Leading contactor, GRAHAM, has invested in enhanced fire awareness training for more than 100 of its employees in partnership with Nullifire, a fire stopping solutions and intumescent coatings manufacturer, part of parent brand CPG UK Ltd. Designed and managed by Area Sales Manager for Fire Protection at CPG UK, Colin
The Building Safety Act 2022 established the new Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Ron Alalouff speaks with Mark Wilson, the Lead for Planning Gateway One, and Colin Blatchford-Brown, Gateways and Building Control Lead, on the prospects for the new regime. The new Building Safety Regulator’s
World leaders in life safety, Hochiki Europe, have today announced the launch of their next generation of emergency lighting, FIREscape Nepto. This intelligent, self-testing and self-monitoring emergency lighting system is set to revolutionise the emergency lighting market. Building upon the success of the FIREscape range launched in 2009, this new
A new management team has been unveiled for RECOM Solutions’ passive fire protection division, the fastest-growing arm of the group. Revenues for the division are on track to exceed £4.5m in the 12 months to April, up from £2.6m, following a raft of contract wins which has seen it expand
Chubb, the UK’s leading fire safety and security solutions provider, has launched a new video showcasing the exceptional service customers can expect to receive from its Blackburn Customer Experience Centre. The video marks a momentous occasion as Chubb has just recorded industry-breaking contact centre response rates. Last year, Chubb’s Customer
Global life safety company, Hochiki Europe has today announced the purchase of multi-million-pound facility in Chatham, Kent. Following sustained demand for the company’s leading fire detection equipment and systems, the new facility represents an investment of £5.5 million by the group. Residing on a site of 1.92 acres, the new
Today, PlanRadar, a leading digital construction, real estate and facilities management platform, announces that it has been adopted by leading fire safety and passive fire protection measures consultancy, Global HSE Solutions. PlanRadar’s powerful software will support the company’s Global Technical Services (GTS) division, which provides fire engineering advice and expertise
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 are made under article 24(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (“the Fire Safety Order”), and came into force on the 23 January 2023. The regulations make it a legal requirement for responsible persons of a high-rise residential building to advise and
M&Y Maintenance and Construction have completed an extensive Fire Safety Project on two five storey apartment blocks on Cheapside in Liverpool City Centre. M&Y were appointed by Redwing in October 2021, to complete works to improve the fire safety of the buildings, including works to the façade, roof, courtyard decking
Considerations for facility owners and operators… While it may seem counterintuitive that fire is even a risk in spaces designed to maintain cold temperatures, cold storage in fact presents a huge fire hazard for warehouse designers and builders, life safety installation companies and facility owners. In this article we cover
Leading contactor, GRAHAM, has invested in enhanced fire awareness training for more than 100 of its employees in partnership with Nullifire, a fire stopping solutions and intumescent coatings manufacturer, part of parent brand CPG UK Ltd. Designed and managed by Area Sales Manager for Fire Protection at CPG UK, Colin Green, the in-depth training has been developed specifically for GRAHAM to upskill its team with fire prevention and protection information to use in day-to-day activity. Team members from all levels of the business, including directors, quantity surveyors, site managers and planners, have now completed the training which was facilitated both in an office and on-site environment for maximum value. Participants have been actively involved in sessions to help develop an understanding of each other’s priorities and experiences, improving everyone’s awareness of fire risks across different disciplines and on-site environments. Andrzej Suwik, who leads the Quality team at GRAHAM Building North division, said: “The devastating impact of fire has been brought to a head over the last five years following the tragic incident at Grenfell Tower and subsequent legislation changes. “We want to ensure that our employees are confident in understanding the preventative measures that can be put in place across the business at all levels to mitigate any serious issues caused by fire. GRAHAM has significantly invested in the roll-out of Nullifire training which was developed specifically for our team, and we are proud to be one of the first contractors to deliver such high-level support.” Colin Green, Area Sales Manager for Fire Protection at CPG UK, said: “Working with the GRAHAM team has been a valuable experience, both to help improve its team’s knowledge but also for me to learn more about specific risks within the construction sector. Nullifire developed a bespoke package that ensured we provided practical advice that was relatable to real-life situations. “Our training is centred around raising awareness and encouraging businesses to think of fire stopping earlier subsequently allowing better solutions, improving time and money efficiency, and saving lives.