Insurance Europe Standard

CEA 4101Guidelines for the implementation

of Fire Engineering Solutions

April 2016

This non-binding standard has been developed by prevention bodies, under the initiative of the insurers or their representatives grouped at European level in the Insurance Europe Prevention Forum.

The prevention bodies are: - ANPI asbl, Belgium- CEPREVEN, Spain- CNPP, France- FPA (Fire Protection Association), United Kingdom- VdS Schadenverhütung GmbH, Germany

The technical work has been carried out by the Expert Group 14. The editorial work has been carried out by CNPP ENTREPRISE, on behalf of the other prevention bodies. The copyright of the non-binding standards is shared by the Consortium of prevention bodies:

ContentsForeword................................................................................................ 51 Introduction..................................................................................... 52 Definitions....................................................................................... 63 Principles of risk control............................................................... 64 Building Design Process.................................................................. 75 Interaction of fire engineering in the building process........... 106 Design of fire protection systems............................................... 137 Quality Assurance.......................................................................... 14

7.1 General considerations.............................................................. 147.2 Special aspects concerning the use of computer-based fire models

..............................................................................................148 Training and qualification of people........................................... 16

8.1 General considerations.............................................................. 168.2 Training...................................................................................... 18

9 Potential benefits and negative consequences........................ 20Appendix n°1......................................................................................... 24

Designated body for publication:CNPP ÉditionsRoute de la Chapelle-Réanville – CD 64 – CS 22265 – F 27950 Saint-Marceleditions@cnpp.com – www.cnpp.com

CFPA 5 days courses...................................................................... 24Appendix n°2......................................................................................... 25

CFPA 15 days courses.................................................................... 25Programme of 15 days.................................................................. 26

FOREWORD

This document forms a basis for implementation of fire engineering solutions. Each insurer may have his own requirements.

1 INTRODUCTION

The field of fire engineering has experienced development throughout the world, and Europe is no exception. Due to its basis in science, the areas in which fire engineering could potentially be applied are huge, but at present application is limited by gaps in knowledge about fire and its possible interactions with building environment and occupants. For example, risk and loss statistics, which the insurers keep, are often not in an appropriate form for fire engineering. It can be generally expected that the current application limits of fire engineering can be increasingly be overcome in the future by ongoing research.As an alternative to conventional methods such as prescriptive code fire engineering, fire simulation models are often applied to check specific fire protection measures such as smoke exhausting and the life safety of the whole building. This approach is particularly common for innovative designed buildings, where the situation is not adequately covered by prescriptive building regulations. For example, shopping complexes, commercial buildings containing atria, entertainment venues, airports, stations, the refurbishment of high value historic buildings and for new and upgrading existing industrial buildings.The application and acceptance of fire engineering differ between the various European countries.Moreover some fire engineers also try to check some aspects of loss prevention and property conservation with fire simulation models. The acceptance of this approach by the insurer is observed in few countries at present.A high standard of fire protection based on experiences of property loss is an essential factor which insurers also take into account. Standards of fire protection are evaluated in the context of the insurer’s risk assessment which is based on simple and, in practice, well proven and empirical methods. By the method, the desirable measures for property conservation are often in excess of those described in regulations for life safety and the minimum standard specified by building regulations.

It is therefore also important for the insurer to assess fire protection measures in relation to the relevant objectives and to examine the fire engineering design in detail. Furthermore, experience shows that it is essential that the insurer is consulted at the earliest possible stage of design, so that objectives of property conservation can be fully identified and considered. If the insurer is not chosen from the beginning, the recommendations written in this document represent an approach, which would generally be accepted by insurers.This document describes from the view of insurers:– principles of risk control and fire engineering as part of building design process;– potential benefits and negative consequences of fire engineering, especially computer calculation models;– necessary measures for quality assurance in the development and application of calculation models including training and qualification.In order to:– show the links between life safety and property conservation as fire protecting objectives;– give building designers, occupiers and owners, consultants and fire engineers guidance in the design process;– promote the proper use of fire engineering methods and– indicate the existing gaps in knowledge and therefore the necessary research areas.

2 DEFINITIONS

The ISO definition of fire safety engineering is an application of scientific and engineering principles to the protection of people, property and the environment from fire.As this guide focuses on the property protection aspects regarding fire engineering, it has been decided to make a clear distinction between the mandatory requirements of protection of people and the environment, and the non-mandatory protection of property. In order to make the distinction, the term “fire safety” is used in this document only to describe legal requirements for protection of people and environment. The term “fire protection” is used to include additional contractual requirements of

the insurer relating to property protection.

