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BY Ar ZAFAR ROZALY [ DETAILS ] T he archaic word ‘ e’ – an expression of utter disapproval – rst burst into fame on the stage of the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear, written circa 1605. Its repeated use in his classic works with simple exclama- tion such as “Fie, foh and fum, I smell the blood of a British man” found its way into other English literary works such as the famed fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk and a 1890 rendition of the poem – where the term ‘British man’ was replaced with ‘Englishman’ – by Joseph Jacobs. Interestingly and ironically, the word ‘fum’ is Old French derived from the Latin word ‘fūmus’ to mean, among other things, “vapour, steam and smoke”. Fast forward albeit fumingly to Ramadhan 2017, the rhym- ing couplet is eerily repeated on English soil in a completely di erent tragedy. e Grenfell Tower pub- lic housing ats in North Kensington, West London caught re, causing deaths and injuries with a de nitive death count not expected to be disclosed until at least 2018. BBC News reported at least 80 deaths were identi ed and with authorities still grap- pling to trace the remnants of such tragedy, the numbers are expected to rise. At home, Whatsapp forums among professional architects have been actively buzzing fee- e-fo-fum for days on end trying to make sense of what The recent Greenfell Tower fire at North Kensington, West London, UK happened. Building plans of the Tower were circulated in the social fora and media to show jaw-dropping revelation of a high-rise building with a single staircase; a sinful act so basic and so cardinal that any fourth year high-rise studio architecture student would never ever dare to design, or risk failure. In the real world, unfortunately, such failure begets fatalities, property dam- age, and ultimately, the loss of human souls. A press statement was immediately released by the President on behalf of PAM, ex- pressing heartfelt condolences to the victims who su ered as a result of such hideous tragedy, and also more importantly, a message to fellow architects reiterating the re safety provisions under the Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL) 1984. e press statement high- lighted both basic passive and active provisions under the UBBL 1984. In this sense, passive provisions comprise of the redundancy by-laws on re escape staircase provisions in the event that one staircase is rendered inoperable; the design of re barriers between oors to prevent inter- oor re spread both internally and externally plus re compart- mentation to escape passages; its total number of re exits coupled with re-rated materi- als for doors, walls and oors to ensure and allow su cient evacuation time for occupants; and the provision of e ective FEE-FIRE-FO-FUM, FOR I SMELL FIRE ON AN ENGLISH TOWER (OR A LESSON IN FIRE SAFETY RESILIENCE) “GRENFELL TOWER FIRE, 4:43 A.M” BY NATALIE OXFORD, LICENSED BY CC BY 4.0 Typical Residential Floor in Greenfell Tower remen’s access for re- ghting and rescue operation by way of the protected re lobby, lift, access and riser by-laws. Active measures, to name a few, include standard re detection, alarm, early warning, inter- communication, pressurised risers, hose reels, hydrants, pressurisation of safe compart- ments, passages and access to keep smoke out. Experts believed that it was the possibility of re spreading via the newly renovated, pur- portedly ammable external aluminium composite panel “rainscreen over-clad” of the facade, which was also report- ed by the police, among others, to have failed standard re safety tests 1 . In fact, it was an COURTESY OF DANNY CHUNG CHIA TAT, LIMKOKWING UNIVERSITY OF CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY Part II student’s work on high-rise fire safety features in a detailed section. Fire safety awareness forms the first line of defence in edu- cating future practitioners issue that was cautioned as far back as 2014 (gasp!) but was nevertheless dubiously certi- ed 2 , despite the building’s height 3 . It was also reported that a re safety regulations review was delayed, shelved for four years and therefore not undertaken, turning the tragedy from a re safety negligent issue into a political one 4 . Most, if not all, of these measures mentioned above that failed during the tragic incident were cited by building regulations columnist and pro- fessionals (read: architects) as “… entirely predictable, sadly” 5 . e President urged building owners to conduct regular re safety reviews, including evac- uation drills to familiarise with References 1. Wilkinson, Geoff (14 June 2017). “If regulations were followed, the Grenfell Tower inferno should have been impossible”. The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017. 2. Davies, Rob; Sample, Ian (16 June 2017). “Experts urge ban on use of combustible materials in tower blocks”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. 3. “FP/14/03563 – New floor areas, new overcladding & windows, new heating system, reconfigured podium and entrance – Grenfell Tower, Grenfell Road, London, W11 1TH”. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Building Control. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Retrieved 14 June 2017. 4. Watts, Joe. “Gavin Barwell: Theresa May’s new chief of staff faces questions over delayed tower block fire safety review”. The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017. 5. Hurst, Will. “Fire expert: Grenfell Tower tragedy ‘entirely predictable’”. Architects Journal. EMAP Publishing. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017. Floor plan of the high-rise building with single staircase (gasp!) SOURCE: STUDIO E ARCHITECTS, BBC NEWS escape routes and to be wary of unauthorised renovations which might not be compliant with the UBBL. Perhaps it is not too much of an issue to reiterate that it is high time for architects as quali ed submitting persons and certi- ers to re-educate themselves on re safety, and familiarise themselves with the technical know-how of re safety protec- tion and resilience during the design of high-rise buildings. As the world prepares for greater urbanisation, high-rise buildings are an inevitability. Education on re safety is fast becoming an important agenda in the sustainability of architec- ture, and of course, the future of the profession. Connection detail Special construction detail 82 ARCHITECTURE MALAYSIA VOLUME 29 ISSUE 4 2017 83 ARCHITECTURE MALAYSIA VOLUME 29 ISSUE 4 2017
