Fire Protection in Public Buildings

In the case of buildings designed for public use in particular this presents both a challenge and an opportunity for providers of fire safety equipment, Refurbishment demands a different approach by specifiers and suppliers, one based on maximum flexibility.

A simple example comes when attempting to meet the inevitable demand to do more with less. New fire safety solutions may have to work with legacy systems – maintaining continuity of protection during changeover and on a longer-term basis – or provide suitable protection within an existing site undergoing change of use.

Interoperability.

A best-practice fire detection and alarm safety solution is likely to offer a high degree of interoperability, whereby different systems work together or inter-operate. This will help make the most of any existing investment and enable a seamless transition as the building undergoes a broader programme of change.

What does this mean in practice? In looking at upgrading a fire safety system within a refurbishment programme, it may be, for example, that only part of the existing system needs replacing.

The most effective response is likely to be to select a replacement panel – or add additional networked panels – that operate on an open protocol principle in supporting any existing devices that do not require upgrading. At the same time, interoperability is important in maintaining full continuity of protection across the site during what is often a phased period of refurbishment.

The need for flexibility will also apply in buildings originally installed with a shell and core scheme. Here, the basic house fire protection system is designed to cover the shell of the building only – including public areas such as stairwells and lifts – but protecting the offices themselves is the responsibility of individual tenants.

The result can often be a maze of different fire panels and detectors, demanding even greater flexibility from the new solution when the time comes to upgrade all or part of the building. In addition, this may involve different levels of fire safety provision, depending on the demands of the individual tenant or their insurer.

The need for flexibility is essential, particularly when installing fire detection and alarm systems in existing public buildings, to make the most of any existing investment and enable a seamless transition fro old to new.

Another issue to be considered is the quality of the existing wiring. Here again, it is important to select a flexible solution that is highly tolerant of legacy systems about which little may be known. Critically, this will reduce any additional expense – including replacement wiring as part of the commissioning process, at the same time ensuring an acceptable ongoing level of fire safety.

A Question of Age.

In developing an appropriate fire safety solution for a public amenity, the use to which it is put is usually much more important than the age of the building.

As a result, if a primary concern is to protect the fabric of the building or its contents, the proposed solution is likely to be broadly similar, irrespective of whether it is a new build or an historic architectural jewel. Similarly, if a leisure facility typically attracts especially large numbers of visitors within a restricted, enclosed space, the type of life safety solution and stringent evacuation procedures adopted are more likely to vary dependent on the layout of the building rather than its age.

However, things start to change significantly when it comes to detailed specification and installation. In most cases, installing a fire safety solution in a new build is much simpler and more straightforward. Historically, fire safety was often regarded as an after-thought or a ‘bolt on’: today, by contrast, architects and consultants recognise the inherent importance of life safety provision within building design and so increasingly involve third-party fire systems specialists early on in the development process.

In so doing it ensures the best possible solution, with wiring discreetly installed in the ceiling void or floor space as part of the initial design, rather than having to compromise or adapt the architect’s original intentions by accommodating fire safety requirements too late in the process. In the case of an existing building, by contrast, the infrastructure is already in place, making the replacement of, or addition to, an established fire safety solution more complex. And, if the building has protected status as a result of its architectural importance, any redevelopment can be especially problematic.

There is no doubt that developing life safety systems for historic buildings presents special challenges. Yet the latest technologies sympathetically installed can provide the highest levels of protection for both people and property – without detracting from the visual impact of the landmark building itself.

The Role of Voice.

Recent research identified that fewer than 10% of the general public always think about how to get out of a building, whether or not they use it regularly. In the event of a fire alarm, the most common response is to follow the people around them, with more than one quarter of respondents assuming that it is a false alarm until told otherwise.

As a result, it is critical to ensure that staff and visitors alike within any public building are able to respond quickly and correctly to a fire warning. Sophisticated and intuitive voice alarm (VA) technology has evolved to form a key part of comprehensive fire detection and alarm systems, designed for complex environments in which individuals will respond to warnings in different ways.
Integrated solutions benefit both building users and firefighters called to deal with the emergency, as they are able easily to take over the VA/PA system to broadcast individualised messages, in order to ensure a rapid yet controlled evacuation from any part of the premises at risk.

Though awareness as to the importance of voice is growing, the uptake of such products is still relatively slow. VA/PA solutions are principally used only as directed by the design authority, or where the provision of a PA system to meet other needs makes the incremental cost significantly lower than where a simple upgrade from sounders is being considered.

Having said that, though budgets may be under extreme pressure, compliance demands have increased in requiring safe and environmentally-friendly public venues. Today, many buildings, particularly those with a large number of public attending or requiring complex evacuation, may include an element of voice. As a result, such comprehensive detection and alarm solutions enable a faster, safer response.

The life safety industry continues to place a high development priority on the addition of voice to its armoury of fire detection and response solutions. The result is that cost-effective and fully-integrated systems are available that enhance the user experience, providing a wide range of safety and other information messages. Allied to this, the latest graphics solutions providing full information in a clear, simple format allow staff and attending fire crews to quickly locate, understand and respond to any fire-related incident that arises.

Multi-Criteria Detection.

In supporting early fire detection and response in public buildings, another important development has been that of multi-criteria detection. These devices are becoming more commonplace, moving from their earlier niche positioning to mainstream application in both enabling earlier fire detection and minimising false alarms.

Not surprisingly, the reason for this is primarily economic, as the cost of downtime or lost business due to false alarms increases together with a loss of confidence in the system itself. As a result, the reduction in false alarms is now a principal focus for product development within major fire safety equipment manufacturers. And here, critically, multi-criteria sensors are less prone to false alarms than their single-sensor counterparts, as it is more difficult to falsify two criteria than one, three more than two, and so on.

Full multi-criteria protection is ideally suited to those areas where the cost of downtime is especially significant. It is equally well-suited to sports and leisure industry environments where there are often large numbers of people in a single location.

In summary, fire safety solutions that both ensure full compliance and provide the flexibility needed to meet the specific demands of any project can be delivered within the constraints of today’s toughest budgets.

Beacon Centre for the Blind.

A Morley-IAS system has been installed in the newly-built Beacon Centre for the Blind headquarters in Wolverhampton in the UK, which opened in 2010.

The Beacon Centre began life back in 1875 and has since provided an increasing range of support services for the local visually-impaired population. Today, the new multi-function building incorporates extra care accommodation and an activity centre providing facilities such as a fully-equipped health and fitness suite, restaurant, sensory garden, meeting and conference rooms and charity administration offices.

The Morley-IAS L2 system selected comprises two networked ZX5Se panels linked to more than 600 analogue addressable devices, including 275 sensors, approximately 200 sounders and 100 sounder strobes.

Gary Long, head of principal contractor, William Davis’ electrical division, comments: “The Centre is a state-of-the-art care facility that is transforming the lives of thousand of visually impaired people. The focus on design was paramount to this project therefore it was essential to incorporate a flexible and high loop capacity fire protection system that would be easy to operate, provide early warning of possible problems yet minimise the risk of false alarms.’’

The company’s ZX Series panel’s network flexibility and high capacity made it especially well-suited to a building requiring a high volume of sounders as well as optical devices, in meeting the needs of visually-impaired residents and other users.
Contact: For further information, go to www.morley-ias.co.uk

(Author)
Keith Minster is Sales Manager UK & Ireland at Morley-IAS by Honeywell