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Fire service to trial new risk-based responses

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Firefighters from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service will soon not respond to automatic alarm calls where no-one is thought to be in immediate danger. The new response policy will be trialled from April, with crews not responding to automatic fire alarms (AFAs) at commercial, business, or non-sleeping premises unless a 999 call is received. The move comes after data revealed 99 per cent of AFA calls received by Warwickshire FRS were false alarms. A spokesperson from the Warwickshire County Council-run service said: “The new approach will mean that the service we will continue to focus on the most vulnerable people in our communities, but we will be enhancing our response to key premises such as hospitals, residential care and nursing homes and other vulnerable premises such as sheltered accommodation and assisted living. “In addition to attending vulnerable premises, the service will now also respond to AFA activations between the hours of 8pm and 7am, even if it is not backed up by a 999 call at houses of multiple occupancy, hotels and bed and breakfasts and domestic dwellings. “For all other types of AFA activations in commercial, business and non-sleeping risks premises, the service will maintain a non-attendance policy until a 999 call is received or there are physical signs of a fire reported.” Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s group commander, Paul Bagnall added: “During 2015, 99 per cent of the AFA calls we received were false alarms. However, as with any policy, it is appropriate to review and adapt to the changing demands of our communities to ensure that we are providing the best service we can to the most vulnerable and I am confident that the change in our policy will help us to achieve this. “Moving forward, we are asking businesses to once again review their policies for dealing with their alarm systems. We know that false alarms occur for a number of reasons, many of which can be easily resolved. “A fault with the alarm system is often not the main reason for activation. However, having an effective investigation procedure can limit the disruption caused to your business by a false alarm and can significantly improve safety by detecting a fire and sounding the alarm at the early stages of a fire’s development.” – See more at: http://www.fia.uk.com/news/fire-service-to-trial-new-risk-based-responses.html#sthash.Uyck9ZSp.dpuf

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U.S. Government recommends cuts to the nation's fire service

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On Tuesday, February 9th, the White House released the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget proposal, the final budget of the Obama Administration. The $4.23 trillion budget contains $40.6 billion for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Included in the proposed budget are several programs of importance to the nation’s fire and emergency services, including the Assistance to Firefighters (FIRE) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grantprograms. The budget proposal recommends funding FIRE and SAFER at a combined $670 million, with funds split equally between the two programs. This is a reduction of $20 million from the level enacted by Congress for Fiscal Year 2016. Additionally, the President’s budget proposes $40,811,513 for the United States Fire Administration and includes $1.5 million for infrastructure improvements at the National Fire Academy. Congress funded USFA at $44 million for Fiscal Year 2016. “While it is frustrating the White House proposes spending cuts for these critical programs, ultimately it is the Congress that decides funding levels,” said Bill Webb, CFSI Executive Director. “CFSI will begin working with the other national fire service organizations and Congressional Fire Services Caucus to ensure these programs receive the necessary funding levels in Fiscal Year 2017.” The White House budget proposal is the first step in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget process. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees will now begin drafting funding bills for the individual departments of the federal government. CFSI will continue to provide updates throughout the Fiscal Year 2017 process.

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SP Fire provides fire safety approval for the world’s first ship to run on methanol

