Fire Safety Engineering and the Built Environment - Case Study Example

Analysis of Fire in Four Different Case Studies Name Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: 21st, November, 2009 Introduction Fire Safety Engineering Fire safety has developed overtime due to the experience from so many disasters. It has led to the development of fire safety engineering as an area of study which is defined as “application of scientific and engineering principles to the protection of people, property and the environment from fire” by the BS 7974 (Christian & BSI, 2003 p. 23). The aim of fire safety engineering principles therefore is to: Ensure lives are saved, property is protected and environment is conserved including heritage buildings (Christian & BSI, 2003) Analytically evaluate both the protective and the preventive optimum measures in order to reduce fire effects Identify and quantify fire risks and hazards (Christian & BSI, 2003). All these aims are achieved after gaining knowledge on the factors that can lead to fire, the process/performance of fire, how to prevent it and systems that can alert the people of the occurrence of any fire among so many others. Fires occur mostly in buildings and because of the past experiences, safety standards have been developed to ensure that it is easy to contain the fire by fire fighters whenever it occurs, it can be prevented by implementation of certain building designs and the people can be protected by the alert systems and other fire safety measures (Christian & BSI, 2003). This paper is also about fire safety. It aims at analyzing four buildings where fire disasters occurred in the past 25years. The buildings are selected from different countries, that is, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A brief description of the disaster will be done and an analysis carried out considering the fire safety issues and the information provided. After the analysis, recommendations will be given on what measure or step is necessary to avoid such fires again. The England Fire Disaster Case Study The Bradford City Fire Disaster This fire happened in 1985 on May 11th after Bradford City football club moved to third division championship. The fire swallowed up the Main Stand at Valley Parade and led to 56 deaths mostly due to inhalation of smoke and 265 injuries both severe and mild (Bradford City F.C, 2009; Pomeroy, 2003). According to Bradford City F.C, the first sign of fire was detected at 3.40 pm, but just after four minutes, the fire had spread and the flames had become visible. This made the policemen present at the scene to evacuate the people who were in Block G (2009). The signs of fire prompted a request for fire fighting equipment but this never saved the damage that was caused by the fire. The valley parade had 11,076 fans at the time of the incident. Pomeroy also noted in an article that the area where the fire started was the oldest part of the stadium and was to be repaired in a week’s time. The stand was made of wood and the roof covered with tar. The entire stand was destroyed just in five minutes (2003). Analysis Analysis of fire cases is based on the causes, the factors that facilitated fire ignition and the factors that lead to its spread. In most cases, there are materials that speed up the burning rate and the spread of fire to other parts of the building. Building design also affects the effects of the fire. Effects are based on the number of casualties, properties destroyed and the effects on the environment/people’s health (Rasbash et al, 2004). Analysis considers the risks of occurrence of fires in a building which includes the factors that lead to the occurrence of fires. In fire safety and engineering, there are so many recommendations made and standards formulated after the occurrence of so many fires. These recommendations and standards help prevent fires, contain fires and rescue people from fire struck buildings (Rasbash et al, 2004). Causes The Bradford city fire disaster for example, is said to have been caused by a cigarette or a match dropped by a fan to a polystyrene cup which is suspected to have settled in rubbish and debris under the stand and further starting the fire (Pomeroy, 2003). This is just a postulation; the real cause of the fire was never established. Risk Factors From the information provided, it is evident that there were materials that speeded up the rate of burning after the fire started. Just after the first signs were spotted, four minutes later it became visible. One of the materials that may have speeded up the rate of burning is the wooden stands and the closeness of the ceiling to the ground (Karlsson & Quintiere, 2000). There should have been exit doors or areas in case of fires. These were not present in the valley parade. The stadium had no Fire protection systems such as fire extinguishers, automatic sprinklers, automatic or manual fire alarm systems, smoke detectors and fire fighting stand pipes (Fitzgerald, 2004) Recommendations For such a cause, Smoking bans should be implemented in such areas. At the time of its construction, most of the fire safety standards had not been developed, however, the use of fire extinguishers was already in place, the recommendation to have fire exit doors was also already implemented and the use of fire alarms was also already implemented. The stadium management should have made sure that all these were in place. In order to avoid such an accident all the fire safety measures which include: Installation of fire extinguishers, automatic sprinklers, automatic or manual fire alarm systems, smoke detectors and fire fighting stand pipes should be done and evaluated by a qualified fire safety engineer (Fitzgerald, 2004). It would be better to analyze the risk of a fire in any building. Fire protection