Components and Requirements of the UK Fire Standard - Coursework Example

Buildings Fire Safety in British Standard Introduction In the last few decades, several developments have been made in promotion of fire safety, its design and it’s engineering. In recent times, several technological systems have been developed in order to promote fire safety. It is also needed in order to manage and control the atmosphere and surroundings of the building. In the last few years, the implementation of fire safety has gained concern and has become top priority of the British Standard. This paper would concentrate on selecting a non-residential structure, which has been designed in accordance to the British Standard. General overview of the structure would be presented. Then, its fire system will also be analyzed. The different types of fire safety systems, which have been prescribed by the British Standard of BS5839 Parts 1 and 6 and BS5266, would be discussed extensively. After thorough analysis, a particular system would be suggested and recommended for the building. The building selected for this paper is One Canada Square, which is also called the Canary Wharf Tower. Overview of the Structure One Canada Square is considered to be tall building structure, which is located in London. It is considered to be one of the tallest buildings of Britain and has a height of two hundred and thirty five meters. It is considered to be ground-breaking and innovative structure, which has unique Pyramid Peak(Davie,56,2009). History and Design The initial and original proposal of the building was proposed by G Ware Travel stead. He did not have sufficient funds to finance the project and therefore in the year 1987, he sold his plans to Olympia & York. Cesar Pelli & Associates, Frederick Gibberd Coombes & Partners and Adamson Associates were the architects, who were selected for the project. The design material used for the building was steel, which was used to represent Britain’s legacy. In order to meet the requirements of aviation rules and regulations, five floors were reduced by the architects(Davie,59,2009). In the year 1988, the construction of tower initiated. The contract went to Ellis Don of Toronto and Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons. Several issues surfaced during the construction phase. For instance, there were problems in erecting steel columns because of wind problem. The design wind speed used was 25 mph, at which the columns failed. In the year 1990, the construction of the tower was completed by placing a roof in the shape of pyramid at the top. Technical Details of the Building One Canada Square was the suggested name, given to the structure by its developers. The structure stands tall at a height of two hundred thirty five meters above ground level. Its roof is pyramid, which has maintenance plant within it. Inside the pyramid, water is pumped in order to ensure that it flows in order to meet the water requirements of the entire structure. The water is also used for the fire system. The fire system has a sprinkler system, which get the water supplied from the roof. On average, the average daily consumption of water is about two hundred thousand gallons. In order to wash the windows of the buildings, the machines have been installed inside the roof. At the top part of the pyramid, an aircraft warning light has been installed. The intensity of LED obstruction light is OL5000, which is of medium intensity(Davie,66,2009). It is economical and cost effective. In order to regulate electricity, electrical equipment has been installed on mezzanine floor. The electricity is also generated by some electrical generators, which are found on the mezzanine floor. These generators are run by “micro-hydro water turbines”, which get the water from the rood(Davie,76,2009). This makes the structure as one of the buildings aware of environmental rights. In order to protect the lightening protection system, the structure has typical rood circuit. Five lightning conductor rods have been installed at top of the roof. The roof is composed of steel, which has protective coating. It has a granite finishing. The roof is lighted in evening times, which can are visible at twenty miles. It also contains HVAC system, which is needed for the cooling system. Condensate collection system has been installed in the structure. The system utilizes external hot air together with the cooling requirements in order to generate large number of moisture for air. At the same time, the tower also has external lighting system. The lighting control system is controlled by the computer, which can create light displays. On the exterior side of the building, up lighters can been seen. Photocells have been installed in the lighting control system. They turn on automatically after the dark. Fire System If a fire starts in the structure, the entire building is not evacuated fully. The floor at which the fire has started and the floor above it are emptied. After the commencement of fire, the fire sprinkler system is turned on. The air conditioning is functional so that it can remove the smoke. The smoke is then carried to the emergency exits (Davie,78,2009). Procedure of Fire Alarm One the floor at which the fire takes place, the fire alarm starts. After its activation, it sends digital signage all through the structure in order to warn each and every floor. After that, instructions are sent each and every floor of the structure. On some floors, employees are instructed to evacuate the floor. For this purpose, the exit sign flashes. The necessary and essential doors are wide opened by the access control system. Fire dampers are also activated. The responsibility of the ventilation system is to clear the smoke created by the fire from the offices(Davie,89,2009). Instructions are also given to security guards. Their duty is to ensure that they help in the evacuation of the floors. In order to deal with problems, the cameras installed are activated. They have advanced and sophisticated software to detect the problems easily and conveniently. After fifteen minutes, memo is sent by the access control system to the security director. This memo is sent in order to know how many people