Fire safety: Condition of built environment, where the individually existing fire hazards and risks for persons and the environment are reduced to an acceptable level. Thereby the object-specific fire safety objectives according to legal building codes are reached with sufficient probability by designed fire protection measures.

Fire protection:Entirety of protection measures for the fire prevention and limitation of fire and smoke propagation in case of fire to achieve the legally necessary fire safety and to fulfil the additional interests of building owner and user, e.g. conservation of property, limitation of business interruption and another subsequent damage.Note: fire protection systems could also contribute to preserve life. Thus some fire protection system are compulsory by the law.

Fire safety engineering:Calculation and engineering procedures, which are based on scientific principles, and their application to the determination of physical characteristics of a fire in the build environment and his impact with regard to fire safety e.g. development of the temperature, propagation of fire and smoke. Protection means can be taken into account in fire safety engineering calculations.

Fire protection engineering:Design of passive and active protection means that fulfils the fire protection objectives. This design procedure may rely on installation rules, calculation procedures, experimental evaluations and operational arrangements.

Fire engineering:Covers fire safety engineering and fire protection engineering.

3 PRINCIPLES OF RISK CONTROL

Before describing the design process itself, it is essential to recall the main principles of risk control that must be observed in the design process.The building shall be constructed in such a manner that if a fire starts, the

extent of fire and smoke damage will be minimised and confined as close to the source of fire outbreak. An automatic protection system is a suitable solution to meet this objective.

As far as possible, the building shall be constructed from building materials, products that will not make a significant contribution to the early stages of

a fire or contribute to the spread of fire.Suitable measures will be taken for the prevention of premature structural

collapse and excessive deflection.Consideration should be given at the design stage regarding potential

damage from fire-fighting water and to ensure as far as practicable, the effect on the environment of the fire effluent will be minimised.

As a minimum all fire protection products shall be third party certified to an appropriate product or performance based standard. New products shall be approved or at least evaluated by a third party laboratory.

All fire protection products and systems shall be installed by adequately trained specialist installers.

Suitable measures shall be taken so that a fire is detected early. Selecting an appropriate automatic fire alarm system is an appropriate solution to meet this objective.

The fire protection systems shall be regularly maintained so that they are able to perform their intended function throughout the life of the building.

There shall be adequate provision to prevent an arson attack.The building shall be constructed as far as possible so that fire cannot spread

into the premises from an adjoining building or other external fire source.The building owner shall ensure an adequate standard of fire safety

management throughout the life of the building.Any fuel burning appliance and services or electrical appliance and services

shall be designed, constructed, installed and maintained in a manner that reduces their potential as an accidental source of ignition.

Provision must be taken so that following a fire, the business is interrupted for as little time as possible.

Once again, it is important that early consultation with insurers during the building design phase is carried out. This should ensure that the most effective fire protection measures appropriate to the specific property, end use application and business protection needs are delivered.

4 BUILDING DESIGN PROCESS

The fire safety design should be integrated into the overall design process.Fire engineering concerns protection of life and property. The general objectives are:– protect people; – protect the rescues services;– prevent damage to the building itself and its content;

– allow business continuity;– protect the corporate image.The objectives may be satisfied by applying following principles of risk control:– reduce the incidence of fire;– protect the structure and fabric of the building for an appropriate time;– control smoke and hot gases inside the building;– prevent fire from spreading beyond one compartment;– prevent fire spread between buildings.The design process framework can be divided into a number of stages, detailed below.Definition of project and safety objectives

At an early stage of the design process, the objectives of fire safety and protection design should be clearly defined. The protection of life is the main objective of fire safety legislation. However, the effects of fire and its products on the ongoing operations of a business and the direct property losses should also be considered.The insurers should be involved at the earliest possible stage. Ideally, the insurers would be involved at the project definition stage.The safety and protection objectives are generally quite broad. They deal with life safety, property protection, business interruption and environment preservation.Taking into account only life objective is generally not sufficient for insurers. It leads to a very low level of protection, which does not fulfil the insurer’s objectives.Objectives are very high-level targets. Nearly all fire engineering has to deliver life safety in order to be approved by the authorities. This is therefore nearly always one of the objectives of fire engineering. However, it should not be the only objective. If life safety is the only objective a solution may be developed in which everyone can escape from the building but the building itself and all its contents could be lost in a fire.The objectives on loss prevention:– building protection,

