FIRE COMPARTMENTATION SURVEYS
Fire Compartmentation Surveys
There are two key reasons why fire compartmentation is required; Life Safety Protection and Property protection.
Compartmentation surveys are required for life safety purposes when protecting or sub-dividing escape routes, this may include external or internal means of escape. For example, escape corridors, stair enclosures including those with refuge areas, protected lobbies / firefighting shafts. Fire compartmentation provides occupiers of the building additional time to evacuate before escape routes are potentially compromised by the spread of smoke and fire. Crucially, it also serves to decrease the danger to which the Fire and Rescue Services may be exposed.
Compartmentation surveys offer property protection as they limit spread and attempt to contain the fire to the location it has originated, this is predominantly for enclosures housing special fire hazards such as plant rooms or other high risk rooms.
It may also be used to protect areas of high financial or strategic value, such as IT suites / server rooms or strategic storage spaces.
What is a fire compartmentation survey?
A fire compartmentation survey is an assessment of the compartmentation of a building in respect of its suitability in containing smoke and fires, and protecting escape routes.
The objective is to assess whether the existing fire compartment walls (including the doors within them), as well as the floors and ceilings within the property are likely to restrict the potential spread of fire and smoke for the required period of time to enable safe evacuation.
What’s involved in a fire compartmentation survey?
We undertake comprehensive on-site surveys, including assessing the fabric of the building in detail and evaluating the compartmental resilience to the spread of both fire and smoke.
Our compartmentation surveys include:
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A thorough visual inspection of all areas where a fire could potentially spread. This includes assessing the condition of compartmentation features including walls, ceilings and floors and a detailed inspection of hard-to-access areas, including loft voids and air ducts.
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Assessment of fire-resistant materials used in construction to ensure these meet the required fire safety standards.
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Verifying that partition walls are fire-rated and provide adequate fire breaks.
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Once it is completed, we’ll provide you with a written report including a plan of the area and an action plan detailing the required improvements.
If you wish, we can then arrange for one of our carefully selected construction and maintenance partners to carry out any work to bring you up to the required standards in the agreed time frames.