systems should also be implemented and buildings constructed according to fire safety standards. The use of material that propagate the rate of fire burning should also be used only when necessary and even so, fire protection systems should be in place incase a fire starts (Rasbash et al, 2004). Case Study 2: Fire Disaster in Northern Ireland The Fire Disaster at King’s Cross Station This fire disaster happened on November 1987 and was suspected to have been caused by a match dropped by a smoker under the steps when leaving the station. Below the steps there were so many substances and materials that facilitated the fire ignition. According to the BBC news report, there were rat hair, grease from the station, human hair, discarded tickets, grease from the mechanism and paper dust below the escalator (2009). The station’s management had not considered cleaning below the escalators since their installation. Previously, there had been small fires under the escalator that should have raised concern about any big fires happening and the availability of combustible materials underneath the escalator. The station had no effective fire safety measures except for the “NO Smoking Ban” sign which was also ignored by most smokers and was not taken seriously by the management. There were wooden escalators most of which were in the course of being replaced before the disaster occurred. There was also fuel in the wooden steps which facilitated burning, a ceiling decorated with solvent based paint just above the escalator which also intensified the flames by providing more fuel and worsened the condition by producing black and oily smoke (BBC, 2009). The escalator was inclined at a 30 degree angle which is the best angle for the incinerator effect. It had metal sides that also directed the effect. Human behavior also affected the overall effect of the fire. Some commuters who came after the fire were advised not to go to the down escalator but this was ignored. They ended up being burned, others dying and some being affected by the smoke in the escalator. There was also a fire safety officer who attempted to rescue a woman while he had no protective wear. He was also affected by the smoke. At the time, it is noted that the arrival of two trains caused a roaring effect which strengthened the flames. The disaster resulted into 31 deaths with several other injured (BBC, 2009). Analysis Cause: From the above description, the cause of the fire was unknown, however, it is suspected to have been a match dropped by a smoker. Risks: The stations management had identified the risk of smoking in the station and had placed “NOSMOKING” warnings all over the place but this was ignored. Advice from fire safety officers was ignored by people and this led to more deaths. One officer attempted to do his work with no protective gear as recommended in the fire safety measures and the place had so many combustive materials. There was fuel below the escalators, rat hair, grease from the station, human hair, discarded tickets, grease from the mechanism and paper dust which provided suitable environment for fire ignition. The building structure also posed a risk to fire spread for example the inclination of the escalators and the metal sides by it, the wooden steps and the solvent based paint above the escalator used for ceiling decoration. Recommendations The station’s management should ensure fire risk analysis is done by a qualified fire safety engineer at regular intervals. The fire safety engineer should be able to identify the materials in the station that can easily cause fire, that is provides an environment for ignition, should be able to recommend the best fire safety measures for the building and propose a building design that will be mechanically, architecturally, structurally and electrically fit considering the fire systems that should be installed. This should be in the first analysis. Other times will need analysis of any other developed risk and the functioning of the fire safety systems (NPSM, 2004; Hurley, 2009). With an appropriate building design, all the above mentioned risks will be eliminated. There will be no place for litters to be accumulated and if so there will be a management system that ensures the place of accumulation is emptied often. There will be no fuel below the escalators and the ceiling would be made of a material that is fire resistant. So many changes would be made making the station a safe place for its environment and the people. Another step necessary to control people should be implementing barring measures for example, the use of fire safety officers or policemen to stop the people from going to dangerous areas in the fire. Employees should also be trained on fire safety (NPSM, 2004) Case Study 3: Fire Disaster in Scotland A blaze broke out on 8th July 2009 in a 20 storey building at Glasgow high-rise leaving one man dead. The man is said to have been of 50 years of age. The other occupants of the building were evacuated and the fire extinguished. The blaze broke out at the 19th floor. The fire spread to the upper floors and took some time to contain. There were intense heat and smoke coming from the fire but these was all contained (STV News, 2009). Analysis and Recommendations Storey buildings should be constructed according to the codes and standards. They should be constructed considering what fire boundaries are appropriate and the interior finish materials. All these are included in the design of the building a fire safety engineer would design. Fire safety is all about determination of fire resistance materials and applying that knowledge in the construction of the buildings, all about how to reduce fire when it has occured, all about preventing its occurrence and all about the safety of the people in the buildings and