Public School in Kent
Fire Safety Services
Challenge
A large public school in Kent approached Sircle to provide fire safety services to help them achieve life safety for all occupants within a number of identified buildings. Many of the buildings on the campus were historic and predated building regulations, with some having Grade II* list status. The school’s existing plans were outdated and lacked any detail of the fire-resisting construction requirements. There was added time pressure due to the required work being expedited quickly and during school holidays to ensure ease of access and minimise disruption to the education of their pupils.
Solution
The survey was carried out by one of our Fire Risk Assessors, who provided the client with advice and guidance throughout the survey on fire safety within all the historic and listed buildings.
The school required this project works initially for two buildings on site, one a medieval building and the other a more modern 1950s school block. Therefore, the brief required an understanding of historic fire door guidance, so suitable solutions could be found to preserve any original fire doors.
Aided by the existing plans, our passive fire surveyor surveyed the two buildings and collected the data needed to update the plans using a handheld tablet. Areas where combustible materials formed part of the construction within designated escape routes, were also identified. This will allow these materials to be replaced and the areas returned to a safe condition to protect the critical means of escape.
We followed up the provision of the survey information with a Microsoft Teams meeting to run through the recommendations with the client and how best to focus on any potential investment funding.
These surveys provided the school with both costs and priority risk ratings to help them decide on the urgency of the works required whilst also having an insight into potential costings required to achieve a high level of fire safety.
Outcome
The whole survey programme was completed within the agreed timescale. We provided the school with the up-to-date building compartmentation plans and advice on the required compartmentation strategy for life protection.
We presented the school with updated fire strategy drawings and a report that contained the results from the fire compartmentation and fire door surveys. The detailed survey findings were also collated into clear excel spreadsheets with data analysis tabs to assist the client in understanding the high-level issues and trends found, allowing a clear and concise appreciation of the survey data.
A clear prioritisation of fire safety work required for capital investment was provided to assist the client with the planning and delivery of the recommended actions.
Upon successfully completing the project, the school asked us to provide estimates for another fire safety project of a similar nature for another school building on their site.
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