Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Designing residential fire safety & the challenging area of extra care facilities 21 st January 2015 Andy Nicholson BEng, Mst, CEng, MIFireE

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Agenda About the Fire Surgery Fire statistics Residential fire safety design Extra care facilities Case study Summary

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns About The Fire Surgery Small Fire Engineering design consultancy based in the City of London The company commenced trading in October years experience in multidisciplinary firms We specialise in designing unique fire strategies Principal author of BS 9999

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Residential Fire Statistics

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns The general approach Prescriptive Guidance Approved Document B ‘Fire safety’ 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

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Evacuation Principal Defend in Place - only the apartment of fire origin will escape. All other residents remain in place within their fire protected apartment. The associated active and passive measures within the building, such as periods of fire resistance and the type of fire alarm and detection systems are therefore derived to support this concept. Mainly localised fire alarm and detection and high levels of compartmentation No or little fire safety management No consideration for those with disabilities

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns BS 9991 Published December 2011 Comprehensive guidance Brings together the latest thinking Mechanical smoke extract shafts for common corridors Open plan apartment design Includes for sheltered housing and extra care

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns NHBC produced a fire engineering design guide Based on fire potential the main points are: Residential Sprinklers throughout Increased smoke detection 12m x 16m max flat size Thorough consultation with approvers CFD analysis required Open plan apartments

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Common escape routes

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Smoke shafts 0.6m2 shafts Duty and Stand by fans Increasing travel distance Use of mechanical assisted smoke shaft Colt shaft or FDS shaft Push pull system CFD analysis Corridor length 15-20m

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Extra Care Facilities The recommendations in this standard cover those buildings that are designed for independent living. Where residents are likely to be less mobile, have other impairments or are otherwise vulnerable to emergency situations, designers need to consider the characteristics of the residents of the building and incorporate an appropriate range of fire precautionary measures that will secure a full level of fire safety that is compatible with both the residents’ needs and abilities and a feasible and reasonable supporting management regime. Residents are likely to display varying levels of physical ability and mental cognizance and many will therefore require assistance to respond to a fire event

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Recommendations Design as self contained flats Travel distances limited to 9m and 7.5m (no extension with sprinklers) Adequate refuge spaces (possibly more than one) Use of lifts for evacuation Free swing self closing fire doors Storage points for scooters No open plan flat design Fire alarms from units relayed to a central point Warden or remote monitoring centre to investigate Extra care housing should contain sprinkler coverage in all areas.

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Fire safety management (FSM) Fire safety in buildings is a balance between the technical systems within the building and how the building is used and managed Prevention is better than cure - Erasmus All buildings require some level of FSM In social housing higher levels would be expected due to risk Important to understand the competency and resource availability of staff Effective management of fire safety can contribute to the protection of the building in many ways: By working to prevent fires occurring in the first place, By monitoring the fire risk on an on-going basis and taking appropriate action to eliminate or reduce risk, By ensuring that all of the fire safety measures in the building are kept in working order, By training staff By taking command in the event of a fire until the fire and rescue service arrives,

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Quantifying fire safety management How do you assess Fire Safety Management? Response to certain questions Review of existing documentation Relationship with the Fire Service History of fires BS 9999 Management levels Quality of management is given a levels Level 1 – highest Level 2 – Normally acceptable Level 3 - very basic The amount of reliance can then be integrated Identify Responsible person under the RRO

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns The risk to the individual The fire risk to those in extra care is high Fire Safety Order not applicable in private domestic dwellings Quality Care Commission has additional responsibilities Can/should we do more to safe guard the risk to the individual “designers need to consider the characteristics of the residents of the building and incorporate an appropriate range of fire precautionary measures that will secure a full level of fire safety that is compatible with both the residents” As Low As Reasonably Practical

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Case Study - Cottesmore House Standard design for private residential Low travel distance and evacuation lift to BS 9999 Defend in place fire strategy Standalone alarms No sprinkler protection Ground floor communal spaces Limited 24 hour management Very high needs of individuals A number of key stakeholders Communal alarm throughout Assisted evacuation strategy

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Strategy Occupants brought to Cottesmore house will not be placed at any greater risk then their previous residence. Decision to move to defend in place Remove the communal alarms in corridors Investigate retrospective sprinklers Determine roles and responsibilities Develop an operational fire safety manual Undertake an occupant fire risk assessment

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Individual fire risk assessment The process involves a meeting with the tenant and their carers/family to understand mobility and cognitive impairments and mitigating measures put in place to reduce the risk to as low as reasonably possible

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Fire Safety Manual Developed to identify responsible person between the landlord and tenant Useful document to show clear roles and responsibilities of all people in the building Set down clear lines of communication and expectations Provides a good audit trail for decision making and review

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Assisted living - Lewisham

Registration no: Fire Engineering Design Consultants – treating your fire safety concerns Summary Defend in place strategy Layout of apartments Design of common corridor Use of sprinklers important Undertake individual risk assessments Assess level of management Understand roles and responsibilities Develop a Fire Safety Manual

Treating your fire safety concerns