Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Introduction to Fire Safety Management
Fire shutters – there are occasions when it is not practicable
to protect an opening in a compartment with normal
doors. In order to protect a large opening in compartment
walls and fl oors there are a number of systems that can
be applied including:
➤ Fire resisting roller shutters (FRRSs)
➤ Sliding doors in large scale industrial applications
➤ Fire curtains in, for example, the proscenium arch of
a theatre.
The principles of operation remain the same for all these
systems. However, the most common method of protecting
large openings is with FRRSs. FRRSs are commonly
fi tted to protect openings, for example:
➤ In kitchen walls
➤ In party walls between two premises
➤ Between fl oors in shops fi tted with escalators in
corridors
➤ Protecting atriums or escalator wells
➤ Protecting vehicle entry openings
➤ Entrances to retail stores from shopping malls
➤ Escalator hood shutters.
FRRSs must be capable of being opened and closed
manually by the fi re service in the direction of the
approach when positioned across fi re fi ghting routes.
Power operated FRRSs must be provided with a
Declaration of Conformity and following installation should
be CE labelled in accordance with the EC Machinery
Directive. Power operated FRRSs also fall within the
scope of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations
1992. Where an FRRS is held in the open position there
should be controlled descent when the automatic selfclosing
device operates.
There must be a planned system of maintenance
with items maintained in an effi cient state, kept in
effi cient working order and in good repair. It is critical to
provide safe operation when it is intended to connect to
a remote smoke control or fi re alarm system, which may
result in activation and operation while there are persons
in the vicinity of the opening.
Typically, FRRSs are tested/assessed for any
period between 30 and 240 minutes depending on what
classifi cation the manufacturer wishes to achieve for his
product.
Traditionally FRRSs have been manufactured from
steel; recent innovation has seen the introduction of
new products made from reinforced glass fi bre matting.
Aluminium is often used in security rolling shutters but
melts at circa 660ºC. In a standard fi re test it is likely
that the temperature will exceed this melting point in
184
Figure 9.16 Fire shutter
less than 10 minutes and hence it is not an appropriate
material for FRRSs.
All FRRSs should be fi tted with an automatic selfclosing
device. In cases where self-closing would be
a hindrance to normal use, they can be held open by
a local heat detection release mechanism such as a
fusible link particularly where a FRRS has been permitted
across a means of escape route. All doors installed
in compartment walls which need to be held open in
normal use, should be fi tted with an automatic release
mechanism which is connected directly to a local or
remote smoke detection system and not rely on local
fusible link for operation. The smoke detection system, if
local, should have the detectors mounted on both sides
of the compartment wall and should activate both visual
and audible warnings and cause the door or shutter to
close automatically without any delay.
Passage of pipes, ventilation ducts, chimneys and
other services
In the same way as fi re spreading through concealed
cavities presents a serious risk, buildings are also vulnerable
to fi re spreading through compartment walls
and fl oors as a result of openings in them that provide
no resistance to fi re. When buildings are designed, built
and managed it is vital that when pipes, ventilation ducts
or other services pass through a compartment wall or
fl oor they are provided with adequate ‘fi re stopping’.