Passive Fire Protection SEMINAR

INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW

“ C h e c k m a t e c o n t a i n s f i r e ! ”

Checkmate is a specialist passive fire protection installation & survey

company, providing professionally managed, cost effective fire

compliant services nationally to a wide range of clients.

We are founder members of the BRE / LPCB passive fire protection

certification scheme and operate as two divisions;

Solutions for 3rd

Party Accredited installations & Compliance

providing inspection & other consultancy services.

Free One Day Seminars

Thank you for coming

Next Free Seminar

NAHFO Conference 2013

National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers

2013 ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The NEC Invites you to celebrate

"NAHFO MATTERS"

Copthorne Merry Hill Hotel, Dudley, West Midlands - 21st - 23rd May 2013

The main issues

Ensuring:

• PUBLIC BUILDINGS ARE FIRE SAFE

• BUILDINGS CAN PROVIDE A SAFE ‘MEANS OF ESCAPE’

• PHASED HORIZONTAL EVACUATION CAN TAKE PLACE

• MINIMUM RISK TO FIRE & RESCUE SERVICES

Protection to:

• VALUABLE & VITAL EQUIPMENT 

• VITAL ACTIVITIES

• AN ORGANISATION’S VIABILITY

• AN ORGANISATION’S STANDING & REPUTATION 

• AN INDIVIDUAL’S STANDING, REPUTATION & LIVELIHOOD

Progressive Horizontal Evacuation

Why it is essential

Hospital Fire

Blaze closes Chesterfield Royal Hospital

A&E ward ‘for foreseeable future’

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service battled for three

hours to contain the blaze which spread to the first floor

and broke through the roof.

June 2011

Expensive but Useless!

Better Late Than Never?

What is The True Cost?

Two Important Questions

Why are new buildings not always fire compliant?

Why are fire compartments not always adequately maintained?

Less Resilience To Fire

“It would not be unreasonable to assume that during the

past decade, our commercial building stock has

become less resilient to fire – and this goes some way

to explaining the steep increase in fire losses”.

Roy Watkinson

Technical & Commercial Insurance Director, AXA Insurance

Source: FRM Journal, March 2011

Building Regulations Requirements

“If a fire separating element is to be effective, every joint and

imperfection of fit, or opening to allow services to pass through

the element, should be adequately protected by sealing or

firestopping so that the fire resistance of the element is not

impaired”

“Every compartment wall and compartment floor should form a

complete barrier to fire between the compartments they

separate and have the appropriate fire resistance” ..... there

should be continuity at the junctions of the fire-resisting

elements enclosing a compartment and any openings from one

compartment to another should not present a weakness”

Building Regulations Approved Document B; B3 section 10

Traditional Build

“Approved Document B was developed for

easy and forgiving masonry construction . .

Modern Build

. . with modern methods of

construction the room for error is

small if not microscopic”.

Dr Jim Glockling,

Technical Director,

Fire Protection Association

Structural movement in a fire

Structural movement in a fire

Typical Process

A LOT OF INVOLVEMENT

CLIENT

FIRE ENGINEER – FIRE STRATEGY

PLANNING / BUILDING CONTROL (FIRE & RESCUE?)

PROJECT CONSULTANT (PROJECT TEAM?)

PROCUREMENT MANAGER

CDM CO-ORDINATOR

MAIN CONTRACTOR

ARCHITECT / SPECIFIER

VARIOUS SUB-CONTRACTORS

PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS?

CLERK OF WORKS?

BUILDING CONTROL

CLIENTS FIRE SAFETY ADVISOR?

CLIENTS RISK ASSESSOR

ESTATES / FACILITIES MANAGER / FM COMPANY

WHO HAS TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE

BUILDING’S STRUCTURAL FIRE

COMPLIANCE?

WHO HAS SPECIFIED THE LEVEL OF FIRE

SEPARATION REQUIRED, & HOW MIGHT THIS

BE ACHIEVED?

WAS EVERYTHING PROCURED WITH THE

FOCUS ON LOWEST INSTALLED PRICE OR

WAS SOME THOUGHT GIVEN TO MAINTAIN

COMPLIANCE & VALUE?

An Alternative Process

Client

Fire Engineer / Strategy

3rd party installer with

LPCB Certification

Fire Compliance Co-ordinator?

Risk Assessor?