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Building Safety Act 2022 established the new Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Ron Alalouff speaks with Mark Wilson, the Lead for Planning Gateway One, and Colin Blatchford-Brown, Gateways and Building Control Lead, on the prospects for the new regime. The new Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) remit is a threefold one: to deliver the new regulatory regime for high-rise residential buildings, to promote competence across the built environment, and oversight of the entire built environment. Planning Gateway One is part of the BSR and is a new statutory consultee on fire safety matters for planning applications that include high-rise residential buildings. It began operation in August 2021, and from October 2023, the BSR will effectively be the building control authority for high-rise residential buildings in England, so will oversee the design and construction of these buildings, as well as managing the safe occupation of existing buildings. The BSR will give advice to local regulators, landlords and building owners, the building design and construction industry, and to residents. It aims to be evidence-led and enforce its powers proportionately and on the principle that it is the responsibility of those who create risk to manage and control it. The new building safety regime will come into effect in stages. The registration of high-rise residential buildings will start in April 2023, and the new safety management requirements will apply from October 2023. That month will also see the introduction of the more rigorous building control rules for new high-rise buildings and building work carried out on existing buildings. There will be a duty to register high-rise residential buildings between April and September 2023, with all other duties starting from October 2023. The BSR then intends to assess the estimated 13,500 existing buildings in scope over a five-year period from April 2024, with rolling reassessments. From this autumn, it will be publishing various pieces of guidance around the new regime, including the requirements around registering high-rise residential buildings. How will the BSR act to improve the design safety of buildings? Mark Wilson: Planning Gateway One is part of the Building Safety Regulator, but was established under legislation separate to the Building Safety Act. It was launched in August 2021 to enable the BSR to comment on planning applications for developments of high-rise residential buildings (those over 18m or seven storeys high and that have two or more residential units). The planning stage includes consideration of the whole development, so the area around a building and access to it are also included. As a statutory consultee in the planning process, we provide information and advice to local planning authorities. While local authorities are free to take or leave any advice we give, they are generally reluctant to grant planning permission with outstanding HSE concerns about fire safety. What was the situation prior to the implementation of Planning Gateway One? MW: As a former local authority town planner, I know that fire safety was not a consideration at the planning stage. As planning officers don’t generally have the fire safety expertise, the previous situation meant that it was difficult to get traction on fire safety matters later on in the process, once the design had gained planning permission. Since joining the BSR, I have been taken aback about how much fire safety has an impact on the design, layout, and appearance of a building – it can’t just be added on later as a veneer of fire safety. What aspects of fire safety are considered at Planning Gateway One? MW: It’s the big-ticket items such as the number of firefighting stairs and how they interact with the layout of a building. It’s often the case that there is just a single firefighting stair, so that needs a high level of protection, as it’s the only means of escape and access for firefighters. One of the big achievements of Planning Gateway One has been to cast a spotlight on single stairs and how well protected they may be. What will be the role of Gateways Two and Three? Colin Blatchford-Brown: The new Gateway Two takes place before building work starts, and involves detailed compliance with building regulations, with approval coming from the BSR acting as the building control authority. Gateway Two is a stop/go stage and building work cannot start before it is completed. This contrasts with the current situation where there is a requirement to submit an application at this stage, but no requirement to obtain approval before work starts. Gateway Three will require submission of sufficient evidence that you have complied with the building regulations and have built what you said you were going to build. At this point, you will receive a completion certificate which will allow you to register your building. Building registration must be completed with the BSR before people can move into it. Currently, there is no method of preventing occupation of a building before approval is obtained. What has been your experience of the quality of fire safety provisions in planning applications under Gateway One? MW: Over half our responses to applications have raised concerns or significant concerns about fire safety provision at the planning stage. Often, applicants respond to our concerns by preparing a detailed defence of their scheme, rather than addressing our concerns in design terms. However, if after, say, three responses there have not been any substantive amendments to address our concerns, we would suggest to the Local Planning Authority that they refuse the application. Usually, the prospect of potential refusal is enough to produce design changes. What incentive is there for developers to consider fire safety at the planning stage? MW: The spotlight on fire safety is perhaps more on Planning Gateway One than it is later, when building regulations are considered. There’s an incentive for developers to sort out fire safety issues at the outset, as the open process of planning applications means that HSE’s comments are published on the planning register of the local authority. Therefore, there is potential
