An essential aspect of any building’s security profile should be fire prevention, detection and suppression. Unfortunately, these solutions are often last on the list as fire is seen as less of a threat than other risks. That is, until something happens and people are hurt or killed because there were not proper fire precautions or because fire escapes were locked ‘for security reasons’.
To find out more about what is happening in the real world when it comes to fire and safety implementations, Hi-Tech Security Solutions spoke to Gerard Langenhoven, Divisional Commander for the Fire & Rescue Service, Fire Safety South, for the City of Cape Town.
Langenhoven is responsible for managing a fire safety district and the associated staff. His job includes ensuring that the following functions and responsibilities, among others, are carried out:
• Municipal fire hydrant maintenance,
• Building inspections,
• Fire hazards,
• Code enforcement,
• Certification of fuel/gas and dangerous goods,
• Consultations with consultants, service providers and the fire industry as a whole,
• Final completion inspections, and
• Providing comment on applications to sister departments on land use, business licences, burning permits, rezoning, building plans, early childhood development centres and old age homes/etc.
While there are clear regulations defining what is required in terms of fire safety, Langenhoven says most building managers, owners or tenants do not take the regulations seriously. “Fire safety and compliance with the regulations is unfortunately not a priority. Most comply with the regulations if they are forced to, but this is an ongoing process where the same owners are advised on more than one occasion to comply. The other contributing factor to non-compliance is lack of knowledge or ignorance of the law.”
There is no occasion for a building not to have fire safety systems in place. He explains that a professional (such as the architect) must submit all building plans on behalf of a building owner. If these professionals do not retain the services of an accredited fire consultant, it can lead to poor fire planning, as they are not always qualified or certified to develop effective and legal fire strategies.
Standards for design and implementation
Most of the rules prescribed for fire safety are fairly self-explanatory, he says, with some requiring clarification on interpretation. SANS 10400 prescribes the minimum requirements a building must adhere to in order to comply and this is what Langenhoven and his colleagues enforce.
In many cases, Langenhoven says a fire consultant is brought on board at a late stage in the design phase and this can have a major impact on the overall design. At such a late stage, the building’s design can either not be changed to comply, or, if the owner does not want to incur the extra expense, the fire plan is ‘tweaked’ to fit.
Fire protection measure in general is fairly expensive and it goes without saying that most owners will go with the cheapest option available, or ignore and changes required. There are also builders/contractors who take short cuts and try to hide the deficiencies, or simply do not implement what was prescribed on the approved building plans. This makes things more difficult for everyone and can lead to significant problems later when inspectors find the building falls short of regulations.
Penalties for non-compliance
“Part of our function as fire safety inspectors is code enforcement,” adds Langenhoven. “This entails issuing of notices to comply, shutting down of businesses, issuing fines, revoking certificates that may have been issued and/or issuing a summons to appear in court. The severity of the contravention will determine what action is taken.”
The first option for an inspector is not always to shut down a premises unless there is an immediate threat to life and property. If this happens, the result is the immediate evacuation of the premises and/or ordering the closure of the premises until the violation has been rectified.
More often, a notice to comply will be served. This notice stipulates the contraventions and remedial action required, as well as a compliance date. Failing to comply with the notice could also result in a fine or summons being issued.
A common contravention one finds is that fire escapes are locked. There are a host of reasons for this, including pleading ignorance, being advised to do so by head office or regional manager, to reduce shrinkage of stock, criminal activity, or trying to avoid unauthorised access. Langenhoven says that in most situations though, the mentality is to try to get away with the contravention for as long as possible until advised by the authority to unlock the door.
“The law stipulates that an escape door may only be locked with a locking mechanism approved by the Local Authority, it also states that the escape route must not be blocked or rendered less effective in any way. The term less effective, amongst others, could entail narrowing the minimum width of the escape route, inadequate or no symbolic safety directional signage, inadequate or faulty lighting or emergency lighting, unauthorised change in swing of door etc. This effectively means that provision for locking is made, however, it must be the correct locking mechanism that does not compromise the escape of people from a building should the need arise,” he adds.
