Article by: Wilf Butcher, CEO, Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP)
On 22nd September 2008 the London Evening Standard ran a feature covering a two-year battle by residents of a luxury block of apartments in Rotherhithe, over a number of workmanship issues. The ensuing investigation, relating to water damage and toxic mould growth, uncovered the ‘shocking discovery’ that:
- There was little or no fire compartmentation between floors or apartments and inadequate fire resistance to the structural steel frame.
- Shafts rising from the basement car park through all six floors were able to vent smoke unchecked on all floors and in places no fire dampers were incorporated in the basement air ducting system.
Put simply and without wishing to over dramatise the matter, the lives of all the residents of this apartment complex were being put at risk.
The article concluded that many homes have build problems, but perhaps this is something special.
The ASFP contracting member undertaking the remedial programme on this complex, would argue that this is far from a special case and if anything this project is merely the tip of the iceberg. In fact, they are currently undertaking the same essential remedial work at another block of apartments in Chiswick, London.
Far from being an isolated incident other ASFP contracting members, regularly identify buildings with poorly installed compartmentation and fire protection measures, as misapplied by non third-party certificated companies.
Over the last ten years there has been an upsurge of apartment block construction all over the country and earlier this year, such apartments were being snapped up ‘off plan’ faster that they could be built.
In this drive to meet demand, who has been responsible for ensuring the fire protection needs of a building are met? Or, when put another way, when things go badly wrong, as in this case, who is to blame when they are not met?
As with most things in life the answer is never that simple. None the less this, issue must be addressed if we are to avoid the inevitable fatal consequences. To do this we must ask some very difficult questions, for example:
- Is the whole inspection process fit for purpose? Clearly in the case outlined above this would seem not to be the case.
- What is the level of specifier awareness / responsibility in relation to what is happening on a day to day basis with his / her original specification?
- To what degree is the contractor’s drive for cost savings greater than his willingness to understand the dangers of his cost cutting actions (particularly in the current financial climate)?
- Dare I say it; is the fire industry itself getting its educational message across as well as it may?
- How effective is the legislative process, or is it assumed by government that the advent of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and guidance given in Approved Document B is sufficient. (Remember the RRO does not cover apartment blocks)?
- Is the growing freedom given to fire engineered solutions (particularly with an eye on new carbon friendly modular construction) as safe as the theory would lead us to believe?
- Does the fire service have all the powers that it needs?
- Are the benefits of third-party certification of specialist installers fully recognised and respected (remember, it is not a mandatory requirement)?
- How aware is the insurance industry of the non-compliance and the insured risk?
Many of these issues are complex and I regret to state, some are seen from the perspective of a ‘head in the sand’ but the fact remains that they need to be addressed.
Twenty five years ago, if you had asked the man in the street where on his list of priorities he would place safety features when selecting a new car, chances are it would not have been very high. Today, it’s right there at the top of his list and he demands it.
In many respects buying an apartment today is not so different to buying a car all those years ago (except the cost is hundreds of times greater)! The last thing on the mind of the buyer when viewing his dream apartment is the level and quality of the passive fire protection, built in to protect him from his neighbours.
In most instances he will not even know it is there. This is one occasion, however, where ‘out of sight’ should never be termed as ‘out of mind’. Fire safety within the structure of this type of construction must be pushed up the agenda because this is not a theoretical debate. In the last few months alone there have been a number of significant fires in apartment complexes. Sixteen homes, for example, were destroyed in June following a twelve hour blaze in a block of flats in Hounslow, London.
This issue will not go away and I for one do not want to look back at some point in the future to regret that this matter was not addressed. In my opinion the time has come for all of the above groups to come together to debate this issue and respond appropriately.
So, please accept this article as a throwing down of the gauntlet for action! I look forward to hearing from you.
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