Fire - Building Regulations / Insurance Construction Rules
Building Regulations
Building Regulations (England and Wales) are concerned with
preventing the loss of life of the occupants of a building
(including fire- fighters). The prime area of concern of
the Regulations is to ensure safe and adequate
means of escape from the building.
In recent years there have been a number of very large fires,
some of which have had a tragic result for
fire-fighters. A few of these incidents have also led to
litigation against Fire Brigades and property owners over the
pollution caused to the surrounding area.
One of the reasons for the increase in this has been the
proliferation of combustible composite insulation
panels. These are acceptable to Building Control
Inspectors - both local authority and independent -
because they are not proscribed by the present Building
Regulations.
The Insurance Construction Rules
These Rules have governed Fire Insurance business -
classification and premium rating - for decades.
Originally under the auspices of the Fire Offices Committee
(FOC), these rules are now under the banner of the
Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Loss Prevention
Council (LPC).
These rules are more stringent than the Building
Regulations. Their primary aim is property protection
ensuring that all elements of construction including roofs
should not significantly contribute to the growth and
spread of a fire, either internally or externally.
Whereas the Building Regulations are seen very much as a
minimum standard in terms of the requirements of the
construction elements and internal fire protection of a
building, the LPC Design Guide for the Protection
of Buildings covers a broad spectrum of building design
issues.
Passive fire protection measures are established together with, where
appropriate, active fire protection measures having the overall intention of
increasing the survivability of the building and minimising any loss by fire.
The Fire Brigades (and Home Office Fire Service Inspectors) are becoming more
and more concerned at this dichotomy between the Building Regulations (with its
emphasis on escape) and the broader need to minimise fire wastage and all the
peripheral environmental issues.
This emphasis on escape has, to a large extent, moved the spotlight away from
the need to design structures that incorporate both active and passive fire
protection / fire resistance measures.
Insurers Attitude to Buildings
Building Regulations are a minimum standard for fire protection. Whilst
architects or design and build consultants and their planners may use them to
receive approval from the Building Control Officer this standard is unlikely to
receive the same degree of approbation from the future building's insurers.
Insurers also base their opinion of a fire risk on the occupation of a building
as well as its construction.
The occupation obviously governs the fire- loading and perhaps more importantly
the inception hazard.
The more hazardous the risk or occupant the greater the fire risk e.g. a
woodworker, would be a deemed as a high risk hence a higher premium.
Insurers look for positive passive and active fire protection measures as noted
below.
Passive Fire Protection
-
Non combustible construction or use of LPCB approved building products -
walls, roof, floors, linings, insulation materials
-
Any insulation panels to be non combustible or LPCB approved. This has been a
major problem in large Food Processing risks where there is extensive use of
expanded polystyrene foam panels because of their insulating properties.
Fire-fighters will not enter these premises if the existence of these panels is
suspected. The fire then often results in the total loss of the building.
-
Fire barriers in voids, ducts, cavities and roof spaces
-
Fire resisting ducts for cables / services
-
Fire resistant cabling
-
Fire dampers in air distribution ducts particularly where passing through
compartment walls / floors
-
Large capacity buildings compartmented into smaller areas using FireBreak Walls
with any penetrations appropriately protected
Active Fire Protection
-
Appropriate fire extinguishers.
-
Automatic Fire Detection to P1 Standard of BS 5839 Part 1 2002 with monitored
remote signalling to an approved Alarm Receiving Centre. Installed and
maintained by an LPCB installer accredited to LPS 1014.
-
LPCB approved fire doors/shutters in compartment walls operated via an
Automatic Smoke Alarm and / or a fusible link.
-
Automatic Sprinkler Installation to LPC rules - BS 5306 Part 2 1990 / BS EN
12845
-
Smoke ventilation
Sprinklers
Many people do not realise the benefits to be gained from the installation of an
LPC approved sprinkler system:
-
The insurance discounts can be up to 50% of the fire premium.
-
Approximately 97% of all fires (in sprinklered buildings) are controlled by
less than 3 sprinkler heads activating. This greatly reduces the subsequent
water damage bill following a fire.
-
The possibility of the National Rivers Authority suing, for fire ground run-off
water contamination, is greatly reduced.
Key Action Steps
-
Be aware that Building Regulations 2000 are a minimum standard
of fire resistance purely designed to facilitate evacuation of
the building. Insurers are often more
concerned with the protection of property / business and have
higher standards.
-
Note that high fire risk occupants attract high premiums and active fire
protection measures may be specified at a greater
cost than if they had been a part of the original design.
-
Note that substantial savings may be available off insurance fire premiums for
buildings of fire-resisting construction and
for active fire protection i.e., Automatic Sprinklers and Fire/Smoke alarms.
-
Consult your insurance company before undertaking any major new building /
extension work, for advice
Reference Documents
The LPC Design Guide for the Protection of Buildings 2000.
BS 5306 Part 2 "LPC Rules for Automatic Sprinkler
Installations". (LPC Rules for Automatic Sprinkler
Installations incorporating BS EN 12845)
Building Regulations (England and Wales) 2000.
BS 5839 Part 1 2002 "Fire Detection and Alarm Systems in
Buildings".
LPCB Approved Fire and Security Products and Services.