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The Stena Germanica is a revolutionary low-emissions ferry operating in the Baltic Sea, and its methanol fuel source demanded revolutionary fire protection The world’s first ship is now operating on methanol after SP performed risk assessment and design of the fire safety based on SOLAS II-2 regulation 17 “Alternative design and arrangements”. Methanol has for long been handled with traditional fire protection in cargo pump-rooms on tankers, but a deeper understanding of the fuel called for a new approach to achieve sufficient fire safety. Solution to the SECA challenge The Stena Germanica is a so called ro-pax ferry, bringing vehicles and passengers across the Baltic Sea. This area is – together with the North Sea and the English Channel – a so-called Sulphur Emission Control Area where stricter regulations to minimise emissions have faced the shipping industry with some serious challenges. Similar restrictions apply around North America and several more areas are planned around the world for the future. The new requirements have demanded new technological solutions, including use of alternative fuels and exhaust gas after-treatment. Many shipping companies have chosen to make use of LNG to meet the requirements and avoid gas after-treatment. The same is achieved using methanol, but for this fuel the transportation and storage is far less complicated, both on the ship and ashore. Furthermore, there is a great benefit with methanol in the possibility to make it renewable from biomass in large scale in the future. Therefore Stena chose methanol for the Stena Germanica when it came to complying with the new regulations. The regulatory way for low flashpoint fuels The flashpoint* of methanol is far from as low as of LNG or gasoline but still lower than what is permitted by the international ship fire safety regulations in SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea). An international code under SOLAS on safety for ships using gases and other low-flashpoint fuels (the IGF Code) is under development. However, until such a code is ratified the only regulatory way forward is to show equivalent safety through SOLAS regulation I/5 or II-2/17. These regulations provide openings for alternative design and arrangements for fire safety but require that safety is not compromised. A fire risk assessment was therefore carried out for the Stena Germanica to demonstrate how the particularities of methanol would be managed to assure that fire safety was not adversely affected. It was performed by SP Fire Research as part of a large technical methanol conversion project at Stena and involved classification society Lloyd’s Register, engine manufacturer Wärtsilä and ship designer ScandiNaos as key partners.” [*Flashpoint is the lowest temperature at which a fuel can be ignited; if the temperature is lower the fuel will not vaporise a sufficient amount of fuel gases.] Beyond traditional fire protection In the first steps of the fire risk assessment it became clear that not only fire hazards associated with the lower flashpoint have to be regarded for alternative fuels, even if this may be the only deviation. What is thereby addressed is generally the increased probability that flammable vapours of a low flashpoint fuel will accumulate and possibly ignite in case of a leakage. However, it is not sufficient to only minimise the probability of leakage and ignition. A sound fire safety design must, as any regulatory framework, address all levels of fire safety. In the fire risk assessment, fire detection and fire extinguishment were also identified as areas in need of further investigation. For example, how is detection and localisation achieved when a methanol fire does not show visible flames or produce smoke? And how is extinguishment performed when the fuel in addition to the low flashpoint also has wide flammability limits and bound oxygen? These questions went beyond traditional fire protection and required further analysis. It was decided that the ship should be designed at least as safe as a conventional ship in each affected area of fire safety. To manage this, a number of risk control measures were added. For example, all fuel piping was designed double walled and butt welded. The only space where methanol is managed in single walled pipes is the pump room. Here a robust drainage system was designed and the equipment used is suitable for explosive environment (ATEX). Furthermore, a smart gas detection system was designed automated with the ventilation and the pump system; if methanol is detected the ventilation is increased and if a high level of methanol is detected (still far below the flammability limit) the 700 bar methanol transfer to the engines is stopped. An automatic seamless transition is then made to run on diesel only and methanol pipes are flushed with nitrogen. The methanol storage tank will be constantly inerted with nitrogen to avoid a combustible atmosphere. Furthermore, the tank will be surrounded by water on all sides (seawater and permanent ballast water tanks) which will directly neutralise the miscible fuel in case of a leakage. Bunker tanks at the bottom of the ship thus allow safe and efficient storage. Detection was managed by smart installations of detectors made to distinguish the electromagnetic radiation emitted when carbon dioxide is produced at combustion. Thereby the detection system was made independent of smoke and visible flame signatures. To localise fires when performing manual firefighting, infrared cameras were provided to the fire patrols. Effects of fixed fire-extinguishing systems The fixed fire-extinguishing systems required particular engineering efforts. In particular two common system alternatives were evaluated: Inert gas (carbon dioxide, CO2) and high pressure water-mist. Several particularities of methanol led to realise that extinguishment would be harder to achieve. Methanol can for example burn down to an oxygen level of 12%, which makes it relatively less sensitive to dispersion. The effectiveness of an inert gas system with CO2 is thereby reduced and more gas is required to achieve an equivalent extinguishing effect as for diesel. When it comes to the effectiveness of a water-based system the insensitivity to oxygen dispersion plays part of the role. Furthermore, the low flashpoint makes direct surface

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Notifier by Honeywell diagnoses the perfect fire detection solution for Calderdale Royal Hospital