– contents protection,– business continuity,– corporate image,– environment protectionmust be taken into account. The fire engineers should inform their clients regarding these objectives.It is very important to consider these objectives for two main reasons:– if life safety was the only objective, uninsurable buildings could be constructed;– the cost of fire protection is generally lower when designed at an early stage of the building conception.Fire engineers are key people in this design process because:– firstly, the insurer is not always chosen at an early stage of the design;– secondly, the developer is mainly interested in the initial cost of the building.The end user is concerned with the total cost of the building including the fire protection, the preservation of the contents and the maintenance of the corporate image and the environment. However the end user is not necessarily aware that these safety aspects have to be examined at the design stage. In a speculatively built building, the end user may not be involved in the design stage.Functional requirements

As written before, the objectives are very broad and relatively easy to agree upon. However, these objectives are not sufficiently specific to provide a basis for an engineering design.It is therefore, essential to establish functional requirements associated with performance criteria that can be used to assess whether the fire safety objectives have been adequately achieved.This can be accomplished by converting the fire safety and protection objectives into engineering terms by setting functional requirements and performance criteria.Examples:

Objective Functional requirement

Performance criteria

Life safety

Maintain tenable conditions or escape route until the occupants have all evacuated

Ensure smoke layer remains > 1.8 m (or 2.5 m) above floor level and temperature under smoke layer < 70°C during egress time

Property protection

Ensure that heat radiation does not significantly damage adjacent building

Ensure that incident heat radiation on roof or walls of adjacent building < 8 kW/m2

Performance criteria may be proposed by: – the fire engineer but they have to be validated by the regulator in the case of life safety engineering; – the insurer in the case of property protection engineering.

Qualitative design review

The qualitative design review includes:– the definition of acceptance criteria;

– the risk analysis and selection of fire scenarios;– the initial proposal of fire safety and protection design.Acceptance criteria:

Fire engineering calculations inevitably involve some approximations, uncertainties and errors. As such, the results of fire engineering calculations cannot be seen as a precise representation of reality. Therefore, prior to carrying out fire engineering calculations, it is necessary to set certain criteria which results must meet before they will be considered sufficiently close to reality to be acceptable. These criteria are called “acceptance criteria”.Acceptance criteria could take the form of a safety margin, sensitivity analysis, verification of results by alternative calculations or choice of an appropriate fractile in the cumulative distribution probability curve of the time occurrence of an event (such as collapse of structure) in the case of a probabilistic approach.In the case of life safety engineering, the regulator is accountable for the suitability of the Fire Safety Engineering, therefore acceptance criteria must be agreed with the regulator at the Quality Design Review stage. In the case of property protection engineering, the insurer is concerned with the suitability of the Fire Safety Engineering, so acceptance criteria must be agreed with the insurer.Risk assessment:

The sources of fire hazards are examined and qualified in terms of probability and severity.Selection of fire scenarios:

Based on the risk assessment, the design fire scenarios are chosen.Proposal of fire safety and protection design:

One or several potential fire safety and protection solutions are proposed which will limit the frequency and the consequence of fire.Quantitative analysis of design

This quantitative analysis of design involves the determination of the consequences of the design fires (selection of fire scenarios) taking into account the proposed fire safety solutions.Engineering methods are used to evaluate the potential solutions.This step generally requires modelling. The following items: limits for the model, validation of the model, input data, output data have to be checked. A sensitivity analysis should be undertaken.The Fire Safety Engineering report shall include information about modelling as possible.

Finally, the results of the quantitative analysis are compared against the safety performance criteria. If the performance criteria are not met within the limits of the acceptance criteria the design must be improved. If it is not possible to improve the design, the functional requirements may be discussed with the regulator for life safety and the insurer for property protection.Third party assessment

The regulator or the insurer could ask for a third party verification of the report by a technical expert. This third party is a consultancy selected by, or agreed with, the regulator or the insurer.Note: the first party is the fire safety and fire protection team, and the second party is the regulator or the insurer.This third party assessment may also be used as an alternative form for acceptance criteria.Technical assessment of building

An “as built inspection” must be undertaken in order to confirm that the chosen safety solution has been appropriately installed.Maintenance of the safety and protection level in accordance with risk

If the risk changes that is to say, for example: modification of the building, its content (quality, quantity, repartition) or its occupants, the fire safety engineering design must be reassessed against the new situation. To fulfil acceptance criteria, extra protection means may be necessary.Checking and maintenance of systems (electrical equipment and prevention and protection systems) must be undertaken in accordance with specifications laid down in the design of the building.It is recommended that accepted maintenance systems are adopted which are approved by insurers.

