Automatic suppression Whilst not every fire safety design for life safety will incorporate automatic fire suppression, eg a sprinkler system, there are height thresholds at which guidance recommends the provision of automatic suppression. Regardless of the selected route to compliance, these thresholds triggering the need for sprinkler systems are typically followed in fire safety designs. Sprinklers intend to mitigate uncontrolled fires by limiting their growth and, in many cases, supressing the fire. They are often identified as a measure for property protection as they are effective in mitigating the extent of fire involvement and thus fire damage. Sprinklers are also a common provision in a mass timber building. Structural fire performance There is a misconception that every building designed for life safety will have its structural fire provisions designed such that, in the event of a fire, the building will enable a safe evacuation and it may then collapse. This goes in hand with the misconception that a structure that is afforded a given period of structural fire resistance, for example R60, will fail once this time has elapsed during a real fire. Common Perception: The fire service is only focused on the protection of life and rescue operations. Reality: While life safety and rescue are the primary goals of the fire service, they also work to protect property in the event of fire. Fire and rescue authorities, by law, make provisions for extinguishing fires in their area and protecting life and property, which contributes to the mitigation of damage to the building and its surroundings and the potential reduction of economic losses.
For smaller buildings, where the consequences of building collapse are lesser, the structural fire provisions may indeed not mitigate the prospect of collapse from an uncontrolled, fully developed fire. However, for tall buildings with high consequences of building collapse the fire safety design for life safety is typically premised on the structure withstanding intense uncontrolled fires and remaining stable both during and beyond such a fire event. This is through the provision of high fire resistance periods that historically have been premised on the structure surviving burn-out 12 . Firefighting provisions A key objective of fire safety designs for life safety is the adequate provision of access and facilities for firefighting. Except for small buildings, these normally include dry or wet fire mains, and protected routes to enable the fire service to tackle fire within buildings There is a misconception that the role of the fire service is only aimed at the protection of life and rescue. However, as per the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 13 protecting both life and property in the event of fires is the duty of all fire and rescue authorities, with it stating that they must make provision for the purpose of (a) extinguishing fires in their area, and (b) protecting life and property in the event of fires in their area.
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