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With the number of unwanted alarms reaching intolerable levels, Calderdale Royal Hospital installed technology to solve the problem and create a state-of-the-art fire detection system   Calderdale Royal Hospital is a modern centre of excellence that first opened its doors to patients in April 2001, after becoming one of the country’s first private finance initiatives (PFI). Operated by Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, it was built at a cost of over £100m by the Catalyst Healthcare consortium and Bovis Lend Lease provided the design and construction services. It offers a full range of day case and outpatient services, an accident and emergency department, as well as a large range of specialist services. Although hospitals are dedicated to the preservation of health and life, they also have the potential to be high fire risk environments, so fast, accurate and reliable detection has a vital role to play in protecting people, property and assets. Calderdale Royal Hospital’s mental health and learning disability facility is a very large specialist unit. Dan Lewins, Estates Manager at Cofely GDF Suez, which manages the site, says, ‘Unfortunately, patients within this part of the hospital were deliberately activating smoke detectors located in their rooms using steam from showers, aerosols and cigarettes. The problem had escalated to a level where the local fire and rescue service was being called out several times a week.’ Unwanted alarms of this nature are a massive nationwide problem and government statistics show that there are approximately 272,000 false and unwanted alarms per annum. The financial annual cost to the UK has been estimated at £1bn and the potential for loss of life, due to services being diverted to an unwanted alarm attendance from a real fire emergency, is a very real possibility. Within hospitals, all unwanted alarms are disruptive and not without risk if people panic in the ensuing evacuation. However, if large numbers of unwanted alarms occur it also creates an environment of disbelief and complacency, which may cause people to delay taking action when a real fire occurs. To address the problem, Calderdale Royal Hospital contacted Shipley based Rosse Systems to find out what could be done. Dave Thewlis, the company’s Sales Director, says, ‘With over 30 years of experience and knowledge in the fire detection industry, we have vast expertise in providing industry leading life safety solutions. Having been a Notifier partner for over twenty years, we know that its innovative technology is reliable, robust and has the ability to minimise unwanted alarms.’ Central to Rosse Systems’ proposal was the replacement of optical smoke detectors with Notifier’s SMART4 devices. The acronym stands for self-optimising multi-criteria alarm recognition technology and by using a combination of carbon monoxide, heat, optical smoke and infrared flame sensing elements, SMART4 provides the earliest warning of the broadest range of fire conditions, whilst minimising the expense and inconvenience of unwanted alarms. ‘SMART4 dynamically adjusts the detection profile of the device in response to the input from the sensors,’ explains Derek Portsmouth, National Sales Leader UK & Ireland at Notifier. ‘It normally operates at a high immunity level, changing to become very sensitive to fires when fire characteristics are sensed. In this way transient nuisances are monitored and ignored and the detector thinks before activating, making it the most intelligent device of its kind on the market today.’ Many of the patients in the mental health and learning disability facility are high vulnerable, so the work programme had to be meticulously planned to ensure that no more than 25 per cent of total fire detection cover was lost during each day. Dave Thewlis states, ‘We decided to replace a loop at a time and this meant that patients could be temporarily relocated while work was carried out. We fitted 70 devices in total and the ease of installation offered by SMART4 meant that the process ran incredibly smoothly.’ The existing control panels were also replaced with Notifier’s ID3000 products, which can accommodate between two and eight addressable loops. Each loop can support up to 198 devices, with a total of up to 255 zones per panel, and its modular design allows for a wide range of applications, facilitating installation and servicing whilst making it very easy to meet the requirements of a particular application. The Calderdale Royal Hospital also benefits from Notifier’s ONYXWorks system, a single-point of control, PC based, graphical workstation which displays information directly from the fire detection system, presenting floorplans, as well as a history manager that tracks, stores and filters events for viewing. This provides designated personnel with a consistent interface for all monitored equipment. Since the SMART4 devices have been installed, unwanted alarms have been eliminated, which is not only good news for staff, patients and visitors but also the local fire and rescue service. Rosse Systems is currently working on a strategic service, maintenance and replacement programme, which will eventually see Notifier’s solutions used across all other areas of the 21-panel network. Calderdale Royal Hospital has been thoroughly impressed with the results of the work so far, as has Dan Lewins of Cofely GDF Suez, who concludes, ‘The events that took place at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London in 2008 offered a vivid reminder of the implications of a serious hospital fire. It’s therefore something that we must avoid at all costs, while at the same time ensuring that unwanted alarms are kept to a minimum. Thanks to Rosse Systems’ expertise and Notifier’s pioneering technology, since installation no unwanted alarms have been reported from patients’ bedrooms in the mental health and learning disability facility – an outstanding achievement that we are now looking to replicate across the entire estate.’ Notifier by Honeywell is the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of engineered fire alarm systems. With over 400 Engineered Systems Distributors worldwide, and regional support on every continent, we have the flexibility to meet our customers’ most demanding requirements. www.notifierfiresystems.co.uk

