The 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 while avoiding their shortcomings would be a good start.
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Regulations
What are the responsibilities of the ‘responsible person’ when it comes to smoke control maintenance?
The Government has produced an important piece of advice that is only three pages long and will tell you all the essentials you need to know. You can read it here.
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, smoke control maintenance
We are often asked the fundamental questions of what smoke control is, how it works and what the benefits are of installing it. As these are important for building owners, managers and fire safety engineers to understand, we’ve put together this post to help the responsible individuals better understand why smoke control is so vital to protecting life, stock and buildings.
So, let’s start at the beginning.
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Smoke Containment, Regulations
On February 8th, the catastrophic fire that engulfed Ocado’s Andover Customer Fulfillment Centre (CFC) finally came to an end, after four traumatic days.
As the fire raged on, 300 firefighters battled on at considerable personal risk, while over 100 residents in the area surrounding the 24,000 sq. metre warehouse were evacuated.
Statistically, more than 40% of businesses do not survive the consequences of a major fire and Ocado has already started seeing the effects of this one on theirs. Since February 5th, Ocado shares have seen a 14% decrease and the company has started preparing for massive hits to sales as it struggles to fulfill orders. The Andover CFC processed around 30,000 orders for customers each week, which represents 10% of the entire business’ capacity.
Now the immediate danger is over, the question of why this happened must be investigated. Was the repeal of the Local Acts in 2012 a contributing factor?
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Regulations, service
Smoke ventilation systems today require sophisticated control systems with highly complex sequences of operation. HVAC control systems could be seen as a viable solution, as they can be extremely flexible and offer a high degree of programmability. However, while they may be adequate for simple applications, there are a number of issues that mean they do not deliver on all the functionalities needed for more complex schemes.
Here are 5 reasons why:
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Smoke ventilation, HVAC, Controls
The debate on the pros and cons of open or closed protocols in the fire alarm and smoke detection controls market has been ongoing for many years. What is it all about and why does this subject provoke so much discussion in our industry?
Topics: Smoke Control, Smoke ventilation
As a property owner or developer, when you have to make a decision on the best control system for smoke ventilation in your building, you are faced with a bewildering amount of information and conflicting opinions as to the most effective approach. Should you opt for a fire alarm control system, an HVAC/BMS control system or one specifically designed for smoke ventilation? Should you choose open or closed protocol?
Topics: Smoke Control, Smoke ventilation, Controls
Smoke and fire curtains are usually controlled (either individually or in groups) by a zone control panel. The curtains are allowed to fall automatically under the influence of gravity when the power is lost, which can happen in a fire or during a simple power cut. However if there is an electricity outage where there is no emergency, this can be a nuisance, and it can be prevented by using either a local Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) or a Battery Back-Up (BBU).
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Fire Containment, Controls, Curtains
BS 8519 introduced the concept of “hot boxes” to protect damper motors to a wider audience. What are these and what do they offer?
Topics: Smoke Control, Regulations
If you think that five breaths are all it takes to lose consciousness, you won’t be surprised to learn that as many as 70% of victims in a fire suffocate. Thick smoke can lead to disorientation and make it difficult to breathe, while the heat can cause parts of the building to collapse and start secondary fires. All this makes it difficult for people to find their way out of the building and for emergency services to make their way in to fight the fire.
Topics: Smoke Control, Fire Containment, Smoke Containment, Curtains
Let me make it clear. I’m talking here about systems providing smoke control, not just smoke clearance as recommended in Building Regulations. These systems are much more complex and costly than compliant smoke clearance systems, so why would anyone choose to use them?
Topics: Smoke Control, CFD, Smoke ventilation, Car Park Ventilation
I received some excellent questions during the Q&A section during the recent webinar that I presented. Here you can see my answers to these questions, slightly edited for clarity.
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Webinar, Corridor ventilation, CPD
The quest for energy efficiency has led to very good insulation in residential buildings. While this is very good for the environment and electricity bills, it is having unintended consequences on stair lobbies, corridors and entrance halls, which tend to overheat. This results in unpleasant conditions for residents and possible issues maintaining cold water supply temperatures.
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Corridor ventilation
Most smoke control systems will only operate a few times in their life cycle, during commissioning, testing and maintenance. Only a very few will ever have to work in a fire, but when this happens, someone’s life could depend on its ability to operate at the limits of its capacity. It is for this circumstance that the system needs to be properly designed.
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Wiring
I received some excellent questions during the Q&A section during the recent webinar that I presented. Here you can see my answers to these questions, slightly edited for clarity.
Read MoreTopics: Smoke Control, Webinar, CPD