World leaders in life safety, Hochiki Europe, have today announced the launch of their next generation of emergency lighting, FIREscape Nepto. This intelligent, self-testing and self-monitoring emergency lighting system is set to revolutionise the emergency lighting market. Building upon the success of the FIREscape range launched in 2009, this new design brings with it a suite of new features and benefits driven by technology improvements and innovations in the R&D process. FIREscape Nepto is BS 5266 compliant and, like its predecessor, is based around an addressable, emergency lighting control panel with addressable, self-contained LED-based luminaires and exit signs running on an extra-low operating voltage. And to ensure project continuity, the new system is backwards compatible with the existing panels and devices within the older FIREscape range. FIREscape Nepto can continually self-test and monitor itself, making installation and maintenance of the new system quick, easy and less costly compared to centralised battery or mains-powered systems. Another exciting new development for this release is a range of aesthetic enhancements and new recessed luminaire designs which negate the need for a recessing adaptor. These new recessed variants are available with both a standard and a high-power output. Customers and end users will now benefit from reduced project install and ongoing maintenance costs as improvements have been made to the photometry, increasing the maximum spacing between luminaires, reducing the amount required in any one space. And battery life has increased from four to ten years (dependent on system usage), reducing ongoing maintenance costs. Scalability is a key feature of the FIREscape Nepto system. The range has been designed and configured so that control panels can be networked to protect large, multi-site complexes all from a central point of control. And for smaller projects, the new control panels are supplied with one 127 address line as standard, with the potential to achieve 254 addresses when upgraded to two lines, helping to make smaller systems more cost effective. Further to this, up to twelve panels can be directly networked together and operated from a single point, negating the need for a graphics package if it isn’t required. The team behind the new design are also working on a cloud-based subscription service which is set to be released later this year. This service will enable remote access via internet enabled devices, providing system notifications and the ability to monitor and interrogate multiple client sites from anywhere in the world. Speaking about the launch of FIREscape Nepto Robert Head, Commercial Project Manager for Hochiki Europe said “The release of this new product from Hochiki is very exciting and builds on the success of our existing FIREscape range. I am particularly excited for the cloud-based service that is coming later this year. Our customers are going to benefit from a cost effective, fully compliant and cutting-edge emergency lighting technology that is second to none.” The Hochiki Europe team will be hosting a webinar to run through the new features and benefits on Thursday 23rd March as well as attending the Fire Safety Event at the NEC 25th – 27th April where they will be demonstrating the new FIREscape Nepto system. Visit them on stand 3a/D55 to see for yourself this next generation of emergency lighting. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A new management team has been unveiled for RECOM Solutions’ passive fire protection division, the fastest-growing arm of the group. Revenues for the division are on track to exceed £4.5m in the 12 months to April, up from £2.6m, following a raft of contract wins which has seen it expand into a nationwide operation. RECOM Passive Fire Protection has doubled the size of its team of directly-employed installers to 40 over the past 12 months. The team undertakes projects at locations including NHS Trusts and hospitals, schools and universities, government offices, social housing schemes, apartment blocks and office buildings. In line with its expansion, RECOM Passive Fire Protection has a new-look management team after a series of promotions and appointments. Sarah Leadbetter has been promoted to the newly-created role of head of the division, which will see her lead on the delivery of its commercial targets, focus on client retention and expansion, and support RECOM’s directors with their growth plans for the group. Jay Newby has been promoted from contracts manager to the new role of operations manager for RECOM Passive Fire Protection. His new position sees him working closely with contracts managers and leading on all site operations and project delivery. Gvidas Teresas has been promoted from supervisor to contracts manager and he will support Jay on service delivery. Richard Green has joined RECOM Passive Fire Protection as a contracts manager from Bell Group. He brings expertise in fire doors, with more than 10 years’ experience in this specialist field. Due to the division’s geographical expansion, Keron Jackson has been recruited as a contracts manager for the Midlands and is based in Birmingham. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to bolster RECOM’s national coverage. RECOM, which has its headquarters on the Waters Edge Business Park in Salford Quays,is an approved contractor under the UK’s Fire Accreditation Scheme (FIRAS) for its fire protection services, which include passive fire protection installation, fire door surveys and installations, repairs and upgrades, fire strategy reviews, compartmentation surveying, advice and guidance, training, development and support. The company, which was founded in 2015 by directors Jason McKnight and Joseph Dillon, also undertakes construction project management and main contracting work across sectors including healthcare, education, retail and leisure, commercial and residential. It also provides consultancy services to assist in the design and delivery of health and safety, sustainability and cladding projects. Jason said: “The creation of a dedicated management team for RECOM Passive Fire Protection, together with our new arrivals, provides an excellent platform for further strong growth for the division. “The market is growing rapidly amid greater awareness of the need for risk assessments, remediation work, building upgrades and ongoing maintenance in the new-build sector as well as at existing sites. “Only recently, new fire safety regulations have come into force as the government seeks to improve fire safety in high-rise apartment blocks by implementing recommendations made by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. This once again demonstrates how seriously the issue of fire safety and protection needs to be taken throughout the property and construction sectors. “We have a highly-skilled and committed team and I am proud of their achievements to date. Our investment in new staff working alongside the new management team will give us the ability to take the division to the next level. “We are continuing to expand the team by recruiting additional supervisors and contracts managers to reflect the growth we are seeing across the UK. At the same time, we are placing a lot of emphasis on nurturing talent from within, and five RECOM trainees have recently gained diplomas to qualify as passive fire installers.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Chubb, the UK’s leading fire safety and security solutions provider, has launched a new video showcasing the exceptional service customers can expect to receive from its Blackburn Customer Experience Centre. The video marks a momentous occasion as Chubb has just recorded industry-breaking contact centre response rates. Last year, Chubb’s Customer Experience Centre answered 335,221 calls, an average of 94% of calls in 20 seconds. This smashes the call centre industry standard, typically set at 80% of calls answered in 20 seconds. This achievement echoes the findings of the recent Call Centre Helper survey1, which found that the importance of response time has more than doubled from 11.3% in 2021 to 22% in 2022, suggesting that customers are now looking for even greater speed when dealing with contact centres. In Chubb’s new video, Director of Business Support, Sue Dean takes us on a journey through its Customer Experience Centre, introducing the teams supporting customers and the company’s branch network. Chubb’s contact centre operates 24/7, 365 days a year, taking emergency calls, booking routine service visits and scheduling and dispatching work to its field-based engineers. Within Chubb’s business support teams, the company onboards all new customers and processes orders, which are then passed onto the branch network to deliver locally. Depending on the size and complexity of the customer requirements, Chubb has dedicated account management teams that tailor services and solutions to meet their specific needs. Sue said: “I’ve been with Chubb for 25 years, and I’m proud to lead an amazing team passionate about delivering great customer service. Our commitment to our customers is to offer a fast and effective resolution to every call that comes into our contact centre. We are proud that over 90% of our customer calls are answered within 20 seconds, which is a true testament to our dedicated teams and customer-centric ethos.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Global life safety company, Hochiki Europe has today announced the purchase of multi-million-pound facility in Chatham, Kent. Following sustained demand for the company’s leading fire detection equipment and systems, the new facility represents an investment of £5.5 million by the group. Residing on a site of 1.92 acres, the new building is over 24,000 square feet and will be in addition to the European Headquarters and Research and Development Centre in Gillingham, Kent. The building is part of the ongoing strategic expansion of footprint for the European arm of the group and will afford the company space to expand the existing operations in warehousing, production and distribution as well as the sales and administrative teams. