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News Release from: British Fire Consortium | Subject: Portable fire extinguishers
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 07 April 2006
Put fire out safely: portable fire
extinguishers
Bristish Fire Consortium discuss portable fire extinguisher selection and correct application.
Portable fire extinguishers are designed to be used quickly and effectively by people in a stressful situation However, a real fire situation is not the best time to find out that the fire extinguisher is missing, damaged or that the type you are using is not suitable for the type of fire you want to put out! This article gives a brief summary of portable extinguisher types, classes of fire and what the British Standard recommends as good practice in fire extinguisher management
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 13 Oct 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Members of the British Fire Consortium (BFC) work closely with facility managers and specialise in the supply, installation and maintenance of portable fire extinguishers as well as other fire prevention equipment such as alarms and sprinkler systems.
Some BFC members specialise in more sophisticated extinguisher systems and our case study looks at an example of one of these.
The only current legislation surrounding portable fire extinguishers in commercial premises is the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and the Workplace Regulations 1997 (amended 1999) which state simply that there must be extinguishers in a commercial building and that they must be regularly maintained.
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However this Act will be replaced by the new Fire Regulatory Reform in April 2006 when a move away from the current prescriptive regime to a risk assessment based approach will occur.
British Standard 5306 offers practical guidelines for both professional installers and building occupiers.
Part 3 covers inspection and maintenance of portable extinguishers, whilst Part 8 concerns itself with siting and installation.
Part 3 states that extinguishers must be regularly serviced by a "competent person" and this is defined as someone who has passed an examination by an independent body recognised by the British Approvals for Fire Equipment (BAFE).
The BFC is a good starting point for facility managers looking for "competent" servicing companies as it is one of only three examination bodies recognised by BAFE.
BFC Technicians achieve "competent person" status by successfully completing the BFC's own BAFE recognised training courses.
The Code of Practice goes on to recommend that a basic service should take place annually and an extended service every five years.
Extinguishers have to be overhauled every ten years.
Depending upon the type of portable extinguisher (gas cartridge or stored pressure) the competent person will carry out the required checks, maintenance procedures, discharges and replacements as required under Part 3.
In between these service visits, the responsible person (normally the FM) also has his or her own checks to carry out and the Code of Practice recommends these be performed monthly.
(Confusingly the "Fire Safety - An Employers Guide" recommends these checks be made each week.
However as fire alarm systems have to be tested once a week, if you have an alarm system to check, it makes sense to go beyond the BS recommendations and to check the extinguishers at the same time).
These checks should ascertain that all extinguishers are still in the right place, that they are appropriate for the fire risk in that location and that they are in proper working order as far as the responsible person can tell.
(The first in our series of articles for FM World set out these checks in detail.) Part 3 also recommends that spare extinguishers be kept on site so they can be quickly replaced without having to wait for a service visit.
The number of spares stored should be determined by the level of risk of accidental damage or discharge - for example in schools, there is a high risk of extinguishers being discharged by pupils.
A competent servicing company will determine the number, type and position of extinguishers required in a building by using a formula based on fire ratings and the area of the building.
This will ensure all areas are covered by sufficient extinguishers that are appropriate for the type of fire likely to start.
Fires are rated as follows: Fire Rating Description Class A Fires involving flammable solids such as paper, wood, flammable textiles etc .
Class B Fires involving flammable liquids such as oil, petrol, plus liquefiable solids such as margarine, floor polish etc.
Class C Fires involving flammable gases such as mains gas, butane, propane etc.
Class D Fire involving flammable metals such as magnesium, aluminium and titanium Electrical Fires Fires which start on and involve electrical equipment.
Class F Fires involving hot cooking fats or oils such as used in commercial deep fat fryers The choice of extinguisher will then be made from the following types, which are designed to be effective on one or more classes of fire.
Extinguisher Comment: Fire Class Rating Suitability Water Widely used in UK.
A Water (With Additives) Relatively new, becoming popular.
