Fire safety in the sustainability assessment of buildings

Chris Hamans – ESC

Fire Forum 2012; Brussels; 18-10-2012

http://www.hamans.com

Fire safety: the unknown sustainability indicator

• Sustainability and fire safety: not yet integrated

However:• Fire safety issues can have a huge impact on the sustainability of

buildings – Environmental impacts– Social impacts– Economic impacts

Fire statistics:new buildings overrepresented

• Insurance damage; NL statistics‘the expensive fires” are newly constructed buildings

• We want to build more sustainable buildings:– More energy efficient– “lean” and “light” buildings – resource efficient– More environmentally friendly products

• But is fire destroing our sustainability objectives ?– A building fire: decreased sustainability

Buildings have changed

• Many new and more combustible materials – within the building envelope (non-building related materials)– as part of the load bearing and non-loadbearing construction

• Lower heat transmittance = well insulated =rapidly development and higher temperature increase in case of fire

• Improved air tightness + mechanical ventilation =no natural exhaust of smoke and toxic gasses

Don’t blame Energy Efficiency, however ...

• Increased demands for the energy efficiency of buildings– Reducing energy losses (EPBD Directive):

• Airtightness• Minimised energy transmittance = Increased insulation thickness:

may lead to increased fire load

• Proven*: an increased risk– 1950 - from ignition of a fire to flash over = 15 min. – 1985 - from ignition of a fire to flash over = 5 min.– 2012 - from ignition of a fire to flash over = 3 min.

* SRSA (Swedish Rescue Services Agency)

Fire Safety and Sustainability

• Big fires have a devastating effect on all three dimensions of sustainability.

ENV SOC ECON

Technical designFunctional design

sustainability

Fire and the Social dimension of Sustainability

• Annually over 70,000 severe fire related injuries in Europe :

– Hospitalisation ; high costs for medical treatment and counseling

• loss of lives

• need for long-term burn wounds treatment

• serious disabling

• long-term effects of toxic smoke inhalation

• hugely traumatic for both the victims and their families

• stress and insecurity of losing one’s residence, or workplace, with resulting unemployment, should not be underestimated

Smoke: most fatal social impact

• 8 out of 10 fire deaths are due to inhalation of smoke and toxic gasses indicate also that smoke toxicity should be taken seriously.

• Moreover, 30% of fire related deaths and injuries worldwide concern children.

SOCENV

Next to the social there is an environmental impact

Fire and the Environmentaldimension of Sustainability

• large fires cause serious environmental impacts by emissions to air, water and soil and generate waste

– severe local environmental damage caused by water run-off, soot, ash, and smoke pollution,

– waste and waste treatment, landfill

– loss of all the raw materials ( no sustainable resource management)

– rebuilding represents further material depletion, energy use and additional emissions.

Fire and the Environmentaldimension of Sustainability (2)

• Large fires in light manufacturing plants have been estimated to increase life time carbon emissions by 14%.

• Sweden: annual emissions of unburned particles from building fires have been calculated to be equal to the total of emissions from all commercial transport in that year.

Undermining sustainability

• Fire is given more potential to destroy all sustainability ambitions!

– Burning down the lifetime claims of allbuilding related and non-building related goods

– Wasting natural resources, increasing emissions, .....

– Rebuilding: extra natural resources, energy, emissions,

ENV ECON

And then there arethe economic aspects

Fire and the Economicdimension of Sustainability

• Estim. ~1% of European GDP is lost due to fire annually.– Moreover, 50% of businesses hit by large fires go bankrupt

causing unemployment and the loss of local and national tax revenue.

– Netherlands: occurrence of big fires – damage: > 1 mil. € *)

*) Nibra - Miljoenenbranden (2003) ISBN 90-5643-259-1

major (66%) impact in the fire development and fire acceleration from: • structural detailing• furnishing

Fire is a threath to sustainability

• EPBD/EED/Renovation will increase – the fire safety risks will increase!

• Fire fighters have to deal with existing buildings – existing buildings behave very differently in fire!

• Recent fires on ETICS systems in France, China and Berlin have illustrated new risks.