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Hochiki’s operations in Europe. Today’s news is an exciting addition to their property portfolio and is seen as a significant investment in the future infrastructure of the company. The new facility will ensure future demand is met and order volume is delivered efficiently and effectively to customers in the UK, across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. Globally Hochiki employ over 2000 employees who work across six manufacturing plants, 38 sales offices and 14 subsidiaries. The new facility will bring with it new employment opportunities to the South-East, adding to the 180 strong staff already employed at the Head Office in Kent. Speaking about the expansion plans Graham Lowe, Managing Director at Hochiki Europe said: “Despite the challenging few years we have faced as a global community, I am proud of the efforts our teams have made to ensure our continued growth and I would like to thank each team member. Over the last six months we have been able to expand our teams to strengthen the expertise we offer our customers and now, with this new building, we can continue to deliver a world class service in fire safety to existing loyal customers and ever-growing pool of new customers” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Today, PlanRadar, a leading digital construction, real estate and facilities management platform, announces that it has been adopted by leading fire safety and passive fire protection measures consultancy, Global HSE Solutions. PlanRadar’s powerful software will support the company’s Global Technical Services (GTS) division, which provides fire engineering advice and expertise to both Tier 1 contractors and Global HSE’s own contracting arm as well as hosting fire door inspection courses through its in-house Global Academy. Particularly, it will assist in the delivery of more efficient, detailed and accessible fire safety information. The service will also help its clients to navigate an ever-changing legislative landscape – including new fire door assessments regulations that came into effect on the 23rd January 2023. It’s a complete approach for delivering surveys and inspection results and will be rolled out across GTS’s entire inspection and surveying team. Commenting on the partnership, PlanRadar Co-CEO, Ibrahim Imam says, “Global HSE and GTS has a well-established reputation for delivering exceptional results in a highly niche, specialised and increasingly important field. Given the stringent requirements around fire safety, there is no margin for error, and a missed record or lack of clarity in inspection reports could have huge ramifications. That’s why we’ve invested in making our tools fit-for-purpose for accurate, compliant and easy to understand data collation fire reporting, specifically for fire professionals. It also ensures that ‘Golden Thread’ principles are being followed throughout, for greater fire safety compliance. “Global HSE’s confidence in our offering is a massive endorsement for PlanRadar’s relevance and efficacy. We look forward to collaborating with them going forward to deliver safe and secure commercial and residential environments.” The efficient secret GTS first became aware of PlanRadar’s digital solutions at FIREX 2022, where they immediately saw the potential for its platform to address an ongoing pain point within the business: The efficient creation and user-friendly presentation of fire surveys and inspection results. Furthermore, they realised the software could also tackle another persistent challenge faced by the business: recruiting enough highly-trained professionals to fill roles required. They saw PlanRadar’s suite of services as a way of streamlining the amount of resource existing staff spent on this important, but time-consuming activity. As Ross O’Loughlin, Head of Global Technical Services at HSE Global explains, “My main concern was how we could speed up our surveys without losing the value within the survey. I wanted to improve the working life of my staff. Reporting, writing, and collating information around a survey has always been a laborious task. If we can consolidate that in any way, it allows us to focus our energy on delivering our expertise.” Large-scale useability The team at GTS were particularly impressed by PlanRadar’s ability to record video and integrate BIM, which could support the division’s compliance requirements around the Building Safety Act and increased expectations for data collection in line with the Golden Thread of Information. Following initial discussion, the platform was tested in a real-world environment to see how the software performed on a project from start to finish. The test was based in a university in Northern England, where the surveying team were carrying out a fire damper inspection survey. With thousands of dampers to inspect, it was a daunting task requiring meticulous record-keeping. The team’s feedback was unanimously positive, with users highlighting how the platform significantly sped up reporting in an easy-to-use way, vindicating the decision to trial it. Better outcomes all-round Following the test, Global HSE and GTS decided to adopt PlanRadar’s platform, with the intention of rolling it out across all its inspection and surveying teams, providing them with an easy way to record and report. A previously arduous task has been made effortless, delivered in real-time as they walk through the building and record voice notes rather than having to stop and make notes on paper, or do lengthy follow-up work in the office. However, the platform’s potential goes further, as O’Loughlin concludes. “With GTS users already being onboarded, we’re exploring how PlanRadar could be used across other parts of the company,” he says. “From a business perspective, uploading as many documents, photos or jpegs at no extra cost is a massive win in comparison to competitors in this space. It’s an incredibly useful tool, and the opportunity we can gain from getting to grips with, and using, all its functions would significantly improve our day-to-day operations. Since