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The protective clothing market needs protective legislation

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Richard Russell of Eagle Technical Products talks to Chris Beck about the latest in protective clothing technology, and how standards need to catch up Tell us a bit about Eagle Technical The company was started in 2002. We started making FR knitted products for fire-fighters and industrial workers, but over the years that has grown to incorporate woven garments, gloves etc. We started trading mostly in the UK, but now 40% of our turnover is through exports. That’s been one of our biggest success stories. What are the key markets you export to? We started off in Europe, and we still have a very large number of European customers, but we have since branched out into the Middle East and South America. The reason for that is that the South Americans used to buy NFPA-spec products, but are now looking to buy European ones. They think they are more comfortable than what they get from the States. The sometimes even ask for a combination of the two standards. They recently asked for the European standard garment with a drag rescue device, which is required under NFPA. We’ve definitely seen an increase in demand in that market. As a developing region, can South America essentially pick and choose the standards they want? We have seen similar requests in countries like Bangladesh and India. The market is certainly changing, but we remain largely focused on Europe and the Middle East. Last year was an Interschutz year, so I imagine it was a busy one for Eagle Technical in terms of new products? What are the key new product ranges that you have? We launched a new range of fire-fighting hoods with three design options. We have always been successful with our hoods – we sell many Fire hoods worldwide and our quality is very well known. What we are looking to do with the new range is change the standard and incorporate antistatic as standard. We are mainly promoting two new products. One is the PBI Gold hood, and the other is the Carbon X one, both of which now have anti-static technology. This is a new development, and we are hoping to make anti-static hoods more mainstream. These two products also provide non break open protection during a flashover. Was this decision based on customer feedback, or was it a decision you made yourself? The European standard 13911:2004 doesn’t specify anti-static, and we were finding a lot of customers were saying, ‘our clothing all meets 13911:2004, but can we have it with an anti-static hood?’ As there is no anti-static requirement in the standard, we developed a range of products that meet the standard easily but also have the anti-static technology. That has proved to be quite successful so far. We have also released a new range of woven fire-fighting gloves, which are also popular in the European and Middle Eastern markets. Uptake of these new products has been very good. We also looked at the fire suit market to try and promote the use of fabrics that don’t break open during flashovers. As well as using PBI Gold, which is the industry standard fabric for flash over protection for the fire industry, we launched a new range of fire suits using fabrics which can also offer flashover protection. These fabrics are called Kermel B, Nomex Tough Diamond and Carbon X. We now have four fire suits that pass the same test on flashover, which is quite unusual. This provides more choice for the customer in terms of cost, durability, look after wash, colour, comfort etc. One thing that Eagle Technical as a company pride ourselves on is our independence. We don’t have an allegiance to a particular type of product or fabric and believe that the end users based on technical information can choose the best requirement for their firefighters. Do you manufacture all your own products? We are a manufacturer of PPE, and it’s key to us that we can design, manufacture and market our own products. Whilst we offer a standard range, we can make a particular product to a customer’s needs and preferences quite easily. We do a lot of customisation on our products, whether they are overalls or hoods or gloves or whatever. The design can change quite easily to the customers’ demands. Every year as we bring new products to the market, we get new requests from our customers with requirements for what they are looking for. Do you think it’s time for the regulations to be updated? You’ve mentioned that Eagle Technical are able to go above and beyond the existing standards, but should the base level be improved upon? I think they certainly need to be updated, yes. The standards are a minimum requirement, and don’t necessarily guarantee that the product will save someone’s life. You can buy a fire suit that passes the standard, but in certain situations it’s not going to save the fire-fighter. The standards need to be added to and improved upon, and that is something that we are trying to promote and raise awareness of. At Intersec and Interschutz, we had some meetings to discuss the direction the standards should be taking. We are looking to drive the market in that regard. The regulations also need to take account of a few more phenomena, such as UV degradation, heat stress testing and mannequin testing are important issues that need to be talked about and standardized more. Do you make products for different scenarios, such as wildfires and industrial fires? Wildfires in particular are an interesting challenge. We have a range of products specifically designed for wildfires, including a single-layer fire-fighting hood, a glove, a one-piece coverall and two-piece jacket and trouser, plus a wildland fire-fighting mask and boots. We have quite an extensive range in that regard. The only thing we don’t make for that market is helmets. How do you think the PPE market is set to change? I think the trend is towards lighter weight

