PROTECTING PEOPLE, PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

High Rise Retrofit Pilot Project –Callow Mount, Sheffield

“Cities in the Sky” – Challenging their Safety, BRE – 12 March 2013

Steve Seaber OBE, DMS, FiFireEBAFSA Project Manager

Cities in the sky

Should I feel inadequate?

n Existing stock – Agingn 4000+ in UKn 10% of population n 25% of firesn 23% injuries and fatalities

§ Super high rise§ Futuristic§ Innovative

Serious High rise fires

Project Background

n Lakanal House Fire, 2009n “It is not considered practical or economically viable

to make a requirement for the retrospective fitting of fire suppression systems to all current high-rise residential buildings”.

n Potential SCG/CLG Housing Directorate pilot

n CLG withdrew support and involvement

n SCG scoping documentn South Yorkshire FRS/Sheffield Homes proposaln BAFSA to manage projectn Steering Group

‘Safer High-rise Living’

n Report structuren Historical perspective and background

n Legislation, Guidance and Researchn Risks associated with high rise blocks

n Occupants, fire-fighters and financialn Case studies of incidents in high rise blocksn Project managementn Design, specification and installationn True, full and lifetime costsn Potential issues and benefitsn Annex of technical informationn Supporting video

Fire Safety in High Rise Blocks

n BRE Research Report Effectiveness of Sprinklers in Residential Premisesn Cost effective in buildings 11 storeys and overn Possibly cost effective 6 storeys and over

n Building Regulations Approved Document Bn Required in new residential blocks over 30m

n Scottish Building Standardsn Requirement over 18m

n CFOA sponsored review of BRE report: Published November 2012

High Rise Fire Safety Guidance

n CLG Guidance Document: Fire safety fire risk assessment: Sleeping accommodationn There may be some safety and financial benefits in providing

such a systemn Cost effective solution to reducing riskn Relaxation restrictions in designn Permits alternative approaches to satisfying building regulations

and other fire safety requirements

n LGID report – Fire safety in purpose built flatsn Statistically - no greater risk than low rise n Reliance on compartmentation and ‘stay put’ policy

High Rise Fire Risks and Impact

n Fire Risk Assessment reportsn Experience suggests passive measures are not maintainedn Failure to ensure compartmentation not breached by other

services and damagen Fire development in some fires supports this belief

n Potential for fire growth and spreadn Time required to establish fire-fighting resources at bridgeheadn Risks to occupants and fire-fighters

n Financial and social impact of incidentsn Authoritiesn Residentsn Community

Case Studies - Waddell Court , Glasgow

n Major refurbishment programme 2007 – 2009n £4.25 million per block

n 16 December 2009 n Serious fire on 5th floorn One fatality and two injuriesn Fire spread to upper floors

n Residents rehoused for up to 11 months

n Total cost of rehousing, refurbishment and loss of rental income = £2.6 million

n Only 1 of the 77 residents have house contents insurance

Case Studies - Impact of Incidents

n Callow Mount, Sheffieldn Serious fire in single flat of adjacent blockn Refurbishment costs to date £13k

n South Ayrshire Counciln Fitted sprinklers as part of a refurbishment programme in

2002/3n Subsequently experienced two serious fires in individual

flatsn Minimal water damagen Refurbishment limited to redecoration of flats involved

Relaxations and compensations

n Design freedoms if undertaking major refurbishmentsn Building Regulations/Standards approval and compliancen Relaxations permit changes to internal layout

n BS9991:2011- Fire safety in the design, management and use of residential buildings. Code of practice.n Permits relaxation of standards for means of escape, levels of

fire resistance and fire alarm standardsn Relaxation of fire service access requirements

n Northampton Housen Former office block converted to flatsn Sprinklers only way to satisfy Building

regulations and make conversion commercially viablen Three fires since occupancy, residents escaped uninjured

Callow Mount Project, Sheffield

n 13 storey tower block managed as sheltered housing

n Ground floor – caretakers office, services, communal room and 4 external bin stores

n Other 12 floors have four flats

n Floors have a common lobby containing two lift shafts

n Two means of escape staircases

Contractural Arrangements

n Licence from Sheffield City Council and BAFSAn JCT Minor Works Contract between BAFSA and

Domestic Sprinklers Ltd for design and installationn Kier sub-contracted to undertake ancillary works by