5 INTERACTION OF FIRE ENGINEERING IN THE BUILDING PROCESS

The following paragraph describes the interaction for fire safety engineering and the building process. It stresses the steps in which insurers are to be involved.

Building process

Building steps

Fire Engineering steps Insurers input

Building design Planning

Key step: validation by authorities of : fire scenarios, safety objectives, functional requirements, fire safety strategy, acceptance criteria

Invite tenders

Final fire engineering reportKey step: third party assessment on request by authorities

Report available for insurers

Insure that certified installers or equipment are selected

Construction of building

Monitoring the building site

Identify and handle deviations

Acceptance of work done

Identify and handle deviationsKey step: compulsory conformity checking

Informed that all objectives have been fullfiled: final report for insurer

Operating and maintenance

Acceptance for starting operations

Key step: authorization for starting operations Follow maintenance standards

Operating

Any modification of activity has to be analysed and could require a new Fire Safety Engineering studyKey step: inform authorities in case of modification

Information of insurers in case of modification

Maintenance

Checking on fire protection equipment (to be done by the owner)Maintenance on fire protection equipmentAudit of the buildingKey step: compulsory checking

Audits of records by insurers (should be done by the insurer for high risks)

Due to the early involvement of the insurer, fire protection measures for safety of life and loss prevention can be specifically combined in the planning. Thereby an economically more effective fire protection is generally possible. Experience shows that a delayed design to provision the objectives on loss prevention, e.g. after the completion of the building caused higher costs for the building owner or operator.The main requirements and criteria which must be agreed with insurers are presented below.– The objectives of minimizing the damage to the structure and fabric of the building, the building contents, the ongoing business viability, the corporate image, shall be taken into account.– The insurer must be invited to join the Quality Design Review team.

– If the insurer is not chosen: as a minimum, it is necessary to meet the requirements of CEA document and similar national insurer documents.– Probabilistic value can be checked with the insurer.– It must be demonstrated that, when compared to a building which fulfils prescriptive codes and standards, the fire engineered building delivers an equivalent level of fire protection (property protection, business continuity, protection of the corporate image).– The insurer must be included in the process of determining the functional requirements and acceptance criteria.– It must be demonstrated that the safety and protection management is realistic and could be applied as long as the building is operated as forecast in the fire engineered project.– The fire safety and protection management shall be robust. The complexity of the system shall be managed. The systems shall be robust themselves.– The fire safety and protection management during construction phase must be addressed.– The fire engineering report should be sent to the insurer. In case of large or complex projects, a non technical synopsis should be available.– The protection must be designed so that no critical damage to property and business occurs.– As far as possible, the protection system must be certified by third party and installed and maintained by certified companies.– New protection systems or new applications for already known systems must have been tested by a third party laboratory.– The choice and design of protection systems for property protection must be acceptable to insurers.– The potential for loss in a fire engineered building must not be greater than it would be in a similar building designed according to prescriptive codes.– 

Financial aspects must be examined: the probability and cost of a fire should be weighed against the cost of additional safety measures.– The fire safety and protection engineers must be trained and qualified. The team leader must have appropriate experience.

6 DESIGN OF FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS

There are many installation rules concerning fire protection systems in buildings which are designed according to prescriptive regulation. For example: CEA, FPA, VdS or CNPP rules.In buildings which are designed according to prescriptive regulations, fire protection systems must be installed in accordance with the relevant installation rules (such as sprinkler rules). Even within innovative buildings where fire engineering is to be used, fire protection systems must be installed in accordance with the relevant installation rules if it is possible to do so. That is, while a building as a whole may be “fire engineered”, individual systems within a building should not be engineered. Nevertheless, some buildings are so unusual and unique in their design that installation rules for fire protection systems cannot be applied. In these cases it may be acceptable to use fire engineering to develop variations from installation rules.However, the suitability of any variation from installation rules is only an agreement between an insurer and the insured. There is no obligation on other insurers to find the same variation suitable. Also, the same variation may not be suitable for application in other risks (of higher value for example).It must be stressed that if fire engineering is used to develop variations from installation rules, those variations must be agreed with the insurer (if the insurer has been identified). They cannot automatically be applied in any other building. The whole fire engineering process must be repeated for every application. They do not have the effect of changing installation rules in any way.Generally speaking, there are two sets of circumstances under which installation rules can become inapplicable in fire engineered buildings:– first where rules are implicitly or explicitly, strongly based on a standardized fire development such as heat detection systems, passive fire resistance, water-extinguishing systems;– secondly, where rules are implicitly or explicitly, strongly based on standardized smoke movements such as smoke detection systems or smoke exhausting systems.