introduction, PlanRadar has been brought onto over 20 GTS project, with the intention of using it as the standard reporting tool across the entire portfolio over the course of 2023. To find out more about Global HSE click here. To find out more about PlanRadar click here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 are made under article 24(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (“the Fire Safety Order”), and came into force on the 23 January 2023. The regulations make it a legal requirement for responsible persons of a high-rise residential building to advise and inform Fire and Rescue services to assist them with planning a safe fire evacuation response and procedure. Why is the government introducing the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022? Following the Grenfell Tower Fire in June 2017, the government launched an Independent Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Their initial findings were published in October 2019, with recommendations that included legislative change. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 will introduce the majority of the guidance from the inquiry. What do the new regulations cover? Regulation 3 defines what a “high-rise residential building” is and the importance when defining what is and what is not required. Regulations 4 to 8 enforce the duty of the responsible person (defined in article 3 of the Fire Safety Order) in relation to such high-rise residential buildings: Regulations 9 imposes obligations on the responsible persons to provide fire safety information to residents of the building. This includes but is not limited to instruction on what to do and who to call in cases of fire, and the evacuation strategy for the premises. Regulation 10 covers the requirements for fire doors in all residential buildings with communal areas and two or more sets of domestic premises. This regulation imposes strict and more frequent inspections of fire doors to be undertaken with particular emphasis on the flat front entrance doors. Regulation 11 requires certain information to be supplied to fire and rescue authorities to assist them to plan, and if needed provide an effective operational response. It is a requirement in law for responsible persons of high-rise residential premises to provide the information under all required regulations above. Regulations made under article 24 can impose requirements on responsible persons or others, including building owners/freeholders and building managers/agents, in relation to mitigating the risk to residents for specific premises. How can SOCOTEC support with ensuring compliance with Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022? Our expert team of fire consultants can provide you with the expertise, experience and knowledge to assist you in meeting your legal requirements as set out under these regulations. Want to find out more about SOCOTEC UK’s services? Contact us here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
M&Y Maintenance and Construction have completed an extensive Fire Safety Project on two five storey apartment blocks on Cheapside in Liverpool City Centre. M&Y were appointed by Redwing in October 2021, to complete works to improve the fire safety of the buildings, including works to the façade, roof, courtyard decking and balconies. The original timber cladding on both blocks was removed and replaced with new rendering. Remedial render coatings were also applied to the gable elevations to extend the life of the material. Decking on the courtyard, balconies and roof top garden terrace was removed and replaced with a mix of paving slabs and aluminium decking, further reducing fire risks and improving slip resistance. One roof was completely replaced, improving the thermal efficiency of the building, with new edge protection also installed. Together, these improvements should last for a minimum of 15-20 years with correct maintenance. To complete the project, the steel framed balconies, gable end elevations and an external wall were repainted. Internally, the lobbies of both blocks were also painted to give the building a fresh finish for its residents. Kevin Moses, M&Y Director of Operations said: “We’re so proud of M&Y’s growth into Fire Safety works. With the support of our experienced staff, we’ve been able to ensure the works at Cable Yard have been completed to the highest standards, leading to safe homes now and into the future. With another fire safety project already underway, we’re excited to continue to develop this workstream and offer fire risk assessment and follow up work to housing associations and local authorities across the North West.” Alex Andani, Executive Director of Property Asset Management at The Regenda Group said: “We’re pleased to have completed improvements to Cable Yard, leading to higher standards of fire safety throughout. We’d like to thank all of the residents for their patience and support while these works were carried out. We’re especially pleased with the work delivered by M&Y which is to an excellent standard.