This month the Smoke Control Association have invited the National Fire Chiefs Council to provide an article on a subject of their choosing, so we wanted to share that article with you.

Where smoke control systems are specified in a building’s design, they often play a key part in protecting the means of escape to allow occupants to evacuate and for firefighters to gain access. Effective smoke control systems are reliant on correct specification at the design stage, correct installation, commissioning, and consistent ongoing testing and maintenance. Central to all these stages is the competence of the individuals involved in the process, who need to understand the purpose of the system and how it interacts with other fire safety measures in the building. The current system under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is reliant on self-compliance, with responsible persons being required to appoint competent persons to maintain their systems. This, however, is where problems can arise. The investigation into the New Providence Wharf building fire in May 2021 found that one of the issues in the building was a failure to link the smoke control, fire detection, and fire door release systems correctly.

This is not the first time a fire has revealed the incorrect design or installation of the smoke control system, which was not identified either during commissioning, or by the testing and maintenance regime during occupation. A fire in Regents Quay in Leeds in 2016 also highlighted incorrect programming of fire detection systems, which lead to automatic detection opening doors onto a ventilation shaft on multiple floors, affecting the means of escape throughout the building.

These examples are indicative of a much greater problem.

A report published this year by CROSS-UK (Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures-UK) on the Testing of Smoke Control Systems highlighted some of the problems. It found that after testing smoke control systems in 50 buildings, an estimated 60-80% of all buildings may have problems which prevent systems working correctly, which could seriously compromise protection of the means of escape.

Following New Providence Wharf, NFCC wrote to high-rise building owners highlighting the need to test systems to confirm correct operation. It is incumbent upon all of us working in building safety to do our part to make sure systems are designed and installed correctly and will operate as required should a fire occur. The competence of everyone working in this field is vital to ensure that existing systems are serviced and maintained correctly, and where they are found to not work, remedial measures and works are carried out to ensure the safety of those occupying our buildings. From January 2023 there will be a legal requirement for those responsible for high-rise residential buildings to check their smoke control systems monthly and report any defects to their local fire and rescue service if it cannot be rectified within 24 hours. NFCC continues to support the SCA in its work to raise standards across the industry.

By Richard Clark, Senior Fire Engineer, Protection Policy and Reform Unit, National Fire Chiefs Council

They have also engaged recently with the Cross Report, which is an independent reporting body for anyone concerned about safety in structures across the UK.  Recently a reporter produced an investigative report on failings they discovered in the maintenance of smoke ventilation systems in various buildings around the country.

If you’re interested the cross report can be found here.

The report is titled “CROSS Safety Report; Testing of smoke control systems; Report ID: 1099 Published: 10 March 2022”

CROSS UK presented to the latest meeting of the SCA and have invited comments from our members.  We’ll keep you updated.

The SCA Public Affairs consultant, Chris Brown, attended the Fire Sector Federation meeting in London on 17 October for the SCA, which featured a presentation by Kim Motruk, assistant director, market frameworks for the Office of Product Safety and Standards.

Chris has provided the following report, which includes a link to the FSF’s white paper on ‘Developing a national strategy for fire safety’

The main thing from the FSF is that today at the Fire Conference they are launching a white paper  ‘Developing a national strategy for fire safety’.

The intention is to work with the UK government and the devolved administrations and a wide range of stakeholders, to create and implement a holistic fire strategy. There are several planks to this with one of the main ones being to build competence and fire risk assessment and awareness.

Here is the link to the FSF white paper. Click Here