The Latham Report

‘Constructing the Team’ – a joint government and construction industry review of procurement

and contractual arrangements in the UK Construction Industry 1994

… identified systemic failings and condemned existing industry practices as ineffective,

bureaucratic, wasteful, adversarial, fragmented and incapable of delivering compliant buildings

for customers

Recommended partnering and a change of culture which would value openness, co-operation,

trust, honesty, commitment and mutual understanding among team members

Hard Times

“The news in the Chancellor’s Autumn

Statement that the austerity programme

will extend into 2018 brings into sharp

relief concerns voiced at the recent

Summit”Fire Risk Management Magazine Dec 2012

Lack of Monitoring

A ‘competitive tender’ issue?

Grudge Purchase?

Inapporopriate use of Urethane Foam

Qualified . . . but not in fire stopping

Qualified . . . but not in fire stopping

Qualified . . . but not in fire stopping

Interface Details

Not Nearly Adequate!

Poor Co-ordination

Irresponsibility

“No matter how small the project or works, it is a general principle of the Building Regulations that a person

carrying out building works must not make the performance of the building any worse than it was before the works

was carried out”.

The Coroner, Lakanal House Fire Inquest

You are all responsible

Quality Assured

Passive Fire Protection . . .

designed & specified requires:

•Correct products

•Correct installation

•3rd

Party accreditation

•Compartmentation management

To last the lifetime of a building

Fully Compliant

The BRE Approval process involves a whole series of

rigorous checks which are on-going & it is because of this

assessment process that the LPCB Approval Mark is

recognised worldwide as a badge of quality for Passive Fire

Protection Installation.

3rd

Party Accreditation

3rd

Party Inspection & Certification

"It was a high-risk building which should have been prioritised in any risk assessment programme.“

"Fire risk assessments are still of variable quality... a complex building needs a fire risk assessor with comprehensive training

and experience to do credible assessments.“

Quotes from Lakanal House Fire Inquest

Do your Fire Risk Assessments . . .

investigate Ceiling Voids . . .

Roof Voids . . .

and Areas of Strategic Importance?

Fire Door Inspection & Remediation …

BEFORE

to a Recognised Standard

AFTER

Fire Door Inspection Scheme

Clive Reilly, Compliance Manager at Checkmate Fire

Solutions has become the first person to meet the

stringent requirements of the Fire Door Inspection

Scheme (FDIS) and become a Certificated Inspector.

To achieve his new status Clive initially passed the Diploma in

Fire Doors. He then completed the online Transition Module,

which provides in-depth information on a range of topics.

Says Clive:

“Fire doors are an increasingly important part of our business

and there’s a distinct lack of knowledge and expertise out

there. I anticipate that building owners and other responsible

people will increasingly demand that recognised qualifications

are a pre-requisite for commissioning people to help them

with their RRO responsibilities and that the FDIS Certificated

Inspector will become the de facto standard in this area.”

Staying Within The Law

“Where necessary in order to safeguard the safety of relevant

persons the responsible person must ensure that the premises

and any facilities, equipment and devices provided in respect of

the premises under this Order….. are subject to a suitable

system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state,

in efficient working order and in good repair.”

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Fires destroy people’s lives

“Gaps in fire safety and building regulations were uncovered

in

the criminal investigation”.

Fire Risk Management Magazine Dec 2012

Arrests over Warwickshire warehouse fire which

killed four firefighters. Feb 2011

A word for our Sponsors

Ferno UK

Ferno (UK) Limited is a world leading innovator, manufacturer &

supplier of medical equipment to Emergency Medical Services,

Fire & Rescue Services, Hospitals & other major industries

throughout the UK.

www.ferno.co.uk

A word for our Sponsors

Intastop Ltd

From their offices & factory in Doncaster Intastop offer

a range of innovative & cost-effective protection

products that increase building life & reduce

maintenance bills. All installed fire protection products

are designed, tested & proven to retain full integrity

even after prolonged abrasion & impact.

www.intastop.com

A word for our Sponsors

Spectrum Healthcare

Spectrum Healthcare specialise in the supply of evacuation

equipment, moving & handling equipment & mobility aids

for hospitals, care homes, hospices, schools & any public

or private building.

www.spectrumhealthcare.co.uk

A word for our Sponsors

TAGEVAC® Limited

Uniquely designed TAGEVAC® provides a safe, simple & proven

solution for the management & control of zoned Evacuation within

any building or groups of buildings.

www.tagevac.com

Thank you