Fire Safety Engineering

Presentation to the HKIS (Junior Organisation)

20th March 2004

Arup
We are a global firm of independent consultants
working in the fields of:
Technologies
Technologies

Ir M.C. Hui

Economics and Business

BSc (Eng) Hons, MEng (Building Fire Safety & Risk Engineering)
CEng, CPEng, PE, MIFE, MSFPE, MCIBSE, MHKIE, MIEAust, MIAFSS

Design

Associate

Planning

Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd

Project management

We contribute to Hong Kongs

skyline

We have more than 80 offices worldwide

including 24 in South East Asia and Australasia

and to Hong Kongs

infrastructure

Established in Asia since 196O, now

providing:

Business planning
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Investment appraisal
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Security
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Fire engineering
Electrical Engineering
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We number more than 7,000 consulting staff,

with over 1,300 in Asia
our only business is consultancy

What is Fire Safety Engineering?

Myths and misconceptions
It is sprinkler and fire alarm system design
A magic wand
It is about calculations and computer modelling
It is a cut corner / cost saving exercise

What is Fire Safety Engineering?

ISO/TC92/SC4 definition:
The application of engineering principles, rules and
expert judgment based on a scientific appreciation of
the fire phenomena, of the effects of fire, and of the
reaction and behaviour of people, in order to;
a) save life, protect property and preserve the
environment and heritage.
b) quantify the hazards and risk of fire and its
effects.
c) evaluate analytically the optimum protective and
preventative measures necessary to limit, within
prescribed levels, the consequences of fire.

What is Fire Safety Engineering?

The use of science, engineering, and common sense to
formulate a fire safety strategy and provide fire safety
measures tailored for the situation. This usually
includes:
Identify the fire safety goals and objectives

Why Fire Safety Engineering?

Benefits:
Increase design flexibility
Achieve intended functionality level

Identify fire hazards and fire scenarios

Effective / Integrated fire safety provisions

Establish acceptance criteria with AHJ

Cost effective solutions

Develop & evaluate alternative options (trial designs)

Higher confidence in achieving fire safety goals

Cost benefit analysis

Documentation of the findings

Fire Safety Goals

Fire Safety Goals

Protection of Property and Contents

Tweed Courthouse

Fire Safety Goals

Fire Safety Goals

Protection of Heritage

Business interruption

Dusseldorf Airport

Windsor Castle

When is Fire Safety Engineering

applicable?

Control Center

How long can your facility be out of operation??

5 minutes?
1 hour?

Beijing Parkview

Prescriptive solution restricting design flexibility

/ innovations and/or functionality

When is Fire Safety Engineering

applicable?

China Central TV Office Tower, Beijing

Buildings too complex to be covered by generic

codes and regulations

When is Fire Safety Engineering

applicable?
Cost effective solutions needed

When is Fire Safety Engineering

applicable?

Dalian Shopping Centre

Oversized fire compartment volume

Extended travel distance
Reduced escape staircases and total stair width
PBD for smoke control system

BEIJING OLYMPIC PROJECTS

Fire safety goals beyond that addressed by the

prescriptive codes

When is Fire Safety Engineering

applicable?

How are Fire Safety Engineering

principles applied?
Fire testing

Post Fire Investigation

Deterministic analysis
Probabilistic analysis
Risk based approach

Fire testing

Fire testing

Furniture Calorimeter Test

Cone Calorimeter Test

Measured parameters:
Time to ignition
Heat release rate
Mass loss
Smoke production
Production of O2,
CO and CO2

Fire testing

Fire testing

ISO 9705 Test (ISO Room Fire Test)

Adopted by IMO
to classify wall &
ceiling linings in
high-speed
crafts, based on
time to flashover,
heat release and
smoke
production.
Max. sample size
= 31.7m

Deterministic analysis
Time Line Analysis

Time Line Analysis

Ignition

Detection & Alarm

System
Decision to move

Untenable conditions

Reach place of safety

Safety
margin

Result of good escape route

design, management,etc.

Safe Evacuation

Time Line Analysis

Deterministic analysis
400

Untenable conditions Untenable conditions

Detection & Alarm

System

Zone and/or CFD model for

Available Safe Egress Time (ASET)

Required Safe Egress

Time (RSET)
Reach place of safety

Decision to move

Hot layer temperature (C)

Statistics for
response time Evacuation model
Fire model for
for evacuation time
detection time

5.5
5.0

350

4.5

300

4.0

250

3.5
3.0

200

2.5

150

2.0
Temperature

100

Height

50

Radiation
hazard analysis

0.0
0

Result of good escape route

design, management,etc.