Yet even so, there are frequently a lot of general requirements of installation rules which can and should still be applied. Mostly, these are requirements which relate to reliability and redundancy. Non-applicable parts generally refer to the design itself.The following diagram suggests complementary procedures to existing rules in order to design fire protection systems (pages 15).

7 QUALITY ASSURANCE

7.1 General considerations

A detailed external audit of a fire safety engineering design can be difficult for a number of reasons including: level of knowledge and expertise of the auditor, black box software, lack of validation by real tests, lack of knowledge of the degree of uncertainty contained in calculated results.So the consultancy must demonstrate that the management takes into account quality requirements through internal quality assurance procedures such as recruitment procedures, training of employers, validation of tools and estimation of uncertainties.Certification according to ISO 9001 is a good way to prove that quality essential requirements are satisfied.

7.2 Special aspects concerning the use of computer-based fire models

Despite the fact that the computer-based fire models are very attractive, it should be underlined that, if used by non-qualified people, the models could give totally erroneous results.The three following items must be taken into account before and while using computer-based fire simulations.The risk assessment carried out in the Quality Design Review must be

professional in order to determine the relevant input data to be used into the simulations.The evidence of the risk assessor’s qualification must be provided.The property protection strategy should take into account the scale of

valuables.The choice of the worst case scenarios to simulate must be based on the

risk assessment.The risk assessment step must be described in a report. The two main

outputs of the risk assessment shall be clearly mentioned, that is to say: chosen scenarios, input data for the modelling.

Special attention must be paid to the choice of software.

The software that is chosen must be validated and documented.The methods for using it must be documented.The limitations of the software must be stated.

Design fire protection systemsComplementary procedure to existing rules

Risk analysis

Define scenarios

Select realistic worse case scenarios

Fire resistance

Fire detection Smoke exhausting Suppression(automatic water systems)

Design fire resistant element

Propose fire detection installation (refer to existing rules)

From existing rules, extrapolate smoke comportment, natural ventilation areas or mechanical flow rate

From existing rules propose a new design that could bring under control or better suppress the fire

Note: The efficiency of a water extinguishing system can not be fully evaluated using modelling alone

Model fire calculate the time for the element to collapse

Model fire calculate the time margin for the fire to be detected within a certain probability

Model fire calculate the height of smoke layer interface as a function of time

Carry out fire tests based on worse case scenariosNote: - The activation must take into account worst case simulation detection time (see detection)Test must be realized in

realistic conditions: room dimensions, nature and layout of combustible, ventilation

The evaluation procedure must be carried out in relation with the insurer

Check with required time for :egressfire fighting

action

Check with required egress time

Check with required egress timeCheck smoke does not go out of compartment before suppression can be started

If the fire detection system activates a fire extinguishing system:Evaluate what would be

destroyed before activation. Is it

Check the efficiency on site by non polluting real fires

acceptable for the insurer?

Check that the heat released rate will not put the extinguishing system in failure (see suppression )

Check the efficiency on site with non polluting real fires

Special attention must be paid to the use of software.The evidence of the user’s qualification must be provided.The simulation codes and sub-models used, shall be described in the

report.It must be demonstrated that the case under consideration is within the

limitations of the software.The choice of input data regarding: fire loads, flammability, heat released

rate, boundary conditions shall be justified.Whenever possible, it should be referred to real fire tests.If applicable the effect of varying ambient conditions on the burning

behaviours shall be studied.A sensitivity analysis of the effect of the variation of input data, must be

carried out.The sources of error should be listed. The results of the simulations must

be given with their uncertainty.The report must be documented so that a qualified person is able to

understand and check the fire safety engineering work.The people in charge of interpreting and checking the results must be as

qualified as those who do the work.The evidence of plausibility and coherence of the results must be checked.The adherence to protection aims set beforehand must be verified.