have left the building and how many remain. The fire chief gets the list from the security director. It is the duty of the fire chief to save people, who were unable to evacuate the floor and to deal with the fire. Fire Safety Components and Requirements of Fire System BS5839 Part 1 deals with fire detection system. Following are the main aims and objectives of fire safety: 1. To ensure life safety 2. To protect the entire structure 3. To protect the fabric and material of the structure 4. To minimize the risk to the surrounding area. In order to deal with the fire disasters and threats, fire systems are used in order to deal with them. System Zoning It is essential and necessary to know and recognize the fire source. For this purpose, the BS5839 Part 1 recommends that the building should be segmented in to different zones. It is essential that each of the divided zones is able to have access to the main routes. Each and every floor needs to be treated independently until and unless its area is less than three hundred square meters. Control Panels In order to install control panels, it is essential to determine its type depending on the size of the building. It also depends on automatic protection offered. In accordance to the number of the zone, the panel will be selected. It is essential that the main control panel is located at an area, where there is minimum risk of fire. At the same time, it is necessary that the area is sufficiently provided with lights as emergency lighting would come in handy. It is also important to ensure that the plan of building with each marked zone is placed with the control panel (BS 5839-1, 2002). Detectors Smoke detectors are considered to be popular choice. Optical smoke detectors are considered to be ideal to detect slow burning flames, which are created by materials such as foam, plastic, etc. Optical detectors deal with the smoke particles and also assist in avoiding false alarms. Ionization detectors are used in order to detect smoke particles, which are caused by inflammable materials. They are helpful in locating the source of fire. Heat detectors are also used and they offer sufficient safety and protection in zones, where smoke detectors are not workable. It is important to place smoke and heat detectors at the top in enclosed space (BS 5839-1, 2002). Manual Call Point In order to raise an alarm in an event of fire, there should be a manual call point, which is placed at different exit routes. It is essential that all call points inside “should be of the same type and operation”. Sounders Alarm sounders are installed in the building structures in order to give warning alerts to the occupants. They may be in the form of bells or electronic sounders. All the warning sounds in the same system have similar sounds. Smoke and Heat Detectors The British Standard suggests that smoke alarms must meet the requirements of BS5839 Part 1. As compared to smoke detectors, heat detectors are very slow. They do not have ability to respond to the fire. In contrast, smoke detectors have the capability to detect fire at much faster rate. Heat detectors should only be used as means of additional protection in rooms such as kitchen in order to avert false alarms. It should be noted that the BS5839 Part 6 suggests that heat detectors should be installed in places, where there is movement. This has been suggested because these spaces are used as escapes roots. Therefore, smoke detectors should be used here. Smoke alarms can only be used in flats, houses. For large buildings, it is essential to design the fire alarm system, which meet the requirements of BS 5839 Part 1 (BS 5839-1, 2002). For new structures, smoke alarms, which operated from battery, should not be used. Optical smoke alarms offer wider functionality and it is effective in warning the fire. Ionization chamber is considered to be equally effective. However, research suggests that optical smoke alarm functions better as compared to the ionization chamber. In order to avoid false alarms, it is essential that the area, where false arms may be created, optical smoke alarms should be used. In other type of areas, the type of smoke alarm depends on the type of area. Generally, smoke detectors are installed in confined and restricted space of the structure. Analysis of Fire System of One Canada Square From analyzing and evaluating the fire system available at One Canada Square, it follows the British Standard requirements. Each of the floors is treated separately.The air conditioning is functional so that it can remove the smoke(BS 5266, 2008). The smoke is then carried to the emergency exits. One the floor at which the fire takes place, the fire alarm starts.After its activation, it sends digital signage all through the structure in order to warn each and every floor. After that, instructions are sent each and every floor of the structure. On some floors, employees are instructed to evacuate the floor. For this purpose, the exit sign flashes. The necessary and essential doors are wide opened by the access control system. Fire dampers are also activated. The responsibility of the ventilation system is to clear the smoke created by the fire from the offices. Instructions are also given to security guards. Their duty is to ensure that they help in the evacuation of the floors. In order to deal with problems, the cameras installed are activated. They have advanced and sophisticated software to detect the problems easily and conveniently (BS 5266, 2008). After fifteen minutes, memo is sent by the access control system to the security director. This memo is sent in order to know how many people have left the building and how many remain. The fire chief gets the list from the security director. It is the duty of the fire chief to save people, who were unable to evacuate the floor and to deal with the fire. Bibliography R.S. Davie, "Canary Wharf: Construction Working Practices", The Structural Engineer Archive website, The Institution of Structural Engineers, 2009. BS 5839-1 2002 Fire Detection & Alarm Systems BS 5266-10:2008 Guide to the design and provision of emergency lighting to reduce the risks from hazards in the event of failure of the normal lighting supply Read More