Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(and how to combat all three)
Wilf Butcher
CEO
Association for Specialist Fire Protection
Pioneering fire protection through innovation and
professionalism
Presentation Format
• What is the Association for Specialist Fire
Protection?
• Is the system working?
• The role of Building Control
• The Fire Service Perspective
The ASFP ‐ A brief background history
A broad spectrum of the PFP industry which includes:
– Product manufacturers
– Product installers
– Product testing authorities
– Assessment consultants and
– Other affiliated bodies
ASFP’s support services
What are they designed to achieve?
Industry guidance
Extensive information, free to download on the ASFP
Website
The ASFP’s new
website offers
comprehensive
technical support
to both members
and industry at
large.
www.asfp.prg.uk
ASFP’s support services
What are they designed to achieve?
In the last three
and a half years
the number of
document
downloads has
grown to 44,500
Is the system working?
2000 years ago life was simple
• Approved Documents
• Building Regulations such as 7 & 16B
• CDM Regulations
• BS 9999
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• The Construction Products Regulation
• Etc, etc.....................
So just how important are passive fire
protection measures in today’s building design!
Other than fire fighters, few of us have had to face the reality of
fire, explosion or smoke spread!
So can you blame them for not seeing the need!
In reality of course the need is essential
The consequences of fire go beyond life safety
The need to understand the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005,
effective since October, 2006 is essential
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Under the RRFSO, Fire Certificates for buildings are no longer issued
and the ‘Responsible Person’ is now personally accountable for fire
safety
But how well does the Responsible Person
understand the onus of responsibility placed
on him or her?
Fire Protection Measures
• Wood Burns
• Structural steel does not collapse
in a fire
• Concrete is fireproof
• Holes are a general maintenance
issue
• There is always time!
On the surface, yes
But what is to be found when you dig beneath
the surface!
So is it all Working!
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) latest figures on fire
losses in the UK show fire damage up by some 16% to £1.3
Billion ‐ a record high!
So should we not at least raise the question of, why?
So is it all Working!
At the turn of last decade the ASFP completed a detailed
three‐year ‘Partners in Innovation’ project, partly funded by
the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the
Department of Trade & Industry, where independent
research on fire safety provisions in a wide variety of
nominated types of buildings was collected.
So is it all Working!
Or worse no fire protection measures at all!
So is it all Working!
And in many cases measures are assumed to be in place!
So is it all Working!
Even when all looks correct......
........Is it?
So is it all Working!
Much has been made in recent times of the fact that disasters
such as the Lakanal House fire in Camberwell could have been
avoided by much tighter Building Regulations, and most within
the fire industry would share this view.
So is it all Working!
Ignorance can manifest itself in one of two ways; either
as a lack of knowledge, or worse as a wilful neglect or
refusal to acquire knowledge to which one should be
duty bound.
Is it just a question of ignorance?
It might be argued that the demise of the Clerk of Works is
symptomatic of how, piece by piece, we have stripped away
our systems to deliver excellence of works in buildings.......
All too often when deficiencies come to light one can expect to
hear the retort;
‘Well Building Control has passed it off’
Even though the intent of Building Control is to check designs
against regulations, and not to carry out detailed checks on
installed works
Is it just a question of ignorance?
This is squarely the duty of the person carrying out the work,
who often contrary to what he may think, can be prosecuted.
Is it just a question of ignorance?
So is government local or national doing anything about this very
issue?
There is no doubt that Government clearly expects that the
duties of Building Regulation 16B will be reliably carried out and
the building user/owner will be fully informed of the fire
protection provisions in the building he now occupies
With BS 9999 there is an
expected level of fire
Or will they?
safety management by
which the suitability of a
solution can be assessed
and there is a
fundamental assumption
that the building will
remain managed
throughout its lifetime.
Is it just a question of ignorance?
The journey from the architect’s initial design to occupancy by
the building owner or tenant is one loaded with opportunity for
error compounded on error, so let’s take a little risk based
journey from the cradle of a design to its grave
Risk Point 1
The architect specifies
the requirement for
and type of passive
fire protection
required to satisfy the
regulatory needs for
his building design.
Risk Point 1
If the building is to be designed utilising a fire engineering
approach then the required passive fire protection may already
be calculated to a minimum
Question
How well does the fire engineer communicate with the
structural engineer?
Risk Point 2
Or as is often more likely to be the case, through reliance on the
information given to him by the contractor he wishes to appoint.
Risk Point 2
In a market where price is everything, selective hearing on what
is an appropriate solution may well prove to be the order of the
day.
x
x
Risk Point 3
Unless such damage is picked up and made good in a
competent way then the fire performance of the
building will not be fit for purpose.
Risk Point 4
If he does not feel competent for this to be handled in house
he will seek external guidance.
As matters stand at present there are no qualifications required
to become Risk Assessor.
Lets make a comparison
Would you ask yourself the question, ‘I assume they put some
brakes in it’ or ‘is this steering wheel connected correctly’ or
perhaps more ‘importantly will my family be safe in this vehicle?’
So are we in denial?
If you think that way about a car why should the same rules not
apply to the fire protection measures installed in a building?
All the risks are the same, get it wrong and you run the risk of
killing or seriously injuring its occupants or at best ruining the
lives of those that depend on it.
So are we in denial?
It simply is not good enough to state that measures
exist to ensure against incompetent workmanship and
that all in the chain of events will take ownership of
their responsibilities, utilising properly qualified
people and proper independent audit.
Whatever the method of fire protection, active or passive
Can Building Control do any more?
Building Control is an essential if not pivotal element of the
construction process
All Building Control officers and Approved Inspectors must keep
up to date with essential knowledge on fire protection
How does the Fire Service perceive the
importance of passive fire protection?
How does the Fire Service perceive the
importance of passive fire protection?
Passive and active systems are not an either or! They are
inextricably linked.
Thought one
In the case of fire ‘It does what it says on the tin’ does not in
itself always apply!
Thought two
‘Ad‐hoc’ tests – May not always be appropriate!
Unless the condition on site is equal to or less onerous than the
situation to which the ad‐hoc test was based then the test
evidence has no validity.
If in any doubt seek advice from the test/certification authority
that undertook the test.
Four thoughts to end on?
Thought three
With an eye to the future
In our drive toward zero carbon living, sustainable construction
and the increasing use of fire engineered solutions.
A sustainable building is
NOT ‘sustainable’
if it is razed to the ground
by fire!
Four thoughts to end on?
Thought Four
Fire protection is a holistic process
Remember ‐ the successful introduction of the car safety airbag
did not justify the removal of seat belts!
Wilf Butcher
Chief Executive Officer
Association for Specialist Fire Protection
Kingsley House Ganders Business Park Kingsley Bordon Hampshire GU35 9LU
E‐mail: wilf.butcher@asfp.org.uk Website: www.asfp.org.uk
Pioneering fire protection through innovation and professionalism
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