MBR_ISSUE 43_LOWRES
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Malta Business Review<br />
COVER STORY INTERVIEW<br />
INTEGRITY, ETHICS AND RESILIENCE<br />
Andre' Muscat from SHIELD Consultants Ltd. has recently finished his studies in Fire<br />
Engineering at the University of Central Lancashire. We discuss with him what this<br />
interesting field, what it means in practice and how it is impacting on the contemporary<br />
business, commercial and residential environments.<br />
CORPORATE BRIEF: SHIELD Consultants Ltd specialise in providing operational risk<br />
management and consultancy training services, focusing mainly on high-risk market<br />
segments in the Mediterranean, Middle East, Gulf Region and Africa. The company<br />
also specialises in maritime security; critical national infrastructures and Oil &<br />
Gas. SHIELD combines operational with technology In bringing innovation into all<br />
functional elements of operational risk management – Security; Maritime Security;<br />
HSE; Business Continuity Management; Fire & Safety; Crisis Management and<br />
Emergency Response, as well as Quality Risk Management.<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: What is Fire<br />
Engineering and how does<br />
it differ from traditional<br />
methods?<br />
AM: Good question to start with. Fire<br />
Engineering refers to the application of<br />
scientific and engineering principles to the<br />
design of a building. The purpose is to protect<br />
people, property and the environment from<br />
the effects of fire and smoke. In short, FE is<br />
about prevention and controlling the effects<br />
of fire to mitigate damages.<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: How does fire<br />
engineering defer from<br />
standard approaches and<br />
what are the benefits of such<br />
solutions?<br />
AM: Standard approaches normally rely on<br />
prescriptive codes and guidelines that specify<br />
solutions to a particular type of building.<br />
This might be very well applicable in most<br />
cases, but in some situations these standards<br />
might prove to be constraining or simply<br />
not applicable. In these cases an engineered<br />
solution allows for a level of fire safety to be<br />
maintained, even if conventional standards<br />
cannot be meet.<br />
This would require a tailored solution for the<br />
particular building type, size, and function<br />
and would not force the application of any set<br />
standard but would rather focus on achieving<br />
the final required result. We at SHIELD<br />
specialise in this proactive approach to fire<br />
prevention and control.<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: Can fire engineering<br />
be applicable only for new<br />
constructions or can some<br />
principles be applied to<br />
existent buildings?<br />
AM: No. Fire Engineering solutions can also<br />
be applied to existing buildings in order to<br />
improve or maintain the fire safety of the<br />
building, especially if the use of the building<br />
is going to change from what it was originally<br />
designed for, or if the age of the building is<br />
such that no prescriptive methods can be<br />
applied to it.<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: In your studies you<br />
focused on the effects of<br />
ageing and wear of fire<br />
protection in buildings. What<br />
where your main findings?<br />
AM: Yes, my final study regarded a particular<br />
aspect of fire safety within buildings that<br />
is very often overlooked. This is the part<br />
called Passive Fire Protection (PFP). These<br />
include techniques and applications such<br />
as compartmentation walls and fire doors,<br />
amongst others. To an observer who is not<br />
well versed in fire engineering solutions,<br />
these parts of a building might not appear to<br />
serve an important role in the fire safety of the<br />
building. This could lead to certain changes<br />
being made to the building, resulting in<br />
deterioration in structures, without essential<br />
fire mitigation and control.<br />
The studies focused on the primary<br />
documented reasons for failure in PFP<br />
and through experiments in a fire testing<br />
laboratory and also by using a specialised<br />
computer simulation programme, it was<br />
observed that small gaps around doors did<br />
not have severely impact safety conditions of<br />
the escape route. However, as soon as these<br />
gaps are widened slightly, environmental<br />
conditions in terms of smoke and heat start to<br />
pose a threat to life quite quickly.<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: What are the most<br />
common damages sustained<br />
by Passive Fire Protection<br />
systems within buildings?<br />
"We at SHIELD specialise<br />
in this proactive<br />
approach to fire<br />
prevention and control<br />
AM: Some of these damages simply occur<br />
due to the passage of time and the wear and<br />
tear that components sustain. These include<br />
fire doors sagging and not being able to close<br />
well into their frame, or intumescent strips<br />
(material that expands when heat is applied)<br />
that are fitted around fire doors that become<br />
damaged due to abrasion over time.<br />
Other damages are sustained to the changes<br />
in the building that the occupants carry out on<br />
them. These would not normally be carried<br />
out while knowingly damaging the building,<br />
but simply because the building users would<br />
not recognise the problem in effecting such<br />
changes. These can include, drilling holes<br />
through walls to facilitate the passage of<br />
services, changing fire doors to a non-fire<br />
rated door, or removing a door altogether.<br />
Sometimes spaces that are normally unseen,<br />
such as above soffits or through ventilation<br />
ducting, might be left unprotected simply<br />
because they are forgotten and are left free<br />
to allow the passage of smoke and heat.<br />
6