There is probably no other example where the design of a building, and the nature of its occupants impacts more on design for fire safety than in a hospital. Patients may be very old, very young or frail. They may have limited mobility or mental acuity or a combination of these handicaps. They may be in intensive or postoperative care or under the influence of medication. Fire safety design and planning must take account of the limitations of the buildings typical occupants and the likely constraints on their ability to leave a building safely in an emergency.
Compartmentation
Because patients are usually unable to move quickly or negotiate stairs, compartmentation is a fundamental element of fire safety strategy for hospitals. Compartmentation prevents the spread of fire and smoke by the use of barriers, and this allows the use of progressive horizontal evacuation (PHE). The principle of PHE is that patients are moved from an area affected by fire through a fire-resisting barrier, to an adjoining area on the same level that is designed to protect them from the immediate dangers of fire and smoke (a refuge). The patients may remain there until the fire is dealt with, or await further evacuation to another similar adjoining area or down the nearest stairway.
To provide and maintain a building where the principle of PHE can be used, effective compartmentation is required to divide a storey into places of temporary safety. In multi-storey hospitals, this requires compartment walls and floors to have a minimum period of fire resistance between 60 and 120 minutes and be constructed of materials of limited combustibility.
Obviously, for compartment walls to be able to perform as required, it is crucial that their integrity is ensured and maintained. Any openings within fire compartment walls must be protected to provide at least the same period of fire resistance as the compartment wall, and should be limited to elements such as:
- Appropriately rated fire-resisting door sets.
- Service pipes, cable trays, etc. with appropriate proprietary fire-stopping seals.
- Ventilation ducts with appropriate fire resisting dampers, etc.
From our significant experience of working within healthcare premises, we know that the integrity of fire compartment walls is often far from ensured or maintained. Frequently, from an initial inspection, the internal walls of a hospital appear to be designed and constructed to impede the rapid spread of fire. However, a look at the areas above the false ceiling usually reveals a different story.
Problems
The problems we frequently encounter include excessively large holes created to allow services to pass through walls, the use of inappropriate materials for fire-stopping purposes, incorrectly installed ductwork fire dampers, missing sections of wall between false ceilings and the structural soffit, and poorly maintained fire resisting door sets. All these issues diminish the effectiveness of the structure to resist the passage of fire and smoke, and jeopardise the safe use of PHE.
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The problems broadly fall into four groups:
- Removal of substrate to allow passage of services, leaving excessive penetrations.
- Fire-stopping attempted, but incorrectly installed.
- No thought given to fire compartmentation at time of construction.
- Wear and tear rendering fire compartmentation provision ineffective.
Risk management
So, how do we start to tackle this problem and ultimately reduce the risks from fire within hospitals? At Rolton Fire, we understand the wide variety of pressures facing the managers of healthcare facilities. This is why we have been able to assist many organisations to address their fire compartmentation problems, and help them to meet their mandatory and statutory duties with respect to fire safety preparedness.
The first step in moving towards effective fire risk management is to understand the nature of the problem and the extent of the remedial work that needs to be undertaken/ This takes the form of a fire compartmentation survey.
The chief executive of a healthcare organisation would see very little value or benefit in a survey report that merely listed a series of issues that needed to be remedied. He or she needs a route map to put things right. That is why we see little value in the 'fault finding' approach offered by some consultants. In our experience, most surveys simply produce lists of problems and leave the nature of the work to be done and its importance in terms of risk management to the client.
The key to adding value in fire safetylies in putting oneself in the clients' shoes. Knowing where areas of concern exist is not the same as knowing what to do about them and when best to do it. Our approach to fire compartmentation surveys is detailed, comprehensive and informed. Our reports detail, on a point-by-point basis, each individual area for attention. Each area of concern is referenced and digitally photographed. The report gives a detailed specification of the work that needs to be done to rectify the fault, the faultfs nature and location (cross-referenced to a plan), the materials involved and, if required, an estimated costing.
We believe that all healthcare organisations that rely on the principle of PHE should think about the integrity of their fire compartmentation and the best way to maintain that integrity. It is a life safety issue that cannot be ignored.
Reference
1 UK Department of Health (NHS Estates), Firecode Health Technical Memorandum 81 . Fire precautions in new hospitals, The Stationary Office, London, 1997, p10.
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