Hampering sprinkler effectiveness
There’s a joke in the sprinkler and storage industries that you don’t design an early suppression fast response (ESFR) sprinkler system around a building – you design the building around the ESFR…
Understanding char loss and fall-off for fire-safe design of timber structures
Engineered timber is in high demand while the awareness of environmental pressures is growing. Worldwide research has studied the fire behaviour of timber but char fall-off remains one of the critical factors by delaying or preventing self-extinction. This article highlights…
Alternatives to foam for hangar fire protection
For the past several years a perfect storm has been brewing within the aviation hangar industry. A perfect storm, a term popularized by Sebastian Junger in his book of the same name, is the rare combination of events that lead…
Advancing fire protection in historic structures
Historic structures may seem to be an unlikely setting for contemporary advances in fire protection, but some of the most historic buildings in Greater New York City have inspired advances that continue to have application worldwide. I was thinking about…
An innovative flame detector solution for helidecks and aircraft hangars
Applications that demand heightened immunity to false alarms include the use of helicopters offshore and aircraft hangars, both military and commercial. The Civil Aviation Authority publication CAP 437 ‘Standards for offshore helicopter landing areas’ has become an accepted worldwide source…
New solutions help solve the fire risks posed by IBCs
In early October 2011, as news helicopters patrolled overhead, fire and explosions destroyed a chemical blending plant1 in Waxahachie, Texas. During the disaster, a $1.2 million ladder truck from the nearby town of Ennis was completely engulfed in flaming liquid…
Smart proportioner GEN III – remote monitoring system
As practised for decades in fire protection systems, the procedure to check the functionality of foam extinguishing systems includes an annual check of the proportioning rate according to a formula set out in national and international regulations. The results are…
One rule for one, and one for another
A fire that tore through the Cube high-rise student accommodation in 2019 is a stark reminder that our new 11m sprinkler threshold for high-rise residential buildings does not apply to student accommodation. The requirement, which took effect last November, also…
Rubber-based flexible fire water piping increases safety in the global oil and gas industry
Safety is a key priority for all industries, especially for the operators of onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration, process and storage facilities. At these, the risk for fire is high and the consequences potentially very serious due to…
From brakes to lights – how the ABS brake approach needs to be adopted in the emergency lighting sector
Emergency lighting normally accounts for 25–30% of the luminaires in a typical commercial project. It is the last line of defence when the mains fail and it is essential to effectively light the space so that building occupants can evacuate…
Performance-based smoke detection reduces cost and enhances safety
For special architectural features such as atria and large open spaces, advanced smoke detection technology minimizes costs and detects smoke at the earliest possible stage from flexibly placed, concealable sampling points. Today, the owners of a growing number of non-standard…
Liquefied Natural Gas fires: the damage on structures
In most regions of the world natural gas is the fastest growing energy resource. This trend has been persistent since the new millennium and is expected to continue, driven by the low greenhouse gas emission regulations that drive the energy…
The reliability of fire protection features in high-rise buildings
One of the key components of fire safety in high-rise buildings is the reliability of the fire protection systems and features. We tend to use the terms reliability, redundancy and resilience interchangeably and in fact they are all aspects of…
Putting in place fire-protection measures for lithium-ion battery energy storage systems
Incidents involving lithium-ion batteries have hit the headlines in recent years – think spontaneously exploding mobile phones and laptops on planes and electric vehicle fires after an impact or crash. Adding to this volatile mix is a relatively new technology,…
Smoke control systems and the application of smoke control products to realise safe and efficient designs
Smoke control design is an important concept in fire safety and is often misunderstood and misapplied. It should be considered at the same level as a sprinkler system, but rather than simply having to run pipes, builders work shafts or…
Flame detector selection Part 2 – design considerations
Part One of our flame detection guide provided some pointers for the selection of flame detectors based on the sensing technology employed. This second article sets out some design considerations for your flame detection system. Broadly speaking, these considerations fall…
Proven fire protection from the lab
How the FM Global Research Campus helps businesses manage risk in increasingly complex times. In 2021, the risk landscape is becoming more complex and difficult to manage with each day – a fact fire safety professionals across the globe are…
Fire protection on the front line: the critical role of fire protection in healthcare facilities
In May 2021, sparks in a ventilator ignited a deadly blaze in the intensive care unit of a Covid-19 treatment building at an Indian hospital. Investigations into the incident later revealed a variety of gaps in the building’s fire-protection measures. …
Wireless detection
More than four years since the Grenfell tragedy, we are still very much in the midst of the ACM cladding fiasco. While the government has committed to spend £600 million on the replacement of unsafe cladding on both social housing…
Fire retardant timber – getting your specification right
When it comes to timber in construction, fit-for-purpose specification has never been more important. And where fire retardancy treatment is concerned, it’s never been more complex. Timber is popular as a construction material for good reason. Aesthetically appealing, it’s cost-effective…