A More useful than Water alone as some of these types reduce the risk of electric shock if inadvertently used on electrical fires.
Foam Widely used in UK - care must be taken with disposal.
A,B BC Powder ABC Powder Both types highly effective but very messy.
BC ABC ( contains Ammonium Phosphate) Powders are more widely used in Continental Europe.
D Powder A specialist powder for metal fires.
D Wet Chemical Relatively new, highly effective on fires involving hot cooking fats or oils.
F, A (some types effective on Class B) CO? Commonly used throughout commercial premises in the UK.
For Electrical Fires Can also be used on Class B Halon.
This type has been discontinued.
A, B, Electrical: Previously one of the most common types but now illegal because halon is an ozone depleting substance.
Halon extinguishers were withdrawn in December 2003 and should be disposed of responsibly.
A typical mix of portable extinguishers installed in a premises might therefore include: Foam and CO extinguishers in a reception area (Foam for the flammable solids in reception as well as car fires starting in the car park outside, and CO2 to cover the electrical risk from computer equipment at the desk); Water extinguishers throughout the building; CO2 types alongside these wherever there was electrical equipment present; large CO2 types in the plant room; an ABC Powder type for Class C fires in a plant room with a large gas boiler, ABC Powder types in underground car parks to cover Class C fires in cars (useful as these types are unaffected by frost) and finally Foam types adjacent to janitors cupboards where polishes etc are stored and are at risk from Class B fires.
A Case Study.
Some environments demand a more sophisticated approach, particularly where the loss of business critical computer equipment and data could cost a company millions of pounds to replace.
Tony Floyde is Facilities Manager at IPC Media, which occupies the distinctive King's Reach Tower on the South Bank in London.
BIFM member Tony has been in the FM industry longer than he cares to remember and, together with an in-house FM and security staff and outside contractors, he is responsible for a variety of sophisticated fire prevention systems within the building.
These include a state-of-the-art, self-monitoring fire alarm system, fire doors which open automatically when the alarm sounds to avoid bottle necks during evacuation, and various other bespoke elements, devised by Tony.
These include the cookers in the company's Presentations area, which switch themselves off automatically if no one is sensed moving around them after a certain period of time.
BFC member company, Elecservice, run by Patrick Raven, provides specialised extinguishing systems to companies with large electronic data storage areas and IT suites.
Tony is directly responsible for fire systems in specialist areas of the IPC building and therefore works closely with Patrick, whose company designed and installed the "laser air sampling" and "gas extinguishing systems" in the building's Data Centre UPS Rooms and Plant Rooms.
Patrick explains: "We installed a two stage system in the 160 m2 Data Centre, which initially sounds a local alarm only and gives the IT staff a chance to deal with the situation without progressing to the second stage".
"This is when the alarm sounds throughout the building and there is a full evacuation, whilst £50,000 worth of FM200 fire suppression gas is automatically released into the room!".
The two-hour fire rated room has been constructed to meet the standards set out in LPR16 and has been pressure tested to hold the gas for 45 minutes.
The laser air sampling system, linked to the fire alarm, is sensitive enough to detect a smouldering fire very quickly, usually before smoke can be detected visually.
This system monitors the particle count in the air by drawing air into sampling pipes in the ceiling void above the Data Centre.
Smoke detectors are also fitted.
When the air sampling system first detects a fire, it triggers sounders in the IT department only and notifies only all necessary security and FM personnel.
The system also uses SMS to send notification to the Facilities manager - this is especially useful out of hours.
At this stage, if appropriate, the system can be overridden on the authority of the Facilities manager or the IT Infrastructure manager.
But if it's not overridden, as soon as the air sampling system identifies a particle size increase within its own sensors, or a confirmation is received from another detector, then the Stage 2 full alarm status is triggered.
All power supplies to the Main Data Centre are isolated and warnings are sounded to local staff that a gas release will occur in 30 seconds.
Whatever level of extinguisher sophistication is required in your facility, a member of the British Fire Consortium will be able to help you!.
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