5 . 1
COMPLIANCE, STAKEHOLDER GOALS AND FIRE SAFETY OBJECTIVES
The fire safety design of a building should be developed following a clear identification of the fire safety goals applicable to it. This is relevant to buildings of all uses and construction types, regardless of their form of construction, with the goals typically established at the outset of a project either through a formal or informal qualitative design review (QDR) process (see Section 5.2). The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Handbook 1 defines fire safety objectives as falling under five core themes: life safety, property protection, continuity of operations, environmental protection and historic preservation. Typically, only life safety is associated with statutory requirements. Whilst statutory objectives associated with life safety offer minimum legal requirements during the design, construction and operation of a building, other stakeholder goals can exist that should be interrogated and, where relevant, incorporated into the fire safety design. Each of these themes ar Life safety Life safety concerns the health and safety of those in or around a building, ie occupants within a building, fire- fighters attending a fire in a building and public in the vicinity of a building.
c) collapse does not endanger people (including fire- fighters) who are likely to be in or near the building.
The Building Regulations 2010 3 incorporate statutory requirements within Schedule 1, Part B, which align with the objectives above and must be satisfied when undertaking building work. These are set out as a collection of performance-based requirements under Regulations B1 to B5, as below:
– B1: Means of warning and escape. – B2: Internal fire spread (linings). – B3: Internal fire spread (structure). – B4: External fire spread. – B5: Access and facilities for the fire service.
Property protection Protection of specific property (eg equipment, valuables) within the building, or of the building itself as an asset, can be identified by the client, insurer or another project stakeholder as a goal. Property protection is not specifically addressed by the Building Regulations, with building owners and operators generally free to decide on what level of protection against fire they wish to provide in cognisance of the financial consequences. These financial consequences could arise through damage or destruction of a building, damage or destruction of building contents, loss of productivity, or loss of reputation. However, fire precautions implemented in a building for the purpose of satisfying the life safety requirements of the Building Regulations typically contribute to an extent to the protection of the building asset. Further, some provisions implemented under the guise of life safety have their genesis in property protection, eg the inclusion of sprinkler protection and the limiting of compartment sizes. Business continuity Business continuity is a business’s level of readiness to maintain critical functions after an emergency or
To achieve an adequate level of life safety, BS 7974 2 identifies the following design objectives:
a) the occupants are ultimately able to leave the building in reasonable safety or the risk to occupants is acceptably low.
b) fire-fighters can operate without undue risk to:
– Assist evacuation when necessary. – Effect rescue when necessary. – Prevent conflagration.
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