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Technology, water, beer and manpower – the colourful history of the London Fire Brigade

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Mark Fletcher speaks to Jane Rugg, the Curator of the London Fire Brigade Museum to dig into the organisation’s past in the year of its 150th anniversary The London Fire Brigade was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act of 1865 under the leadership of Superintendent Sir Eyre Massey Shaw. In its earliest guise, before its official status as a citywide entity, it actually comprised a number of ‘brand-coloured’ privately operated companies financed by insurance companies in order to fight fires that broke out in establishments for which they provided insurance. Indeed, it is thought that the reason that fire engines are red is because one of the leading insurance companies at the time was The Sun (now Royal Sun Alliance) whose corporate colours were red. It was not all a bed of roses though – with a lot of competition between the retained companies – and even sabotage in the form of slashed hoses. The problem was they all wanted to be the first to arrive. This unhealthy competition eventually came to a head in 1833 when the ten largest insurance companies joined their fire services together to form an alliance known as the London Fire Engine Establishment – the forerunner of public service – under the leadership of James Braidwood. With 80 fire-fighters and 13 fire stations, the unit was still a private enterprise and was still funded by the insurance companies and, as a result, its primary remit was still to save material goods. Braidwood came from Edinburgh, which already had public fire service, and he bought about some semblance of unification and organisation, with fire-fighters all wearing the same uniforms and undertaking similar training, but still with the insurance companies’ insured assets in mind. It took a large fire in Tooley Street in 1861, which lasted for two weeks, at a cost of £2 million (a lot of money back then), for the insurance companies to finally start lobbying the British Government to provide fire-fighting services at the public’s expense. As a result, in 1865, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act was passed and the brigade finally became public and paid for through taxes. The new Metropolitan Fire Brigade, under the leadership of Sir Eyre Massey Shaw, saw many changes, including the introduction of new technology, primarily in the form of steam-powered pumps. Braidwood had vetoed the idea of steam power, preferring manual pumps, but Massey Shaw argued that it was cheaper to buy coal to power the engines than it was to supply beer to those who helped man the pumps. It is here that a little beer-related clarification is needed. Early manual pumps demanded a lot of grunt work and often over a long period of time, so local people were drafted in, with the promise of beer (eventually beer tokens). In fact, the insurance-financed companies would often run through the streets shouting ‘beeroh’ in order to drum up the necessary manpower. Massey Shaw was a very strong figure, who often got his way and even though the first experiments in steam power had taken place in 1829, it was not until much later that they made their debut on the streets of London. This was primarily down to the initial resistance from Braidwood and the misguided belief that the water pressures would damage buildings. Compounding these issues was resistance from some elements of the public – who rather selfishly saw their regular supply of free beer potentially drying up. In 1904, under a remit from the newly formed London County Council, the brigade was renamed as the London Fire Brigade. It moved into its new headquarters on the Albert Embankment in Lambeth in 1937, where it remained until 2007. Throughout its history, the Brigade has been subject to a lot of influence from other brigades and agencies abroad, including the adoption of brass helmets, which came from the French Pompiers. Indeed Massey Shaw travelled the world to get inspiration for his new organisation. The brass helmets were eventually phased out when electrocution became a hazard and the Brigade moved over to cork helmets, becoming the first brigade in the country to experiment with cork/rubber constructions. Interestingly, things have now gone a full circle, with modern fire-fighting helmets being based on modern French helmet designs. While we are on the subject of helmets, and as an interesting aside, the reason why higher-ranking fire-fighters have white helmets is because Massey Shaw’s own brass helmet was sliver plated. All other fire-fighters have yellow helmets, reflecting the original brass colour. A lot of phrases the brigade still uses today also came from this time period. The phrase “being on or off the run” – meaning heading out of coming back from an incident – comes from use of steam-powered pumps, which used to be stored on a slope or run in order to give the horses a helping hand when they first started moving. Many of the expressions also stem naval terms, as Massey Shaw initially made it compulsory for fire-fighters to have served in Navy, prior to joining fire service. It is for this reason that the fire brigade uses watches, rather than shifts and lines as opposed to ropes. They also eat in a mess, not a dining area. From a technology standpoint, smoke helmets were used with bellows (like diving equipment) in the early 1900s, changing to self-contained compressed oxygen in 1913. These masks were incredibly cumbersome though, as the fire-fighter also had to carry the crystals used to absorb the CO2. Amazingly, compressed air only came in in the 1970s. 1900 also saw the introduction of hook ladders, with the London Fire Brigade being the first to use these following an incident at a factory on Queen Street where some girls were trapped and the normal long ladders wouldn’t work. The First World War saw immense pressures being placed on the Brigade, especially in terms of conscription. This was not so much of an issue for the centre of London, but many of

