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1
Fire Protection for Heritage
Buildings
Steve Emery
National Fire Adviser for
Historic England
How many fires are there
in heritage buildings?
Uppark 1986
Prior Park College 1991
Windsor Castle 1992
Edinburgh 2002
ENGLISH HERITAGE Chester 2002
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Wardington Manor 2004
Wardington Manor 2004 Hereford 2010
Dartmouth 2010
Sydenham House 2012
Cumin Museum 2013
Glasgow School of Arts 2014
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Battersea Arts Centre 2015
Randolph Hotel
Oxford
2015
Clandon Park 2015
Sudbury 2015
We do not know how many fires we have in heritage buildings !
There are no statistics
90% of accidental fires self-extinguish
or are dealt with by occupiers
Not enough fuel
Not enough oxygen
Switching off electrical circuits
Water
sand
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Triangle Of
Fire
5M Unventilated
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12 Chatham Row, Bath English Heritage
12 Chatham Row, Bath
Chatham Row Fire Test
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
Time in Minutes
tem
pe
ratu
re C
. Series1
Series2
Series3
Series4
Series5
Series6
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*>143.7°C
*<20.0°C
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
140.0
Star t plus 37 minutes
Determination by Secretary of State 2008
It is considered that the existing doors (even with self closing
devices fitted) cannot be relied upon to prevent the egress of
smoke at the early stages of a fire.
The existing bedroom doors cannot be described as smoke
stopping doors and the corridor is not adequately protected from
smoke.
If the rooms in dispute are continued to be used as bedrooms it is
considered appropriate to undertake the following measures
which enable an appropriate balance to be struck between
ensuring sufficient fire safety measures are in place for the safety
of people and maintaining the historic fabric and character of the
building:
(i) Upgrade the doors to achieve a period of fire resistance of 30
minutes, with smoke seals; and self closing devices
4.6. The above measures are commensurate with the
enforcement notice issued by the Fire and Rescue Authority.
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BRE Fire Testing 3M Double Cube
1MW
34 Minutes
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5M Ventilated
66 Minutes
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Tem
per
atu
re (
°C)
Time (s)
2900mm
2800
mm
2500mm
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Tem
per
atu
re (
°C)
Time (s)
2900mm
2800mm
2500mm
3m Unventilated
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Tem
per
atu
re (
°C)
Time (s)
3900mm3800
mm3500mm3000mm2500
mm
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Tem
per
atu
re (
°C)
Time (s)
4900mm4800mm4500mm4000mm3500
mm3000
mm
66 mins
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Tem
per
atu
re (
°C)
Time (s)
4900mm
4800mm
4500
mm
4000
mm
3500
mm
3m Ventilated
65 mins
46 mins 83 mins
56 mins
64 mins
4M Ventilated
5M Ventilated
4M Unventilated
5M Unventilated
353 C 356 C
285 C
214 C
197 C
161 C
416 C
288 C
224 C 177 C
205 C
149 C
Approved Document B v2 Buildings of special architectural or historic interest
• 0.35 Some variation of the provisions set out in this
document may also be appropriate where Part B applies
to existing buildings of special architectural or historic
interest, where adherence to the guidance in this
document might prove unduly restrictive.
• In such cases it would be appropriate to take into
account a range of fire safety features, some of which
are dealt with in this document and some of which are
not addressed in any detail and to set these against an
assessment of the hazard and risk peculiar to the
particular case.
Approved Document B
• 0.32 Factors that should be taken into account include:
• The anticipated probability of a fire starting
• The anticipated fire severity
• The ability of the structure to resist the spread of fire and
smoke and;
• The consequential danger to people in and around the
building
The Secretary of State has determined that the appropriate
remedy, is for the responsible person to prepare a new risk
assessment in which the absence of intumescent strips and
cold smoke seals on the existing bedroom fire doors is
recorded and justified.
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27M x 13 M = 351 Sq M x 12 M = 4212 Cubic M
200 Chairs & 0.2 MW each = 40MW
40/351 = 0.1 Mw/M
Door FR 20
Glasgow School of Arts Fire
12.29 May 23rd 2014
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Cost of Sprinklers
£16 per square Metre
Plus tanks and pumps
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1155 square Metres x 5 Floors & 3 Floor voids x £16 = £155,840
Cost of Sprinklers Cost of Sprinklers
There are other costs!
• Moving the objects £4000 per room (£320,000 )
• plus specialist conservators if carpet is fragile
• Project Collections Care Assistant and conservator for
supervision (15 months for 12 month project £45,000 &
£22000 for CCA
• Documentation for object movement £ 22,000
• Possibility of an electrician to move chandeliers, picture
lights case lights, etc.
Cost of Sprinklers
• Protection of in situ objects
• Packing material for moving and storing small objects
• Purchase of racking within rooms used for temporary storage
• Building works, lifting floorboards, notching joists, chasing
walls and making good.
• Project manager for works
• Loss of income during project
£16.00 per Square Metre
£73 per Square Metre
Cost of Sprinklers
£674,520 £155,840
Stokesay Gatehouse
How do you prioritise?
Marble Hill House
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Oculus Academy Duff House, Scotland
Why Do PVC and CPVC Pipes Fail? By Dr. Duane Priddy, Plastic Failure Labs, Midland, MI
Questions