1.0
0.5

Safety
margin

1.5

(Hot layer height (m)

Ignition

60

120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 780 840 900

Time (s)

Smoke hazard analysis

(zone model)

Safe Evacuation

Deterministic analysis
Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling

Deterministic analysis
Evacuation Simulation

Deterministic analysis

Deterministic analysis

Human Behaviour in fires (psychology)

Human Behaviour in fires (psychology)

First actions of the US study population by gender

Deterministic analysis

Deterministic analysis

Structural analysis

Structural analysis
Performing a thermal analysis (e.g. simple
numerical methods, or more complex
finite element methods)

z1

Composite Floor Slab Under Normal

and Fire Limit State

z2

z3

0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25

Heat transfer
analysis for
structural
stability under
fire

0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0

Safir thermal analysis program

Deterministic analysis

0. 05

0.1

0.15

0. 2

0. 25

0.3

Super Tempcalc thermal analysis program

Probabilistic analysis

t = 0 second s

t = 1 0 sec onds

t = 3 0 sec onds

E v a c u a tio n T im e

S p re a d o f S m o k e V s T im e

V i s ib il t y

P r e - m o v e m e n t ti m e

T o x ic ity

A l a r m I n t e llig i b i li t y

S a fe ty F a c to r s

S a fe ty F a c to rs

A v a i l a b l e S a f e E g r e s s T im e

Risk based approach

Acceptable risk level

Risk based approach

Unacceptable risk level
Fatality
Major Injury

ALARP

<5

<5
5-50

>5-50
>51-500

<5

5-50

51-500

>501-5000

20-60 m in

few hours

1 day

>1 week

Minor Injury

Cost $

System Disruption

Total cost
Expected loss
Cost for risk reduction

Few times/wk or m ore

A >=100/yr

Trivial
R3

Negligible
R1

Marginal
R1

Serious
R1

Critical
R1

Catastrophic
R1

Few times per month

B >=10/yr but <100/yr

R4

R1

R1

R1

R1

R1

Few times per year

C >=1/yr but <10/yr

R4

R2

R1

R1

R1

R1

Few times in 10 years

D >=1E-1/yr but <1/yr

R4

R3

R2

R1

R1

R1

Once since operation

E >=1E-2/yr but <1E-1/yr

R4

R3

R3

R2

R1

R1

Unlikely to occur

F >=1E-3/yr but <1E-2/yr

R4

R4

R3

R3

R2

R1

Very unlikely to occur

G >=1E-4/yr but <1E-3/yr

R4

R4

R4

R3

R3

R2

Remote

H >=1E-5/yr but <1E-4/yr

R4

R4

R4

R4

R3

R3

Incredible

R4

R4

R4

R4

R1 = Unacceptable

Optimal level

>=1E-6/yr
R2 = Undesirable

R3 = Broadly Acceptable

R4

R3

R4 = Acceptable

Fire Risk Level

Safety Systems in Atria (1)

Case study

Hypothetical atrium

EXAMPLE 1

30m30m, 30m high

Shops onto Atria

Atrium Fire Safety System

Safety Systems in Atria (2)

Safety Systems in Atria (3)

Alternative Approach - Atrium Base Protection

Prescriptive code approach

No smoke extraction system
Sprinkler system on ceiling level
Fire shutters onto atria

Safety Systems in Atria (4)

Estimate the fire size at atrium base

>10 min activate sprinkler on ceiling
>20 MW
BS 5588 Part 7 suggests to control fire <2.5MW at
atrium base
Max height 10m for fast response sprinkler
7.5m for conventional sprinkler
NFPA 101, max height 17m

Group of fuel separation distance

Alternative Approach - Atrium Base Protection

Control the fire load on the atrium basis BS 5588 Part 7
each island <160 kg
<10m2
>4m distance
Or provide atrium fire suppress system

D
R

where R = distance between the combustible and the fire (m)

D = diameter of the fire source (m)

Safety Systems in Atria (4 contd)

Safety Systems in Atria (5)

Atrium fire suppression system

10m2 give a total heat output of 5MW fire (3.0

- 3.3MW convective heat)
Distance between two groups of
combustibles can be estimated
R
qr = 15.4
D

1.59

kW / m 2

qr < 20kW/m2 for no self ignition

5MW fire has approximately 3.5m diameter
fire (D). R=4.2m

Safety Systems in Atria (6)

Prescriptive Atrium Base Protection

Sprinkler on ceiling

Engineered Atrium Base Protection

Fire load control, or
Atrium fire suppression

Safety Systems in Atria (7)

Alternative Approach - Protection of Shops

Estimate shop design fire
BS 5588 Part 10 suggests 5 MW fire
Provide smoke control to shop and/or atrium

Application: Hong Kong

International Airport

Case study

EXAMPLE 2
Hong Kong International Airport

Feature of the Terminal Building

Simplicity of principal layout

Transparency and lightness of spaces
Convenience
Largest volume of single building
Most unique building for spatial
compartmentation

Fire Safety Engineering Design

Cabin concept
Island concept
Smoke clearance system
Fire load control
Evacuation analysis
Fire safety management

Cabin Concept (2)