Domestic Sprinklersn Marpal appointed as CDM Co-ordinators by BAFSAn Third party approval by Warrington Certification

n Support from BAFSA members:n Labour in kindn Provision of componentsn Cash contributionsn Full cost invoices to BAFSA for components and

labour to ensure true costs identified

Design and Approval

n Design to BS 9251:2005 Sprinkler systems for residential and domestic occupancies - Code of practice

n Approval of design by:n Exova Warringtonn BAFSA (Peter Armstrong and Roy Young)n Zurich Insurance

n Approval of installation and commissioning by Exova Warrington

Consultation with residents

n Regular meetings and updatesn Proactive relationship with installers and

individual residentsn Contact with warden and tenants liaison team

(Sheffield Homes)

Water supplies

n From existing service mains

n Good pressure and flow

n Supplemented by twinelectric pumps

n WRAS approval from Yorkshire Water

Installation

n Domestic Sprinklers Ltdn 8 staff - Badged as BAFSA

n CPVC pipeworkn surface mounted within existing or extended boxing

n Sidewall heads in flats

n Pendant headsn in service areas, lobbies, ground floors and bin stores

n Boxing and decoration by Kiern 7 staff for 2.5 weeks

Installation Timetable

Completion date Wednesday 28 September

Work commenced Wednesday 30 August

Installation in four flats

Week commencingMonday 5 September

Communal areas 90% complete. Positive feed back from residents’ meetings

Week commencingMonday 12 September

System installed in 12 further flats and preparation work on lobbies. Communal areas completed

Week commencingMonday 19 September

20 more flats and lobbies completed

Week commencingMonday 26 September

Installation in 11 flats, boiler room, bin stores, commissioning and snagging.

Feedback

n Chairman of the Tenants Association David Cooke:n “I was highly satisfied with the work in my flat. The

feedback from residents has been tremendous, everybody is 100% satisfied”.

n Residents and their familiesn “Relatives are safer in the event of fire”

n Sheffield City Council/Sheffield Homesn “Enhance safety of residents, emergency services and

minimise the financial and social impact of fire”n Developing a programme of installation of suppression

systems in their property portfolio

Callow Mount costs

n Identified true and full costs for installing sprinklers n Total Cost - £55,134n Cost per flat £1148 per flat

n Maintenance and full life costsn Maintenance costs £250 per annum (2011 prices)n Lifetime costs based 30 year period on above are

circa £60kn Equates to between £40 and £50 per year per flat

Fairview Court, Pontypool

n 12 storey block with 70 flats: Bron Arfon Housing Association – Concerns:n Frequency of false alarms from detection systemn Cost and impact of fires in blocks elsewhere in UK

n Contract for sprinkler installation awarded to Vipondn System is compliant to BS 9251n Flats, communal areas, bin and cycle stores and roof top

pavilion n Full capacity tank for 30 minutes supply with two electric fire

pumps and fire service connection

n Cost of installation circa £80k n Cost equates to £1150 per flatn Cost to supplement water supply is approximately £10k

Conclusions

n Practical and cost effective to retrofit a sprinkler system in occupied high rise housing in reasonable time and with minimum impact on residents

n Provides evidence for housing authorities, housing associations and fire and rescue services to consider the potential use and cost effectiveness of sprinklers to:n Enhance safety of residents and firefightersn Reduce financial and social impact of fire

n Provides evidence for authorities to consider the potential cost benefit of using sprinklers in:n Major refurbishment programmesn Development of fire safety policiesn Compare benefits with other fire safety measures

Impact to date

n Widespread coverage in local, fire and construction median BBC ‘Breakfast’

n 25 presentations to 3000 people and series of site visits

n Widespread interest from fire and housing sectorsn Contracts for a number of high rise and low rise installations from local

authorities and housing associations

n Callow Mount used as exemplar to support local campaigns

n LGA adopted proposal for toolkit to promote the use of sprinklers in residential and domestic premises

n Changes to legislation and guidance?

Westminster Government’s Chief Fire and Rescue advisor, Sir Ken Knight – Launch Event 2012

“It is really encouraging to see the sector rising to the challenge to show retro-fitting sprinklers isn’t as costly as previously thought.”He said it would be particularly useful to target social housing and sheltered accommodation. Supporting the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association’s efforts to promote the report’s findings around the country, Sir Ken added: “Housing owners should be made aware of these findings and put them on their risk profile. We need to focus on the risk-based approach.”

PROTECTING PEOPLE, PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Thank you