8 TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION OF PEOPLE

8.1 General considerations

The field of fire engineering can be described as broad and deep. In breadth, it can be imagined as covering matters which are provided for the purposes of life safety on the one hand to matters which are provided for the purposes of property protection issues on the other hand.

There are many matters which equally apply to both hands.In depth, fire engineering issues can require many levels of understanding, ranging from the qualitative understanding, to the simple calculation, the zone model and eventually CFD (Computational Fire Dynamics) model and experimentation.It is helpful to think of this model when considering training and knowledge requirements of those who carry out fire engineering studies and those who assess their quality.A background knowledge of the basis principles of fire prevention is generally required for anyone undertaking fire engineering at any level.A person with only a qualitative understanding of fire engineering should be able to look at a simple study carried out by someone else. They should have the knowledge to ask relevant questions and then say whether the study is good or bad.A person who can carry out a simple study should be able to look at a more complicated study carried out by someone else. They should have the knowledge to ask relevant questions and then say whether the study is good or bad.In theory, this should continue all the way down the levels of complexity. However, in practice this does not happen.The problem is that with each increasing level of complexity, the breadth of knowledge required to deliver that complexity increases. For example, only a little knowledge is required to have a qualitative understanding of smoke control. To carry out simple calculations, a knowledge of mathematics is required as well. To use a zone model requires a person to spend time learning how to use the model, and to know its limitations. To use a CFD model to work out a smoke control problem, a person must spend nearly all his working time using CFD models.As a result, people have to “specialize”. What this means is that a person who uses CFD models to work out complicated smoke control problems (for example) may lack even a qualitative understanding of human behaviour in fire, and thus not even be competent to look at a simple study carried out by someone else, ask relevant questions, or say whether the study is good or bad. In summary, (with a few exceptions) there is a limit to the amount of knowledge which one person can have. One person’s knowledge can be broad but shallow or it can be narrow but deep.

There is a risk that people, who have specialized in particular areas of fire engineering, totally lack the necessary skills in other fields of fire engineering.Thus, complicated studies (which use several kinds of computer models and possibly experimentation as well) must involve a team of specialists for undertaking and auditing a fire engineering study. It is very unlikely that one person would be able to possess the knowledge required to deal with every issue.It would appear that the problem for insurers (who are interested in property protection) and for enforcing authorities (who are interested in life safety) is in finding someone (or some team of people) who can assess the quality of work carried out (or that should be carried out) by a team of experts.But a lesser depth of knowledge is required to assess the quality of a piece of work providing that the work is properly documented. An appropriate level of knowledge can be obtained through suitable training.

8.2 Training

The content of the training is dependant upon the aim of that training.Individuals may require training for many reasons including:– discuss issues with experts;– carry out from simple to very complicated studies;– audit studies done by others (third party expertise by authorities or insurer).To discuss with experts, a qualitative understanding is sufficient.To carry out and audit studies stronger technical basis is required.

Qualitative understanding

People with a technical background would be able to get a qualitative understanding after attending a 5 days course such as that proposed by CFPA (see appendix n°1).Taking again the representation of the breadth and depth of fire engineering, the knowledge brought by the 5 days CFPA course can be shown as follows:Comprehensive understanding

Training intended to bring a comprehensive understanding of fire engineering can be described as follows.The graduate of the training program for Fire Safety Engineering must have the ability to specify individual fire protection measures, e.g. emergency routes, smoke control system and fire resistance of construction, by using of Fire Safety Engineering methods and to perform the necessary proving in the context of the building permit. The graduate must be able:

to translate fire safety objectives according to legal building codes into functional requirements for the computational simulation – deviating from prescriptive regulations;

to recognize use-specific risks for the person and environment and to define these as possible effects and thus as relevant inputs for the computational simulation, e.g. by selection of representative fire scenarios;

to understand and recognize the interaction of fire protection measures in the context of an integral fire protection concept, which are necessary on the one hand for fire safety objectives according to legal building codes and on the other hand for additional interests of building

owner and user, e.g. conservation of property and limitation of the business interruption;

to evaluate the application limit of Fire Safety Engineering methods. Application limits are based on several things including: physical fundaments of the calculation models,the still limited verification of the calculation models due to limited

available data from real fire tests,necessary simplification and assumption;

to interpret the result of calculation with reference to good practice and the object concerned.