the surrounding environment (Eberly & O'Laughlin, 1993). In the above case, the fire alarm was present but it is not indicated whether other fire safety measures were observed or other fire safety equipments were installed. Just like in all the above recommendations, it would be appropriate to determine the fire safety measures that have not been followed, the fire safety equipments that have been installed and do not function and if the residents of the high rise have the necessary knowledge about fire safety. It is not clear the factors that led to fire spread to the upper parts (floors) of the building. This could be determined and necessary measures taken. Fire resistant ceilings could be used for reconstruction to delay fire spread before the fire fighters arrive. This prevents further spread (Eberly & O'Laughlin, 1993). Case Study 4: Fire Disaster in Wales In Newtown, Powys, a three storey derelict building caught fire and 5 people died. This building had a fire alarm which was raised and the fire fighters alerted. The fire was extinguished using three fire engines and an aerial pump (BBC (b), 2009). Each living unit houses one or two people ranging from 30-52 years in age and there are seven units per floor. Each unit has a battery powered smoke detector that sounds an alarm within the building but these were found to be malfunctioning, there are 3A-40BC dry chemical fire extinguishers at the stairwells, the building has a manual fire alarm system, No corridor and door closers, no automatic sprinkler system and no fire fighting stand pipe (Fitzgerald, 2004). NB: This is a case study meant to reveal fire fighting safety issues and not a real one. The name and place are real but the effects of the fire have been changed. Causes and Risk factors The cause of the fire is unknown but it is evident that certain factors contributed to the effects of the fire. The malfunctioning of the smoke detectors for example leads to the assumption that occupants of the building were not alerted early enough. Fire extinguishers were present but it seems these never helped. One safety requirement that was in use was the fire alarm which may have alerted the people and saved some lives. There were no corridor and door closers that could help in containing the smoke, no automatic sprinkler system that could help extinguish the fire and no fire fighting stand pipe that assists fire fighters in extinguishing the fire. Availability of all these is crucial to a building’s occupant’s safety and containment of fire (Fitzgerald, 2004). It is all the same in all the buildings. Building managers should ensure that fire safety measures and equipments are in place and are functioning. This means there should be regular analysis of fire risks and analysis of the functioning of the equipments that help contain and extinguish fire (Fitzgerald, 2004). Conclusion In fire safety engineering, the engineers design buildings that have to contain fire-fighter's standpipes, fire sprinklers and smoke control all considered mechanical, design buildings with fire alarms considered electrical, design buildings by means of egress design considered architectural and design buildings considering fire resistance considered structural design (Hurley, 2009). With all these, there is protection from fires in buildings of any type. In the above discussion, analysis has considered four case studies. The first one involves a large stadium as an enclosed place, the second a railway station, the third one a 20 storey building and the last one, a three storey building. In all the cases, there were some fire safety measures lacking some of which contributed to the fires effects. The first case study happened in 1985 years before some improvements were made in the fire safety standards. Recommendations were therefore included consideration to new improvements. The same applies to the second case study. The third and the last case studies are disasters that happened recently and the lack of acting according to fire safety standards was the main problem. Recommendations were based on the necessary steps that should be taken to avoid fires and to contain them. References BBC, 2009, Kings Cross Fire, Retrieved on 18th Nov, 2009 from: http://www.information-britain.co.uk/famdates.php?id=791 BBC (b), 2009, Fire crews fight building blaze: Fire crews have fought a blaze at a three-storey derelict building in Newtown, Powys. Retrieved on 18th Nov, 2009 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/8333738.stm Bradford City F.C, 2009, Bradford Fire Disaster, Retrieved on 19th Nov, 2009 from: http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/History/0,,10266~1013980,00.html Christian D. and British Standards Institution, 2003, A Guide to Fire Safety Engineering BSI British Standards Institution. Eberly, P.E.R and O'Laughlin, P.E. R., 1993, Fire Hazards Analysis, for Building 9116 AT Y-12 Plant, OAK Ridge, Tennessee. Fitzgerald R. W., 2004, Building Fire Performance Analysis, New York: John Wiley and Sons. Hurley, M, 2009, Fire Protection Engineering, Retrieved on 18th, Nov, 2009 from: http://www.wbdg.org/design/dd_fireprotecteng.php. Karlsson, B and Quintiere, G, J., 2000, Enclosure fire dynamics, Boca Ranton: CRC Press,. National Park Service Management (NPSM), 2004, RM-58 Structural Fire Management, Pomeroy, A, 2003, Bradford City Fire, Retrieved on 20th, Nov, 2009: http://everything2.com/title/Bradford+City+Fire Rasbash D, Ramachandran G. and Kandola B, 2004, Evaluation of fire safety, MA: John Wiley and Sons. STV News, 2009, One dead in Glasgow high-rise fire: Blaze broke out at top of 20-storey tower block in city's Toryglen area. Retrieved on 19th Nov, 2009 from: http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-central/107661-one-dead-in-glasgow-high-rise-fire/ Read More