Prescriptive Requirement

Compartmentation
maximum volume, 28,000m3

Smoke extraction system

8 air change rate per hour

Sprinkler system
very high roof, sprinkler system not function
massive capital investment to cover the whole terminal
building

Cabin Concept (1)

Principle of cabin concept

provide fire protection to high fire load areas,
restaurant, retail shops, services counters
avoid smoke and fire spread out of this areas
permit flexibility in use of large space without physical
compartment walls

Fire Cabin in Terminal Building

Sketch of open fire cabin

10

Island Concept

Island Concept: Combustibles near

Cabin

Principle of island concept

circulation areas under high ceiling not protected by
sprinkler system
prevent fire spread from cabin to adjacent low fire load
area or fire spread between low fire load areas
radiation from hot smoke under a very high ceiling is
negligible
ignition criterion 20kW/m2 of radiation

Island Concept: Combustible

Groups in Other Areas

Smoke Clearance System

Smoke clearance fans at high ceiling level

Aspirating smoke detection system
The system deals with baggage fires or smoke
spilling out from the cabin of fire origin

Smoke Clearance System

Fire Load Control: Waiting Area

11

Fire Load Control: Restaurant Areas

Fire Load Control: Other Areas

Evacuation Analysis
Fire Safety Management

Housekeeping management
Evacuation management
Staff training

Models - A New Concept?

Models - A New Concept?

12

What is a model:

Modelling in the old days

A model of anything is simply a systematic

representation of that thing

Human nature to try to understand the surrounding

Thought models (or conceptual models)

Create thought models to explain phenomena,

improve knowledge or as a reliance

Scale models

Applies to daily life

Mathematical models

Forms a basis to build our perception

Modelling nowadays

Modelling - only one of the tools in Fire

Safety Engineering

I use a Model because:

The client / Authority wants me to
The client hired me because I use models
Models are better than my engineering judgment

a) save life, protect property and preserve the

environment and heritage.
b) quantify the hazards and risk of fire and its
effects.

I cant get an answer any other way

c) evaluate analytically the optimum protective and

preventative measures necessary to limit, within
prescribed levels, the consequences of fire.

Who can be fire safety engineers?

Who can be fire safety engineers?

Fire science (fire chemistry)

Interaction between fire and people

Fire science (fire dynamics)

Fire-ground operations

Fire initiation and development

Smoke production and management

Fire detection, warning and suppression

Fire spread, impact and control

Fire protection engineering (active)

Occupant characteristics and evacuation

Fire risk assessment

Fire protection engineering (passive)

Fire prevention

Smoke control

Codes and standards

Fire Service intervention

Emergency management

Deterministic or probabilistic assessments

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Who can be fire safety engineers?

Where is fire safety engineering at

globally?

Fire investigation

Fire safety design & management of industrial

processes

Fire insurance (including QRA)

Fire safety design & management of transport

activities

Fire safety of consumer items & energy sources

Fire safety design & management of cities &

communities

Fire safety design & management of buildings

Fire safety engineering research and teaching

1985 - England and Wales

1990 - Scotland
1990 - Japan Integrated Design Code
1991 - New Zealand
1993 - Sweden
1997 - Australia
1997 Eire (Irish Republic)
2000 USA
2001 - Canada
European code under development

Hong Kong Performance-Based Building

Fire Code Framework (proposed)
Ordinances

FireSafety
SafetyObjectives
Objectives
Fire

Regulations

PerformanceRequirements
Requirements
Performance

Performance Requirements

HongKong
KongFire
FireSafety
SafetyCode
Code(inc.
(inc.Performance
PerformanceRequirements)
Requirements)
Hong

Codes of
Practice
(Approved
Solutions)

Meansof
of
Means
escape
escape
(MOE)
(MOE)
(revised)
(revised)

Fire
Fire
resistant
resistant
construction
construction
(FRC)
(FRC)
(revised)
(revised)

Submission
Submission
Procedures
Procedures

Guidance
Documents

Meansof
of
Means
access
access
(MOA)
(MOA)
(revised)
(revised)

Emergency
Emergency
vehicle
vehicle
access
access
(EVA)
(EVA)
(new)
(new)

Fire
Fire
Engineering
Engineering
Guidelines
Guidelines

Fire
Fire
services
services
installation
installation
(FSI)
(FSI)
(revised)
(revised)

Practice
Practice
Notes and
Notes and
Circular
Circular
Letters
Letters

Maintenance
Maintenance
&
&
Management
Management
(new)
(new)

Accreditation
Accreditation
of
of
Practitioners
Practitioners
&
&
Contractors
Contractors

Materials
Materials
&
&
Components
Components
(new)
(new)

A
Prescriptive
Solutions

B
Combination of
Alternative &
Prescriptive
Solutions

C
Alternative Fire
Engineering
Solutions

Routes to Satisfy Fire Safety Performance Requirements

Hong Kong Fire Safety Hierarchy for Regulatory Reform

Thank You for Your Attention

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