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Kentec tours the World with Cirque du Soleil

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An innovative, portable wireless fire alarm system specially designed to protect audiences in the Cirque du Soleil KOOZA touring company’s 3000 seater big-top tent during performances in Poland, Belgium and most recently Singapore uses a Kentec fire alarm control panel. The wireless fire safety system, designed and installed by Fire Systems Ltd., comprises a single loop Kentec Syncro AS analogue addressable fire alarm control panel, Hyfire devices including one translator and two expanders to control twenty two wireless sounder strobes and wireless manual call points with Argus protocol. The fire alarm system is interfaced to a Scope pager system that, on activation, first alerts on-site fire wardens and security staff via radio pagers. This allows any alarm to be investigated to determine its status, before triggering the audible fire alarm and evacuating the big top. Cirque du Soleil is the World’s largest theatrical producer having brought its unique theatre to more than 100 million people in over 40 countries. Its latest touring show KOOZA, a traditional Circus Homage, blends subcontinental sounds, stunning lighting and costumes with theatrical ingenuity and acrobatic wonder.

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IDEX Corporation to Acquire Akron Brass

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IDEX Corporation announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Akron Brass Holding Corp. (the “Company”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Premier Farnell plc (“Premier Farnell”), and a global leader in the manufacturing of safety equipment and emergency response equipment, for a cash consideration of $224.2 million, subject to customary adjustments. Operating under the Akron Brass and Weldon brand names, the Company produces a large array of engineered life-safety products for the safety and emergency response markets, including apparatus valves, monitors, nozzles, specialty lighting, electronic vehicle-control systems and firefighting hand tools. Located in Wooster, Ohio, Akron Brass had revenues of approximately $120 million for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2015 and will operate within the IDEX Fire and Safety/Diversified Products segment. The transaction is conditioned upon the approval of Premier Farnell’s shareholders, and is expected to close in approximately 60 days, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Commenting on the transaction, IDEX Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andy Silvernail stated, “We are pleased to announce the Akron Brass transaction, and look forward to welcoming them to the IDEX family. Akron Brass’ world-class brands and presence as a premier manufacturer of firefighting equipment are an excellent strategic fit within our existing Fire Suppression platform. This combination is a high value-creation opportunity and will expand our leading business in an end market that we are very familiar with. “Over the past 12 months, we have enhanced our focus on finding new adjacencies in our Fire & Safety / Diversified segment, and uncovered some excellent opportunities that have similar attributes to our existing businesses where our operational abilities can be leveraged, and Akron Brass meets these criteria. The acquisition of Akron Brass creates a $330 million premier fire and rescue platform serving the global firefighting industry.”

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Leading experts highlight risk for residents in older apartment blocks

