Creating Safe Learning Spaces: Passive Fire Protection in Educational Institutes
Between 2020 and 2023, a single insurance company in the UK saw 115 school fires cause more than £27 million in damage. The same insurer’s data found that more than £128,000 worth of damage was caused by fires in schools last year. It goes without saying that school fire safety is critical for protecting students, staff, and assets.
Passive fire protection is one of the most important means of campus fire prevention. These measures prevent the spread of fire and smoke, enhance evacuation procedures, and minimise damage.
In this article, we explore the significance of passive fire protection in schools, the implementation of fire safety standards, and the maintenance and inspection of fire protection systems in educational settings.
Importance of Passive Fire Protection in Schools
We’ll begin our exploration of educational building fire protection by taking a closer look at passive fire protection, the importance of protecting lives and assets, and compliance and safety regulations.
Understanding Passive Fire Protection
Passive fire protection is a non-negotiable element of school fire safety. The purpose of a passive fire protection system is to prevent or slow the spread of fire and smoke in the building using various fire-rated materials, such as fire-resistant doors. These materials and features contain fire, smoke, and heat to limit the fire to a single compartment in the building, allowing valuable time for evacuation and making it easier for emergency services to deal with the fire.
The best systems aimed at protecting lives and limiting structural damage work on the principle of compartmentalisation, which is the building’s division into fire protected areas.
Protecting Lives and Assets
An estimated 90,000 children in the UK had their education disrupted by school fires, while the National Union of Teachers estimated that the cost of these fires is approximately £100 million a year. A single case of arson caused £1.2 million worth of damage at a school in the North-West.
School fires in the UK in recent years have resulted in no deaths and few serious injuries. Even so, the protection of the lives of students and staff, as well as the protection of property and valuable resources, cannot be left to chance, making passive campus fire prevention measures a necessity.
Compliance and Safety Regulations
Using passive fire protection to enhance school fire safety isn’t merely a sensible course of action. It’s mandated by UK law, namely the Regulatory Reform of Fire Safety Order 2005 and the Fire Safety Act 2021. According to this legislation, schools must designate a responsible person to perform various duties that fall under three different categories. These categories include passive fire protection, active fire protection, and fire safety management.
It’s vitally important to adhere to these regulations and standards to ensure educational building fire protection.
Implementing Fire Safety Standards in Educational Facilities
The three main steps of implementing fire safety standards in educational facilities include identifying key areas for campus fire prevention, incorporating fire resistant materials, and collaborating with experts.
Identifying Key Areas for Fire Protection
Schools include several critical areas containing important resources. In order to install passive fire protection systems effectively, it’s essential that you first identify the school’s key areas.
The areas that usually receive school fire safety and protection measures include classrooms, laboratories, libraries, offices, and common areas.
Incorporating Fire-Resistant Materials
Each building will require slightly different campus fire prevention measures incorporating various fire-resistant materials. Conduct a fire risk assessment survey to ascertain the unique passive fire protection strategy for each building, which usually consists of one or more of the following measures:
Fire and smoke doors: These engineered components are either solid or made with a core of flax board or a wood composite material. They are fitted with intumescent seals that seal the door on impact with heat. The doors are designed to allow people to evacuate a space and close once released, limit the amount of oxygen available to slow or prevent fires from spreading, and to protect escape routes from flames, smoke, and gases.
Fire curtains: Triggered by smoke detectors or fire alarms, fire curtains fall vertically to obstruct a fire’s path. These are often used in open plan buildings which cannot support school fire safety measures such as fire doors.
Fire and smoke dampers: These measures close automatically when a fire is detected. Dampers allow the flow of air where fire rated structures such as walls are penetrated.
Fire walls: Constructed using non-combustible materials, fire walls are barriers which are installed into building structures. They support compartmentalisation and prevent fires from spreading from one area to another.
Intumescent coatings: These fire-resistant coatings are designed to keep the materials to which they’re applied from reaching their flammable temperature and to maintain their structural loadbearing capacity. When exposed to heat, intumescent coatings form a stable, insulative carbonaceous char.
Collaborating with Experts
Given the importance of educational building fire protection, it’s important to work with fire safety experts and contractors when designing and implementing passive fire protection systems tailored to your school’s unique needs. Certified expert installers not only ensure that the relevant measures are installed correctly, but also ensure that those measures work as intended.
Collaborating with expert installers gives you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that the necessary campus fire prevention measures meet the required standards.
Ongoing Maintenance to Identify and Prevent Issues
Regular inspections and testing and implementing best practices are essential for the maintenance of fire protection systems in schools.
Regular Inspections and Testing
Passive fire protection systems rely on fire barriers and seals, making regular inspections and testing a necessity. Inspections and testing by technicians can help identify wear and tear or damage that could compromise these measures. Inspections usually involve checking for degradation such as cracks or gaps in fire doors, walls, and intumescent coatings.
Maintenance Best Practices
Implement the following maintenance best practices to ensure that your school’s campus fire prevention measures are kept in good condition:
Ensure regulatory compliance: Ensure compliance with regulations through certification of school fire safety upgrades and adjustments, ongoing monitoring, and regular inspections.
Update campus fire prevention measures: Update your passive fire protection system when required, which may include replacing materials with more effective options, upgrading all seals around service penetrations, and integrating new methods or technologies to enhance your strategy.
Comprehensive reporting and risk assessment: Keep all detailed reports you receive from technicians, and keep a log of all inspections, maintenance activities, and repairs.
Training and Preparedness
Ongoing training and preparedness are essential for reinforcing educational building fire protection. Bring in technicians who can explain fire safety protocols and the various components of passive fire protection systems in detail.
Ensure that students and staff are familiar with what do if a fire breaks out, and with the school’s evacuation procedures and routes.
Passive Fire Protection Systems Create Safer Learning Spaces
Implementing and maintaining passive fire protection systems in educational institutions is essential for creating safe learning environments. Prioritise school fire safety, adhere to fire protection standards, and conduct regular maintenance and training to significantly reduce the risk of fire-related incidents and ensure the safety and well-being of students and staff.
Contact Bell for fire risk assessments and the installation of penetration seals, fire doors, cavity barriers, and compartmentation solutions at your school.