Comprehensive understanding of fire engineering requires learning which approaches a university degree. The main basic fields to be covered are:

good understanding of mathematics,fluid mechanics,chemistry of combustion,performance of materials,numerical calculation.

In addition, work place experience is needed. The future expert must have knowledge in:

home country regulation and European regulation regarding fire safety;building design;fire reaction and resistance;smoke exhausting;fire detection; fire protection;egress.

The 15 days training discussed by CFPA may be an example of training which could be suitable to increase work place experience (see appendix n°2).For each subject, related to the fire phenomena, the use of zone and CFD models must be shown and explained.The mathematical basis used in the models must be explained.The mathematical simplifications have to be stressed. The consequences of those simplifications, on the quality of the results (validity and accuracy) must be shown.Taking again the representation of the breath and depth of fire engineering, the knowledge brought by the 15 days CFPA courses can be shown as follows:Finally a pre-requisite degree such as a master in physics, a specific training

and an experience of at least 2 or 3 years is necessary to become a junior expert. During these 2 or 3 years, the young fire safety engineer will probably gain experience in one particular field. He or she will increase the deep of knowledge in this particular field.It will not be possible to become a full expert in all fields of fire engineering. So a complicated fire safety engineering study including perhaps modelling and experimentation must be carried out by a team of experts. The team leader should be a senior expert who has a broad knowledge and an experience of at least 5 to 10 years.Work is in progress by the experts at national, European and international level to define what are the competencies for engineering and design for fire. Therefore only the fundamental conditions from the view of insurer are firstly described in the present guide.

9 POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

The classical route to demonstrate a certain level of fire safety is based on laboratory and / or real fire tests. This route is used for the determination of constructional fire resistance and for the evaluation of fire extinguishing systems.In contrast, fire safety engineering often uses numerical methods to study the influence of the following parameters on the fire safety:– composition and arrangement of the fire load and its impact on fire resistance of load-bearing constructions;– type and number of occupants and their effects on the design of emergency routes (length, width and arrangements of exits);– smoke control for egress and to support fire-fighting.Among the potential benefits expected from fire engineering it can be included:– some fire testing can be replaced by modelling which should be less expensive;– more free space for building design;– the development of economical solutions with same level of safety.Moreover, applying fire engineering could also increase level of safety where prescriptive regulation is not sufficient.It can be noticed that the application of Fire Safety Engineering is at the

present still quite limited.Several reasons might explain that situation.Effective application is still a relatively new phenomenon and is based on models that have been widely used for only a few years. The use of Fire Safety Engineering is still looked at, suspiciously and the feedback of fire engineered buildings is still limited.Otherwise, operational, organizational protection measures cannot be numerically calculated and must be presupposed in the context of a fire protection concept.The efficiency of a water extinguishing system cannot be fully evaluated only using modelling techniques.Also, the fire fighting by automatic fire extinguishing systems and by fire brigade cannot be numerically simulated.Modelling is generally based on laboratory tests and results that were not carried out in conditions exactly correspond to the scenario modelled.Besides, the mathematical models are based on simplifications of physical phenomena.In some cases, it could substantially affect the results of calculations. Those models need to be validated but this is hardly done because only few data coming from real fire tests are available.Due to the complex theoretical basis of certain calculation models, a high level of knowledge combined with real experience of fire is required.But, we are obliged to admit that little training is offered in Europe in the field of fire safety. As far as modelling is concerned, it must be stressed that until now the necessary information concerning the application limits and the validation of the models, (which are substantial conditions for a correct handling of Fire Safety Engineering), are often missing in practice.Consequently the results of calculation can be afflicted with high uncertainty. This is one of the major brakes to use FSE and its associated tools.Besides, fire engineered buildings are more difficult to examine by authorities and insurers. A high level of knowledge and expertise in fire modelling is required.There is a risk that FSE is used to decrease the cost of safety and thus endanger the well-proved fire protection provided as a consequence of prescriptive regulation.There is also a risk that a poor FSE study could endanger satisfactory fire safety provided by compliance with prescriptive regulation.Consequently, quality assurance measures associated with the development and using of Fire Safety Engineering, which, in practice are not yet standardized at present, are essential and must be respected as proposed in section 7.All those aspects must be improved in order to win insurers trust in fire

safety engineering.

