 2020, with 90 of those attributed to the 2019/2020 period. The data also shows a concerning jump in fires from 2016 onwards, which has stayed consistent (fires in 2015: 77; fires from 2016 onwards, between 98 - 90 per year). It could be argued that the increase in electric charging points in car parks might be driving this increase, but there is currently no reliable data to support this theory.
We might not be able to conclusively prove why car park fires appear to be on the up, but everyone can agree that if this is what the data seems to suggest then the best thing building managers can do to keep occupants and stock safe is to have fully functioning and compliant fire safety systems (including smoke control) in their car parks. Providing regular, expert maintenance is one of the best ways to achieve this.
MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR SMOKE CONTROL SYSTEMS IN CAR PARKS
When it comes to smoke control maintenance, the guidance says: "The smoke control system should be maintained by a competent person who is familiar with the fire engineering performance specifications of that specific system." As the building owner of operator, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires you to ensure that the system is serviced once a year to guarantee the safety of people who use the car park. In addition to a proper, expert service once a year, regular "in-house" tests will also have to be carried out by you to ensure the system is working properly.
If you need to know more about your responsibilities when it comes to smoke control maintenance in car parks, download our smoke control maintenance checklist here.
To talk to us about arranging a free site survey, get in touch with our team of experts on service@uk.coltgroup.com.
CAR PARK SMOKE VENTILATION: SYSTEM TYPES
Smoke control can be installed in car parks at the point that the car park is being built or it can be integrated into an existing car park, as needed. In addition to smoke control and clearance, ventilation systems are also known to be installed in car parks to offer general ventilation throughout to avoid the build-up of exhaust and/or petrol fumes or when overheating may become an issue. Whether for smoke, fume or ventilation requirements, there are many options for both smoke control and smoke clearance in car parks.
They are:
- natural smoke and fume clearance;
- natural smoke and mechanical fume clearance;
- mechanical smoke and fume clearance.
- mechanical smoke control
Mechanical systems can consist of:
- extract fans and natural inlet,
- extract and mechanical inlet,
- natural exhaust and mechanical inlet.
DESIGNING COMPLIANT SMOKE CONTROL INTO NEW BUILD CAR PARKS
There is some confusion about the difference between a smoke clearance system and a smoke control system. If you are designing strictly to the regulations, smoke clearance will be prescribed with little or no performance-based objectives using a ventilation rate or opening area derived from the size of the car park. It will have been designed to allow the fire service to clear the smoke from the building after it has dealt with a fire. But if you are taking a fire engineering approach, then a smoke control system may be the best solution based on specific performance objectives defined in the fire strategy.
There are many circumstances where engineers prefer to choose smoke control and this is usually where the performance of the ventilation system is needed to be enhanced to compensate for another non-conformance, examples might be:
- If you are not planning to provide a sprinkler system in those car parks where sprinklers are required, such as car parks attached to shopping centres or located in Scotland.
- If the car park doesn’t meet prescriptive maximum travel distances for means of escape.
- If you are planning stacker type car parking.
- in lieu of compartmentation.
- in lieu of ventilating lobbies.
This is a decision that should be made at the design stage, since upgrading from smoke clearance to smoke control retrospectively is likely to require additional plant and new ducting to create the enhanced ventilation rate. In addition, the ducting will have to be correctly positioned and specified which may be difficult for a retrofit.
Whether you design it in from the beginning or retrofit it, it is essential that you pay attention to maintenance and have a regular, consistent schedule of testing, checks and servicing to adhere to. As the building owner or operator, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires you to provide a suitable system of maintenance to ensure that the system remains efficient, in working order and in good repair. In order to help engineers get a better understanding of the work that has been done (and may need doing), as well as to provide proof of 'a suitable system of maintenance', it is also crucial that you keep a log of any maintenance activities that have taken place over the years.
If you need help with designing or maintaining a car park ventilation system, get in touch with our team on info@coltinfo.co.uk or give us a call on 02392 451111.
*To view the original government data that is referenced in this blog, please get in touch with info@coltinfo.co.uk.