31 May 2018
Smoke in building fires is far from innocuous. It spreads quickly and stealthily and how it’s held back to enable means of escape or to stop it entering into flats and apartments needs to be seen to be believed.
Its definition: “a visible suspension of carbon or other particles in air, typically one emitted from a burning substance¹”
has more meaning as smoke inhalation: “the poisoning of the lungs caused by inhaling large quantities of toxic fumes
from a fire².”
Gerda is highlighting the dangers of smoke and what to look out for with live demonstrations on stand A390 at scheduled
times throughout the exhibition.
What has changed?
The living environment of flats is quite different to that of the 1950s/1960s even up to relatively recently the 1990s.
Lifestyles were simpler, furniture and contents were fewer and materials less complex. Today a person’s flat or
apartment is likely to have a high proportion of possessions and furniture which are polymer-based or made from fire
retardant materials. Additionally construction materials have become more lightweight, easier to produce, improve
insulation and offer perceived cheaper cost alternatives to the more traditional building materials such as timber steel
and stone.
Why should this matter?
Fires in dwellings then produced carbonaceous smoke, which is quite different to the toxic smoke that is produced
today. With the increase in polymer and fire retardant usage in construction products, scientific work is taking place
internationally to look at human behaviour in toxic and smoke-filled conditions; the acute toxicity of combustion
products (e.g. asphyxiants); the chronic effects (e.g. carcinogens) to name but a few areas. It is a complex field, which
is dependent on the fire conditions; materials present and oxygen levels. The types of toxins depend on the materials’
composition as well as the fire conditions. Today, in addition to carbon monoxide gas, ever present in smoke from
building fires, other toxic hazards now include hydrogen cyanide, nitric oxide, hydrogen chloride, ammonia, bromine
and isocyanates.³
Smoke-related fatalities in England account for over 50% of deaths year on year over the last four years4
. When Fire &
Rescue crews attend fires these days the default is for Breathing Apparatus to be worn – it is only taken off when the
officer in charge deems it is safe so to do.
How to minimise the risks?
Passive protection fire safety measures such as fire doorsets are crucial in preventing the spread of smoke. Whilst
passive in name, when called upon in fires, they must actively perform. Notwithstanding confidence in the fire safety
measure itself (the fire doorset) not rapidly combusting and not having significant material toxic hazards, reassurance
on how it performs in holding back toxic smoke is vital.
“It is only when you witness a smoke-filled area and the ensuing disorientation, you realise the crucial role the fire
doorset has to play. Vividly demonstrated by Gerda” Ian Moore, CEO, Fire Industry Association.
Find out key points you need to be aware of on stand A390.
Gerda Security Products Ltd
Website
Email Us
T: 0800 389 1521
Technologies House
26 Hampstead Avenue
Mildenhall
IP28 7AS
Suffolk
United Kingdom
Gerda Security Products Ltd where at stand FI.1817 on the 16-18 May 2023 at the ExCeL London where the co-located IFSEC, FIREX, Facilities Show and Safety & Health Expo events took place!
"If a building has not been built to conform to the provisions of Approved Document B, then will the fire brigade know what to expect when they arrive to fight a fire? It is essential that protocols are developed to ensure that operational firefighters know about the design and fire safety peculiarities." ...
The Gerda G-Smart™ system provides an effective management system for the installation and maintenance of fire doorsets. The G-Smart code within Gerda doorsets stores the doorset ‘DNA’ and full history of any changes and maintenance. The easy to use G-Smart App links to a monitoring system,...
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