AppendicesAPPENDIX N°1

CFPA 5 days courses

Title Principles of fire safety engineering

Duration 5 days

Aim The aim of this course is to develop competences regarding the implementation of fire safety engineering techniques in building design

Target public

Building designers – all aspectsArchitectsConstruction specialistsInspectors

Prerequisites

Official technical diploma or degree and:CFPA Europe diploma in fire prevention orOther advanced course (equivalence will be assessed by a written test)

Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course students will be able to:Interpret and understand the principal European rules on fire safety engineering in the construction sectors

Evaluate fire safety equivalence with prescriptive guidance in building design

Be aware of the behaviour of fire and smoke in compartmented and non compartmented structures

Programme

European and national regulationsStandards and specificationsIntroduction to the essential requirements of fire safety engineeringTechnical approach to fire safetyThe principles involved in achieving the fire safety objectives:• Fire prevention• Stability of structures• Prevention of smoke and heat spread

Safety evacuationSafety for rescue – teams and fire fightersFire modelling and calculation of fire phenomena intended as an aid in the decision – making process

Consolidated modeled for fire protection engineering principles to the design of buildings (both compartment and non-compartmented buildings will be designed using criteria for life safety, property protection and business continuity)

APPENDIX N°2

CFPA 15 days coursesTitle Fire Safety Engineering

Duration*15 days/100 hoursCase study included the use of zone and CFD modelsExamination

Aim

The aim of this course is to develop and provide a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of fire, how it is initiated, how it grows and the hazards that it generatesTo give delegates an appreciation of how the factors associated with fire can be expressed in a quantitative wayUndertake detailed review of national standards for fire engineering

Target audience

Building Control Authority OfficersFire Authority OfficersOther Inspecting OfficersFire Engineers

Objectives

Setting objectives – Considering national standards and regulationsSetting success criteria via comparative and risk assessed solutions Building design considerationsDesign reviewQuantified analysis against acceptance/success criteriaDevelopment of fire safety strategiesManagement considerations

* Recommendation: the duration is indicative and should be adapted in function of initial competences of people to be trained.

Programme of 15 days - CFPA Fire Safety Engineering Training

GROUP UNIT SUBJECT SUB-TOPICS DURATION

Design Review

Setting objectivesOutlining success criteriaComparative solutionsRisk assessed solutionsReview of national standards and legislation

Review of building description and design

Occupant characterisation

1,5 days

Quantified Analysis

Fire Growth and Development

Types of FireMechanisms of fire (backdraft/flashover)

Compartment parameters 2 days

including:• Rate of heat release• Time of flashover• Smoke mass and toxic gases• Flame size• Enclosure temperature• Ceiling jets

Spread of smoke within and beyond enclosure of origin

Smoke plumesEffect of compartment and location of fire

Smoke flow from openings

VisibilityToxicitySmoke behaviour and ventilation

Mechanisms of fire spread

2 days

Structural response and fire spread beyond enclosure of origin

Enclosure layouts and geometry

Time to structural failureBuilding characteristics including:• Time of fire spread beyond enclosure• Time to structural failure• Fire resistance tests• Quantification of fire spread (mass flow, radiation, conduction & direct burning)• Equivalence• Flame projection through openings• Radiated heat from unprotected areas

2,5 days

GROUP UNIT SUBJECT SUB-TOPICS DURATION

Quantified Analysis

Structural response and fire spread beyond enclosure of origin

Thermal response & properties of elements including:• Concrete• Timber• Steel• Masonry• Fire screens• Protection systems

2,5 days

Mechanical response of

load bearing elements

Behaviour or separating elements in fire

Detection of fire and activation of fire protection systems

Methods of detection (smoke, heat, flame, IR)

DelaysSet point and reaction times

Response time indices for sprinklers

1,5 days

Fire service intervention

Response timesBuilding characteristics including:• Geometry• Location• Access• Fire service facilities

Water suppliesBuilding layout including fire fighting shafts and stairs

Time to interventionFire service extinguishing capability

1 day

Evacuation

Human behaviour in fireResponse times including:

• Recognition time• Response time• Travel time

1 day

Risk Assessment

Purpose, probabilistic methods and outcomes

StatisticsProbabilitiesEvent treesFault treesRisk analysis

1,5 days

ReviewComparison of quantified analysis with success/acceptance criteria

1 day

Fire safety strategy and Management

Design of strategy and management routines to suit initial objectives and success criteria and quantitative solution

1 day