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Smoke ventilation in communal areas can make all the difference between life and death, and repair and rebuild. One of the country’s best known smoke ventilation manufacturers, Whitesales, is pressing to highlight the importance of sound fire safety design in flats, after a series of fires around the country revealed a historical lack of strategy. Smoke ventilation is one area where making the right decision can mean the difference between life and death, and repairing or rebuilding. That’s because smoke overpowers people before they have time to escape. In fact, smoke inhalation kills more people than the flames consuming the building. There are numerous causes of domestic fire, from arson through to the far more common: electrical faults, candles left unmonitored and kitchen incidents such as chip pan fires. People who live in individual homes can take all the precautions necessary to reduce their risk. But residents of communal buildings, such as apartment blocks, are at risk not just from other residents’ behaviour, but historical building design decisions and the action or inaction of building managers. Depending on the size and configuration of the building, there may even be just one shared escape route – and that can rapidly fill with fumes and smoke. Taking responsibility for fire safety This makes sensible fire prevention and safety an essential responsibility for residential block managers, contractors working on refurbishments, and new building designers. One fundamental aspect that’s been largely overlooked in older buildings, but which must legally be adequate in new builds, is smoke ventilation. Apartment blocks feature shared access routes – hallways and stairwells – which can quickly fill with smoke in a fire, reducing visibility and displacing breathable air. The only way to prevent this happening – in combination, where possible with a building management system-controlled sprinkler system – is by fitting smoke vents that exhaust smoke and fumes fast and efficiently enough to allow people to make their way to safety. A lesson in apartment block smoke ventilation A recently completed residential development in Greenwich, London, provides the ideal model for building designers and refurbishment contractors. Wilmott Dixon Housing’s development Prime Place contains 181 apartments overlooking the City and Canary Wharf. The project required a combination of bespoke smoke vents, some incorporating roof access. While Whitesales supplies standard-sized fixed smoke vents and manually and electrically operated access hatches, these needed to be designed for very specific measurements, sited over atriums, stairwells, corridors and smoke shafts. The same principles apply to any communal residential building. High-security Em-Vent smoke vents and Em-Hatch access hatches can be networked with a control panel, or the building management system, and a measured distribution of smoke and fire detectors. The Em-Vents and Em-Hatches are fully open within 60 seconds, which draws smoke out fast, no matter how quickly a fire is taking hold. That’s a genuinely life-saving feature in the event of a fire, buying residents vital time to make their escape. Each of these products are fitted with impact-resistant glazing that lets daylight into the building – an important energy-saving consideration but also crucial to providing natural light when a fire may have destroyed internal lighting. As architects and contractors know, all smoke vents specified for new buildings must be certified to EN 12101-2. In many cases, however, older blocks of flats lack the necessary smoke ventilation to protect occupants in the event of fire. Building managers and housing associations can, however, retrofit a networked smoke detection and ventilation system with relative ease and inexpensively. The best options on the market, such as the Em-Vent, are delivered pre-assembled and can be supplied with dedicated upstands, which makes even retrofitting straightforward. Adding powerful smoke ventilation, ideally as part of a comprehensive fire safety review, can quite literally be the difference between life and death.

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Advanced protects vital data and computing assets at Cambridge University

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ExGo suppression control panels from Advanced have been installed in a £20m, state-of-the-art data and high performance computing centre at the University of Cambridge that is working on some of the globe’s greatest challenges. Situated on the West Cambridge site of the University of Cambridge, the building is the new home for high performance computing, centralised data storage and also business operations, teaching, learning and research. The High Performance Computing Centre is working on data from two of mankind’s greatest and data heavy science projects, the Large Hadron Collider and BRIDGE Genome Project. ExGo, Advanced’s ultra-dependable extinguishant release system, was configured and installed by Advanced customer Advanced Fire Solutions Ltd. The suppression control system installed in the building comprises four ExGo panels with mode select key switch assemblies. Jonathan Bacon, Managing Director of Advanced Fire Solutions Ltd, said: “We selected ExGo because the installation required a suppression system that could deliver reassurance and long-term reliability for this crucial building. We have an established partnership with Advanced and we knew that the equipment would be of the highest quality. The system also offers the flexibility and expandability to meet all future requirements.” ExGo has been developed specifically for sensitive and strategic assets such as server rooms, historic and cultural attractions and control rooms. It has been installed in high-profile buildings across the globe, including the Magna Carta vault at Lincoln Castle, Romanian National Library and strategic oil pipelines in Sudan. Ian Tasker, Manager of the West Cambridge Data Centre, added: “The West Cambridge Data Centre reflects the University’s commitment to excellence in the provision of information services to research, students and staff” ExGo is suitable for almost all single-flooding area applications and includes a range of control options and devices. It is approved to EN54 parts 2, 4 and 13 and EN12094-1 and is among the first systems to combine these with EN12094 Part 3 in a single solution. EN12094-3 relates to the integrated manual release on the front of the panel. ExGo can be integrated into Advanced’s Axis and MxPro fire panels, or any third party fire system. Robin Kemp, Advanced sales manager for the South East region, commented: “The West Cambridge Data Centre is a strategically vital part of the University of Cambridge’s infrastructure and essential to its operations and those of its many international stakeholders. We are delighted to be part of it.” Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease-of-use of its products sees Advanced specified in locations all over the world, from single panel installations to large multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management systems. More details can be found on the website at www.advancedco.com.

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