ME5509

Fire in Buildings 1
General Principles
Rafay Hasan
Feb 2016

Windsor Castle, Windsor, 1992

Windsor Castle, Windsor, 1992

Windsor Castle, Windsor, 1992

Enormous damage to
building
no one seriously hurt
though 5 firemen needed
hospital treatment

Cause:
A spotlight too close to a
curtain

Woolworth Store, Manchester, 1979

Cause:

Faulty electrical
cable adjacent
highly flammable
foam furniture

10 people died, 47 hospitalised, 6 fireman injured

90% of 2nd floor seriously damaged by fire
Floors above severely damaged by smoke

Fires Statistics (GB, 2012)

44,000 fires in dwellings*

24,000 fires in non-domestic buildings*
380 deaths and 11,000 injuries
93% of deaths in dwellings
Most deaths due to smoke inhalation
Number deaths falling year on year since 1980

* Attended by fire service

Economics (England, 2008)

3.2B

Cost of installing fire safety systems,

training and fire insurance

1.8B

Fire and Rescue Service

3.3B

Damage to property, contents and

lost business

Total
combustion

Partial
combustion
Vapour
Liquid

Solid

CONVECTION

RADIATION

Hot combustion
gases/smoke

Cold ambient air

induced
Combustion zone

Organic vapours

solid material
charred material

Pyrolysis

Ignition
source

Oxygen

Fuel

Fire outdoors heat escapes to atmosphere

Ventilation controlled fire

Hot smoke
High surface
temperature
Radiation

Fire in a room heat has nowhere to go

Hot smoke

Cold ventilation
air

Vented fires burn cooler

Flash Over
Room temperature reaches about 600oC
most combustible materials in room are now pyrolysing
giving off flammable gases
Fire now very rapidly escalates as flammable gases ignite
temperature soon reaches 1200oC
1200
decay
Temp 0C
600

Flashover

Time

http://www.nist.gov/fire/upload/NS_
multi.wmv

Smoke Kills!
Steam
Carbon Monoxide
Hydrogen Cyanide
Sulphuric Acid
Tar
Air
Un-burnt fuel vapour

And its often very hot!

Back-draught
When smoke in a ventilation controlled fire suddenly
receives more air for example
a window/wall/roof fails
someone opens a door

Hot, un-burnt
fuel vapour

Sudden inrush of air

Back-draught explosion

Compartmentation

Where walls, ceiling, floor and doors fire rated

http://www.info4fire.com/newscontent/full/cornwall-hotel-destroyedin-huge-fire-video

Fire
Relatively slow
oxidation
Paper
Wood
Plastics

Requires pyrolysis

Explosion
Very fast oxidation

Coal dust
Flour
Methane
LPG
Hydrogen

Requires premixing with

air (explosive limits)

Principles of Fire Engineering:

REDUCE THE RISK

Limit combustible material

No ignition sources

CONTAIN

Fire rated compartments

DETECT

Automatic detection systems and alarms

SAFE EVACUATION

Protected emergency exit routes

Emergency lighting and signage
Smoke clearance systems
Provision for disabled occupants

MANUAL EXTINGUISH

Hand-held extinguishers

AUTO EXTINGUISH

Sprinklers, gas extinguishing

FACILITIES for FIRE BRIGADE

Dry and Wet Risers

Firemans Lift
Control of Ventilation

MANAGEMENT

Responsible person
Risk assessments and reviews
Training of staff

Key UK Regulations and Codes

Construction (Design and
Management) Regulations
(CDM)

BS 9999:2008
Code of Practice for the Design, Management and
Use of Buildings

Part B Building Regulations

BS 7974 (series)
Fire Safety Engineering in Buildings

Fire Safety Order

The Dangerous Substances
and Explosive Atmospheres
Regulations
Gas Safety Regulations

BS EN 12845:2009
Design and Installation of Sprinklers in nondomestic properties
BS EN 15423:2008
Fire Protection for Air Distribution Systems in
Buildings
BS EN 12101 (series)
Smoke & heat control systems
BS 5908:2012
Fire and Explosion Precautions at premises handling
flammable gases, liquids and dusts