“The typical approved locking mechanisms are designed in such a way that the door cannot be opened from the outside without physically breaking the door. Some of the approved locking mechanisms are provided with a handle on the exterior of the door, but this requires a key to unlock the door.”
He says some typical contraventions in relation to locked fire escapes are:
• Locked safety gates on inside of escape door or at the end of the escape route,
• The key in a box next to escape door,
• Chain and padlock around panic furniture,
• Barrel bolts locked into position with padlocks,
• Maglocks not interfaced with detection system, or
• Steel bars fitted across the width of the escape door.
What you need to have
Knowing the regulations is one thing, but implementing them is another. Hi-Tech Security Solutions asked Langenhoven what he thought the ‘must haves’ are for fire safety in buildings.
He says the building regulations prescribe the minimum fire requirements and these vary depending on the occupancy classification of the building. “All buildings other than domestic dwellings are required to have first aid fire-fighting equipment available. The term first aid means that the people occupying the building are provided with some form of extinguishing medium or appliance to use when the fire is detected and/or while waiting on the fire service to arrive.
“First aid fire-fighting equipment typically comprises of fire extinguishers and fire hose reels, although fire hose reels only become a requirement if the building exceeds two storeys in height or the floor area is larger than 250 square metres.”
Fire detection and sprinkler systems are automated systems and are intended to operate without human intervention. These systems are typically installed where the risk or fire load is high.
“If one looks at the losses and damage incurred due to fire and how these impact on the economy, the train of thought should rather be more focused on fire prevention, early detection and containment. If, at the very least, a smoke or heat detection system is installed, almost all fires can be detected at an early stage, which in turn could result in an early intervention comprising actually extinguishing the fire before it gets out of control or containing the fire to a specific area or room until the fire department arrives.”
Maintenance is critical
The maintenance of equipment is something that is often ignored in the security industry as a whole, and the fire industry is no different.
Langenhoven explains that all fire-fighting equipment needs to be maintained, but disappointingly, this is something that does not receive the necessary priority or attention. “Well-managed buildings and facilities generally do not have problems as there is normally a facility or building manager or a health and safety representative tasked with this responsibility. This however is not the case for all buildings.”
He says there is often a discrepancy between the landlord and tenant regarding who is responsible for the maintenance of the equipment. The Act simply states that the owner must ensure that the building complies with the provisions of the National Building Regulations.
What’s more, there are different service or testing intervals for different components of fire systems. For example, a sprinkler system has a daily, weekly, quarterly, yearly, 3-yearly, 5-yearly, 15-yearly and 20-yearly routines that should be followed. Fire hydrants, extinguishers and hose reels should be serviced every year, while fire detection and alarm systems have weekly, monthly and yearly routines.
In addition, not just anybody can handle the maintenance. Competent personnel must do it and, where required, the people and companies must be registered with an appropriate body.
Where do you go?
Even for those facilities managers who want to keep up with the respective fire regulations, the process is not all that easy. There are many companies that will design, install and maintain your systems, but not all are trained, certified and registered correctly.
Langenhoven explains that for fire detection and alarm systems, fire extinguishers, hose reels and hydrants, all service providers must be registered and accredited. A list of service providers can be obtained from either the SABS, or a search can be done on the SAQCC (South African Qualifications & Certification Committee) website. Competent persons, as prescribed in terms of the National Building Regulations, can be found on the ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa) website.
Putting it simply, Langenhoven notes: “A competent person must be appointed in terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act when, amongst others, a rational design is to be submitted, a fire detection and alarm system is to be provided, a sprinkler system or fixed automatic fire protection/detection system is to be installed, pressurisation of emergency routes are to be done, or mechanical heat and smoke control systems are to be installed.”
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