In the line of fire

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By Alison Luke

With the increased risks that the construction period involves, providing fire safety during this stage of a project requires extra attention. CW examines how the issue is regulated and what means there are to achieve safety

Ensuring fire safety in operational buildings requires the skilful design and installation of the correct systems. Achieving the same level of fire safety during the construction period of any project needs an extra level of care due to an increased number of risks.

A series of high-profile fires over the past few years in buildings that were still under construction have brought the issue to the fore. Such is the concern in the region that regulations are currently under review, with new guidelines expected to be released in 2010. “Fires on construction sites have been increasing steeply mostly due to negligence and lapses in safety procedure,” reports Cooper Middle East sales director – safety, Ashique Panakkat.

One of the most recent fires in an under construction project, that in the Atlantis, The Palm hotel gained worldwide coverage, primarily due to the status of the project. However, the issue is not confined to the Middle East: “Fire safety during construction is a problem everywhere, worldwide,” stresses Passive Fire Protection Federation (PFPF) chair David Sugden. He highlights a major fire on a site in Peckham, South London in late November as a prime example. Although investigations are still ongoing, initial statements have suggested that on site gas cylinders exacerbated the event in which several people were injured.

So what are the risks involved and what steps can you take to improve fire safety on your construction sites?

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Factors such as incomplete systems, general construction processes and waste are only some of those that affect on-site safety, making the need to provide means for fire safety precautions even greater than in completed buildings.

“The construction period is the most dangerous for several reasons: whatever fire precautions are planned for the final building are not complete, so may not be effective...there are lots of other materials on site such as packaging cardboard and plastics; plus general rubbish can build up and that is always a fire hazard,” warns Sugden.

“Most of the fires on sites are caused by welding equipment, temporary electrical wiring and personnel negligence,” reports Panakkat. “A high-rise project would have hundreds on workers on site and a small incident can easily get out of control,” he stresses.

The incomplete status of the final building fire safety precautions should be carefully considered during construction as they are likely to prove ineffective in the event of any fire. For example, blocked or unprotected means of egress routes and incomplete compartmentation means that anyone caught in the building during a fire may become trapped.

“With obstructions like scaffolding common on sites, evacuation and free movement of people becomes very limited, posing severe life safety risks. Also, a lack of infrastructure and limited access makes it difficult for first responders to get immediate help to the personnel trapped,” warns Panakkat.

“When the building is finished you will have complete compartmentation and have used all the correct fire-rated materials and products,” explains Sugden. “However, some materials such as insulation are not fire-rated until they are complete, for example if they are of a sandwich construction they may not be fire-rated until they are sealed,” he adds.

The different needs of a building between the construction and operational phases bring inherent issues with the provision of fire safety systems. “The fire safety provided during construction is temporary to account for the increase of fire loads such as stored and inflammable material, unlike an operational building which will have a fixed fire protection system designed for a specific hazard group that will not change,” explains Ramboll Middle East senior fire engineer Raja Sajad Hussain.

During the construction phase the hazard classification of a project can change depending upon how different areas are being used. “Some areas might be used for the storage of high hazard materials for some duration of time and the same area can be used for storage of low hazard material at a later stage,” explains Hussain. “This change of hazard classification will require constant monitoring of the areas and thereby changing of the fire safety systems to satisfy the minimum requirements of fire protection,” he stresses.

The lack of final and/or commissioned MEP services should also be considered when planning for fire safety during construction. “Construction projects do not have provision for providing detection or suppression systems due to the non-availability of the infrastructure, including wiring for electricity and piping for water,” explains Panakkat.

Such issues also apply to the general site operations and staff accommodation, which themselves can become additional hazards if not carefully treated. “Many sites now have accommodation in the form of site huts partway up the structure, which may have facilities for cooking etc. These are temporary structures, with temporary wiring and power and these huts are a proven danger,” warns Sugden.