Compartmentation Surveys
The Benefits of Compartmentation
Fire Compartmentation is necessary for the protection of life as well as the protection of properties. It provides occupiers of a building additional time to escape the building ahead of the spread of fire and smoke. As well as providing a safer evacuation route it also reduces the level of danger Fire and Rescue Services are exposed to in the unfortunate event of a fire.
Compartmentation is intended to restrict the spread of fire and smoke, keeping this contained to one area as best possible and for as long as possible. In Approved Document ‘B’, Volume 2 (2019) a fire compartment is defined as “A building or part of a building comprising one or more rooms, spaces or storeys constructed to prevent the spread of fire to or from another part of the same building or an adjoining building.” This basically means the sub-division of a building into smaller sections in order to contain fire until this can be extinguished as soon as possible.
Reviews by Trained Experts
By regularly performing fire risk assessments on your premises, led by trained and experienced professionals, a thorough evaluation of readily accessible compartmentation barriers is conducted. If this initial assessment reveals any areas of concern, it might become essential to carry out a more detailed examination, which could involve intrusive measures, to assess the integrity of the compartmentation system within the building. This comprehensive review of the building’s compartmentation aims to identify and evaluate any potential deficiencies that could contribute to fire risk.
Providing Protection for People and Businesses
In addition to the crucial priority of safeguarding human lives, properties also hold substantial value for businesses and their ongoing operations. Compartmentation stands out as a pivotal element that offers supplementary safeguards for the integral sections of a building, which play a pivotal role in business functionalities. Ensuring the security of areas that hold considerable financial or strategic significance, such as housing valuable inventory, IT divisions, and server rooms, holds exceptional importance. The preservation of both human lives and business continuity typically fall within the purview of compartmentation considerations.
The Process
We carry out thorough Compartmentation assessments and we will include checks of the following components of a building before a detailed report is issued:
- Walls
- Floors
- Risers
- Shafts
- Floor Voids
- Roof Voids
- Basements (where present)
Please note that a thorough compartmentation survey may involve a degree of intrusive action, including limited destructive opening up of certain building elements, to assess specific parts of the building structure. This is done to assess compartmentation levels accurately.
Regulations & Legislation
A breach in compartmentation and so in compliance can so easily and innocently occur without the knowledge of the building owner or the responsible person. Buildings are intended to be occupied and ultimately changes will occur just through general usage. Something as simple as adding extra cables, or drilling through walls, can affect the risk factor, fire rating and ultimately deem a property non-compliant.
There are several regulations that govern the standard of compartmentation and fire stopping. Within Building Regulations, Approved Document ‘B’ states ‘If a fire separating element is to be effective, then every joint, or imperfection of fit, or opening to allow services to pass through the element, should be adequately protected by sealing or fire stopping so that the fire resistance of the element is not impaired’. Firestopping is a legal requirement to ensure that fire separation is maintained.
Maintaining lines of compartmentation is also a requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 . All commercial and residential buildings need regular checks to ensure compliance, always bearing in mind that most of these are in concealed areas that cannot be easily seen and are often forgotten.
Peace of Mind
We will visit your property, assess and report, ensuring you are completely aware of your current situation and help advise on how to get you fully compliant if there are any areas found to be inadequate. Providing you with peace of mind and enabling you to carry on with your daily business is our ultimate goal, and safety to people and premises is preserved.
Type of Work Covered
We make assessments on properties across all sectors and of any size and type. In addition to assessing existing sites we also assess new builds and provide construction advice regarding appropriate compartmentation at design stage as well as after construction.
Going the Extra Mile
As with all the services covered under Alcema Fire Safety Limited, we do not leave clients with a list of non-compliances with no guidance on how to get these actioned by competent contractors. A list will be provided with recommendations made specific to the individual requirements which will be specific to each client.