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Considerations for facility owners and operators… While it may seem counterintuitive that fire is even a risk in spaces designed to maintain cold temperatures, cold storage in fact presents a huge fire hazard for warehouse designers and builders, life safety installation companies and facility owners. In this article we cover the risks, considerations and best detection products when thinking about life safety for cold storage warehouses. In the last year, the UK’s cold storage industry capacity has topped 40 million cubic meters, for the football fans amongst you that is the equivalent to the bowl volume of 35 Wembley Stadiums. This is being driven by consumer demand and big business for perishable goods and pharmaceutics, making cold storage an essential cog in the UK economy. From a feasibility point of view however, cold storage is substantially more complicated and more expensive than dry storage because of the regulations around refrigerated freight. Plus, the very nature of the materials used in cold storage, means it presents a higher risk factor when it comes to fire. So as the demand for refrigerated products grows, so does the need for better fire safety. Why no two cold storage units are the same Cold storage areas vary in size, usage, and ambient temperature, meaning that any fire detection equipment or system must be specifically designed to each warehouse. You may be surprised at some of the products that may need cold storage. There are the obvious ones like perishable food (vegetables, fruits, meat and seafood, dairy products), but what about flowers and plants, biopharmaceutical products and did you know, even some artwork needs to be kept at low temperatures. Understanding the unique circumstances of the product is essential for cold storage fire safety. A bespoke fire risk assessment will determine the life safety system needed to maintain optimum fire security 24/7, protecting the goods, equipment and most importantly staff operating within the building, but this can be a complicated task to map out and assess for the responsible person. So, where to start? What are the fire risks in cold storage warehousing? Besides arson attacks and carelessness from people on site (think discarded cigarette butts), fire risks within cold storage mostly arise from electrical or mechanical faults in the conveyor systems which transport the goods around the building, wiring that is housed in the roof or faulty lighting systems. The fuels which power the evaporative condensers used to sustain the low temperatures in cold storage warehouses is highly flammable so must be stored safely, and the machines themselves can also be a major contributor to fire risk. These machines remove air moisture to extremely low levels of humidity to keep the warehouse cool, which can create an increased risk of static electricity and in the case of a fire could accelerate the spread of flames. Cold storage fires have the potential to be devasting, posing a threat to life, destroying business operations and be detrimental to the supply chain. Even small fires can cause huge damage to a refrigeration business – a rise in temperature due to cooling plant down-time following a fire, can lead to stock being damaged. The strict laws around downtime requirements make it even more important to choose the right method of fire protection. There are also considerations to be made around smoke damage, as any stock exposed to low levels of smoke over an extended period can quickly become contaminated and therefore not fit for human consumption. Of course, the issues are further compounded by the fact that modern technology now means that an increased number of warehouses are automated almost 24 hours a day, meaning very few or no personnel are on site. This makes visual identification of a fire incident unlikely, so the safety of the building is completely dependent on automatic fire detection systems – making it imperative that the system in place is up to date and well maintained. What can be done to prevent a cold storage warehouse fire? Dangerous scenarios are preventable when fire safety experts have been consulted, the correct life safety equipment is installed, the electrics and mechanical devices in use within the building are well serviced and the correct health and safety regulations are followed. Essential action when you consider preventable fires in the UK warehouse industry costs our economy upwards of £230 billion each year. A risk assessment, when carried out properly and thoroughly according to law (The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005), is the first place to start. It is also advisable to get an independent audit by a consultant or insurer as this will help ensure any fire strategy for your cold storage facility is robust. Many modern warehouses now include firewalls which are a cost-effective solution to manage the risk of fire. Smart warehouse managers should also consider the safe storage of waste and other flammable materials to stop the spread of fire if it were to break out. Keeping these materials in a designated safe storage area will reduce the risk of them causing a fire. The best way to save lives of course, is to ensure automatic fire detection is in place, across your entire cold storage facility. With special attention paid to vulnerable areas. Fire specialists can advise on multiple fire detection solutions that are ideal for warehouses, but it is important to ensure that the right one for your scenario is installed. Why air sampling fire detection is a good option for cold storage warehouses There are multiple fire detection systems that can be used to protect warehouse storage, but when it comes to cold storage, you need to plan and design appropriately. Beam detectors which are commonly used in large warehouses can frost over in a cold storage situation, there are options in the market now which include heated optical elements to negate this however they might not be a device to solely rely on. Point detectors would also frost over and wouldn’t necessarily provide the appropriate cover. Flame
