Level 1 Flashcards
What is Part B of the Building Regulations?
Part B of the Building Regulations is concerned with fire safety
What aspects of fire safety does Part B cover?
B1. To provide appropriate means of warning and escape.
B2. To adequately resist internal fire spread (linings).
B3. To adequately resist internal fire spread (structure).
B4. To adequately resist external fire spread.
B5. To provide reasonable access and facilities for the fire service.
What is BS9999?
1 General 2 Risk profiles and assessing risk 3 Ensuring effective fire protection 4 Managing fire safety 5 Designing means of escape 6 Access and facilities for fire fighting 7 Designing the building structure: Load bearing and non load bearing elements 8 Special risk protection
What is the difference between ADB, BS999 and FSE?
Government guidance= Applicable to the majority of buildings/Prescriptive design guidance
Advanced approach =BS 9999 = is still prescriptive but it is a more flexible approach/ Structured approach to risk based design based on FSE
Fire safety engineering = BS 7974 with supporting Published Documents is a more bespoke approach/ FSE may be the only practical approach for some large and complex buildings, and for buildings containing different uses.
Outline some of the requirements of Part B of the Building Regulations?
- Travel distances need to be less than 18m in one direction or 45m in more than one direction at 45º.
- Up to 60 people – 1 escape / Up to 600 people – 2 escapes / More than 600 people – 3 escapes.
- An inner room (Room within a room) should have sufficient fire detection, vision panels, no more than 30 people capacity.
- All escape routes should have 2m minimum head room. Fire corridors to have 30m fire protection.
- Fire escape stairs should be between 1000mm and 1800mm depending on the number of floors and occupants.
What factors determine the maximum number of persons that can occupy a floor in a multi storey office building?
The use of the building will limit the occupancy levels, Approved Doc B lists the “Floor space factor”, described in terms of m2/person, for fifteen distinct “Type(s) of accommodation.
Can you increase the maximum occupancy of a multi storey building based on design?
Improved fire suppression, fire detection and alarm and phased/managed evacuation can increase the maximum occupancy.
What is the floor space factor for people in offices?
6.0m2/person, although 10.0m2/person is the norm.
How can you improve the maximum occupancy?
Horizontal Escape: Where two escape routes merge elsewhere in the building they only count as one escape route.
Vertical Escape: Capacity of a stair for simultaneous evacuation of the building
At the bottom of the escape stairs the width of the door leading out of the building restricts capacity as detailed above in horizontal escape.
What are some recent changes with regards to fire safety?
Following Grenfell there have been some updates within Part B of the Approved Documents. This includes making it mandatory to include sprinklers to buildings over 11m rather than 18m. They have also banned the used of combustible materials on the external facade of a high righ building - they now have to be Class A1
what does a fire need to start in a building?
Oxygen, heat and a fuel source are needed to start a fire.
What are common causes of fires?
Cooking equipment
Hot works
Electrical equipment
Intentional (arson)
What is the difference between a passive and active fire system?
Active Fire protection takes action in order to put out a fire. (Sprinklers)
Passive Fire Protection will help prevent a fire from spreading or resist the initial ignition.
What is passive fire protection?
- Using the construction of the building to provide fire protection.
- Using materials and structural layout.
- Fire dampners and collars
- Fire resistant walls, floor and doors
what are the different types of fire detection systems?
BS 5839- code of practice for design, comissioing and maintenance of systems in non-domestic premises.
M1 - manual
L1 - maximum life protection
L2-5 going down in life automated fire alarm system
P1 - maximum property protection
P2 - minimum property protection
The norm for a multi-tenanted is L2
What are types of active systems?
- Sprinklers
- Fire Extinguisers
- Fire Blankets
Types of sprinkler?
- Wet - water in them
* Dry - air pressured systems
Distances for sprinklers?
Every 12sqm
Every 4m
What is a fire alarm?
Combination of components for giving an audible and/or other perceptible warning of fire to occpants
What is fire detection?
- The term ‘fire detection system’ describes any type of automatic sensor network and associated control and indicating equipment.
- Sensors may be sensitive to smoke, heat, gaseous combustion products or radiation.
What is the BS for fire alarm testing?
BS 5839
What are the types of fire alarm categories?
Category P - purely for the protection of property
Category L - For life protection
Category M - Manually operated system
Category P systems?
P1 - protects the whole building
P2 - Installed in defined areas
Category L systems?
L1 provides for Automatic Fire Detection (AFD) to be installed into all areas of a building.
L2 provides Automatic Fire Detection (AFD) as defined in L3 as well as high risk or hazardous areas.
L3 Automatic Fire Detection (AFD) with smoke detection should be installed on escape routes with detection in rooms opening onto escape routes.
L4 provides Automatic Fire Detection (AFD) within escape routes only.
L5 is installed in building with a specific risk that has been identified.
What is fire suppression?
A system used to extinguish a fire in a building
How can the layout be changed to prevent fire spread?
A passive protection method. To divide up internal space to prevent the spread of fire.
What is compartmentation?
Fire Compartmentation is the division of the building into discrete fire zones thereby limiting fire damage by delaying the spread of fire into neighbouring compartments before the fire brigade arrive.
