At Trident Fire Protection & Training we can offer a number of useful services so clients can improve safety in their properties. One thing we do is conduct compartmentation surveys. They are vital for understanding if and how fires could spread. They also check to make sure measures in place to stop it will work effectively. The info can in turn shape things like fire safety plans and evacuation strategies.
Evacuation review
Since the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017 there have been independent reviews and inquiries into fire safety standards in the UK. In March 2020 the Home Office chose to commission a report specifically into evacuation in high rise residential buildings. The goal was to look at academic evidence on evacuations. In addition, it wanted to find out:
- The most effective methods of evacuation
- How occupants in high rise residential buildings make decisions about it
- How firefighters decide about evacuating these buildings
What we want to do here is look at the strategies for evacuation that the review covers. There are three broad options with a few different individual options in each.
Simultaneous
Smoke alarm in a modern building
The first is a process where all occupants must vacate the property at the same time. They have to do this regardless of the threat level.
According to the review, simultaneous evacuation is the least viable option for high rise residential buildings. There are a number of reasons for this, such as escape provisions being unlikely to be able to accommodate all occupants at the same time. There is also a risk of bottlenecks and congestion on escape routes. In turn that means it takes longer to evacuate. As a result, people are at a higher risk of coming in contact with smoke, fire, or toxic gases.
Phased
The second option is to only initially evacuate people when there is a high risk in their vicinity. At the same time, people in other parts of the building where the risk is low can remain. They can evacuate at a later phase if necessary.
There are lots of benefits with this type of evacuation. For example, it can optimise the flow of evacuees and keep escape time to a minimum. It will also prioritise the most vulnerable people.
The thing to keep in mind here though is the phasing of evacuations relies heavily on measures to stop the spread of fire. This means it is vital to ensure compartments are set up properly. Compartmentation surveys are vital for this.
Partial
The final option is similar to above because only part of the occupants need to be evacuated. It differs though because there is more details about what to do. As a result, it is great for residential buildings.
There are two main types of partial evacuation. The first is defend-in-place (or stay-in-place). Here the general instruction is for residents to stay in their homes, seal doors, and wait for a notice to evacuate. Only people in immediate danger due to being in the vicinity of the fire need to evacuate.
The second option is delayed evacuation. What happens here is people are directed to move to refuge areas and wait to be evacuated. Again only people in the vicinity of a fire need to evacuate immediately.
Relying on compartmentation surveys
The key finding from looking at the academic evidence is that the different approaches can provide useful categorisation. However, they may be overly simplistic. It may be better to have a hybrid strategy for high rise residential buildings. This should look at the design of the building as well as distinct groups of occupants and risk factors.
As we said above, most evacuation systems rely on building elements to stop the spread of fire. Compartmentation is vital here, especially if you expect people to remain within a building. To maximise safety, the compartments must have the correct design.
Trident Fire Protection & Training can provide excellent services here. We can do compartmentation surveys to tell you how much risk there is of a fire spread and what kind of evacuation time occupants may have. It can help you to decide on a plan for how to evacuate.
So, contact us today if you need any help.