ENVIRONMENTAL + SOCIAL + ECONOMIC

SOCIAL ( + CSR)

ENVIRONMENTAL + SOCIAL + ECONOMIC

Standards, programs and building rating schemes

• Standards for quantification• Programs for qualification

– Quantifying– Selecting criteria– Qualifying and Rating based on selected criteria

• EPD and Building Programs– Products: IBU, MRPI, Green Guide (BREEAM), .........??? – Building rating programs: BREEAM, HQE, LEED,

EN15643-part1: General Framework for the Sustainability Assessment of Buildings

EN15978Environmental Assessment of

Buildings

EN15804Environmental Assessment of

Products

CEN TR 15941EN 15942

EN15643-2 EN15643-3 EN15643-4

prEN16309Assessment of Social

Buildings Performance

workitemAssessment of Economic

Building Performance

Work in progress

• All Framework standards published

• All environmental standards published

Status CEN TC350 standardsStatus 01-09-2012

19

CEN TC350 standards

Sustainability starts with the Basic Works Requirements !• Without meeting the functional needs there is no sustainability• Without meeting the technical needs there is no sustainability

ENV SOC ECONsustainability

CEN TC350standards for works

CEN TC350standards only quantify

aspects and impacts

20

CEN TC350 standards

Sustainability starts with the Basic Works Requirements !• Without meeting the functional needs there is no sustainability• Without meeting the technical needs there is no sustainability

Technical designFunctional design

CPR305/2011

EuroCodes

21

CEN TC350 standards for quantification

Sustainability starts with the Basic Works Requirements !• Without meeting the functional needs there is no sustainability• Without meeting the technical needs there is no sustainability

ENV SOC ECON

Technical designFunctional design

sustainability

CPR305/2011

EuroCodes

CEN TC350standards for works

CEN TC350standards only quantify

aspects and impacts

22

And yet:

• not that much on fire safety in the sustainability assessment of buildings ............– Not in the assessment of the environmental performance of the

building– Not in the economic performance assessment

However– the social aspects of the level of fire safety are assessed in a

checklist procedure: prEN16309

Why not ?

• Principles in the sustainability aspects of products and buildings: – Based on regular conditions– Assessing the impact – NOT the avoided impact

• Fire:– Fire is not/should not be the “regular condition”– Fire Safety is about “avoiding impact”

• However:– Fire safety: a functional performance to resist fire

25

Fire safety aspectin EN15643-3 and prEN16309

• Aspect category “safety/security”:

– Indicator: resistance to climate change,

– Indicator: security against intruders and vandalism,

– Indicator: security against interruptions of utility supply (e.g. electricity, water, district heating, etc.).

– Indicator: Fire safety

• “the capacity of the building to provide resistance to fire and its consequential effects in respect of both the building users and resistance to fire damage of the built asset.”

Fire Safety in prEN16309

– The standards assess the building performance as far as they exceed the minimum legal level of fire safety that is required. Having a higher level of fire safety will contribute to the sustainability of the building

Exceeding the minimum requirements

• The standard does not provide precise measures, but point at examples of provisions for increased fire safety, such as:

– stricter classification for reaction to fire according to EN 13501-1;

– using materials/design that will result in reduced levels of toxic gases and/or droplets;

– higher fire resistance classes of building elements than required by prevailing regulations;

– installation or enhancement of smoke control systems using approved components and approved competent persons for the design, installation and maintenance;

A non exhaustive list

Exceeding the minimum requirements (2)

• The standards do not provide precise measures, but point at examples of provisions for increased fire safety, such as:

– installation or enhancement of fire detection and alarm systems using approved components and approved competent persons for the design, installation and maintenance;

– installation or enhancement of fire extinguishing systems using approved components and approved competent persons for the design, installation and maintenance;

– optimisation of the size of smoke and fire compartments;

– improved design of the means of escape (including consideration of disabled people);

– improved access and facilities for fire fighters.

However .......

There are other sustainability assessments than the sustainability assessment of BUILDINGS

Corporate Social Responsibility

• An aspect of sustainability– Not of the building– Of policies and (management) decissions

• Not in the CEN TC350 standards

• In EN-ISO-26000

Corporate Social Responsibility

• CSR also should include the taking of the right MANAGEMENT DECISSIONS:

– Maximum firesafe DESIGN

– Material / Product CHOICE

– CONTROL – VERIFICATION of workmanship / installation

New build

&

Maintenance

&

Repair

&

Refurbishment

&

Renovation

Conclusion 1: fire safety & sustainability

• Within the limits of the principle approach and the scopeCEN TC350 standards assess the social aspects of the degree of firesafety of the building.– A checklist of building performance related to fire safety

– No value judgement

– No risk assessment

– Under “normal” (building use) conditions

Conclusion 2: fire safety & sustainability

• The other sustainability assessment: Fire Safety should be an evaluation aspect in the CSR – Corporate Social Responsibilty – assessment and declaration

Thank you

Chris Hamans

More info on CEN TC350 standards? See: • YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7A9F5EB6874887BF• SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=CEN+TC350• CEN TC350: www.afnor.org/centc350• www.hamans.com