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Future fire policy. A consultative document
83
Smoke Control Methods in Enclosed Shopping Complexes of One or More Storeys: A Design Summary, H. P. Morgan, published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1979. During the part ten years, the UK Fire Research Station has carried o u t much research and investigatory work on problems connected'with smoke m o v e m e n t in shopping malls {enclosed streets or arcades). This research has used small scale and full size experimental models. Emphasis has been placed on the use of constructional features of the building to contain or channel the smoke produced by a 5 MW fire in a shop unit. The principal virtue of this use of construction to form smoke reservoirs and channels is that an efficient use of smoke venting and smoke extract systems can be achieved. In this design summary, Howard Morgan discusses the quantitative principles of smoke control. This is followed by a substantial section on the design of smoke control systems for malls. Appropriate engineering expressions are presented and supplemented by useful tables and graphs of values for the various parameters. Some approaches to the selection of smoke control systems for various spatial geometries are included also. A further section gives a quantitative discussion on smoke reservoir depths, selecting the number of individual vents and the use of sprinklers. Some practical notes on operation techniques are given and a useful summary of design procedure concludes the design summary. Altogether, Mr Morgan has compiled a very useful design summary which includes references to previous UK research work on shopping mall smoke movement problems. All people concerned with the design or management of large public spaces should be aware of this publication which is available from HMSO branches or agencies. E. W. Marchant
Review o f Fire Policy. An Examination o f the Deployment o f Resources to Combat Fire, published b y the H o m e Office, London, 1980, £6.5O.
Future Fire Policy. A Consultative Document, published b y HMSO, London, 1980, £2.25. Since 1977 a study in depth has been in progress within a number of government establishments in the UK concerned with fire safety. This study has had the following objectives: (i) measuring the total cost of fire to the c o m m u n i t y in its impact on life, health and wealth; (ii) identifying the nature and extent of the measures being taken b y the public and private sectors of the e c o n o m y to reduce the effects of fire; (iii) evaluating the effectiveness of those measures; and, in the light of the review, (iv) submitting proposals as to the range and level of measures which would have the o p t i m u m effect in mitigating losses. The first of the above documents is a full report of this study and contains major sections dealing, inter alia, with the cost of fire, the protection of life, the protection of property and the public fire service. It is a far reaching statement on the number of fires and fire deaths, direct and consequential loss, the cost of implementing the various items of legislation that are addressed to fire safety and the impact these have had. The latter include the Fire Precautions Act, the Building Regulations, the Health and Safety at Work, Etc, Act, and various legislation dealing with consumer safety. U n d o u b t e d l y this b o o k presents the most determined effort to date to get to grips with the whole picture o f fire costs and fire safety costs and effectiveness. It has been obviously backed by m a n y studies; some of these are referenced and are presumably generally available, but some of them are not. In parts of the area covered, a very clear picture emerges, e.g., the value of education and publicity, the cost of Building Regulations and the Fire Precautions Act. In other parts the picture is less clear, e.g., the value of Building Regulations and both the cost and value of the various requirements that provide fire safety for articles that we use in every day life. It would have been valuable if there had been tabulated somewhere in the b o o k a summary of all costs of fire, and the costs and effectiveness of the various mitigating factors, together with the page numbers in which
84 they were dealt with in detail in the report. Nevertheless, the text will undoubtedly be a data source for many years to come on these important matters. The report deals in broad terms with life safety, but the safety of the public as a whole is not specifically considered. Thus, such issues as societal risk and public anxiety have hardly been mentioned. As a result, the report may well undervalue the impact of legislation and other fire safety services since these are, for the most part, geared to avoiding public disaster rather than promoting individual fire safety. The second of the above documents is basically a summary of the main paper. However, it is a Green Paper and is the consultative d o c u m e n t which is open for public discussion. It highlights certain recommendations which could be the basis of future fire policy. There are detailed suggestions on the way in which adequate fire service cover could be arranged more economically. Some specific areas of fire risk which are in need of greater attention are also mentioned. These include the problems of malicious ignition, cooking fat fires, and the need for better advice on fire risk management for middle-sized industrial enterprises. Perhaps the most revolutionary suggestion, and the one likely to bring about a major change in direction, is the recommendation of a need to develop a more selective attack on fire which differentiates between premises of substantial risk and low risk and which openly acknowledges the existence of other legitimate demands on limited financial resources. D. J. Rasbash
previously except, perhaps, in the form of research reports having limited circulation. The various chapters examine such aspects of human behaviour as fire-setting (arson); initial reaction(s) to a perceived threat; and the various factors which influence the movement of people during escape. Most of the authors are careful to point out the limitations of their contributions with respect to the total problem of human behaviour in fire, and a general message is that the results of particular investigations may be applicable only to similar particular situations. It is stated that as fire and people have changing characteristics with time in a fire emergency, few generalisations can be made to assist the fire engineer, administrator or building designer in their search for optimum solutions to potential fire problems.
Reducing fire incidence Arson is now recognised to be a major cause of fire loss and three chapters (3, 4 and 11) consider the psychology of firesetting and the particular contribution of children. Here, it is necessary to probe into the motives of the arsonist and four main types can be listed. The pyromaniac; those who make financial gains; the careless; and those who may benefit politically or " s c o r e " over a rival. Solutions to this problem centre on education. This may take various forms ranging from psychiatric treatment for the individual, through local c o m m u n i t y education, to a more direct punitive cure for the younger fire setter. Although arson is increasing, official statistics give a somewhat incomplete appraisal, and some authors hope that better reporting will enable better fire reduction strategies to be implemented (e.g., Chapters 2 and 6).
Fires and Human Behaviour Editor D. Canter, published by John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England, 1980, £15. In the mid-1960's a lack of knowledge about the behaviour of people in fire emergencies was recognised. Since that time some research has been sponsored and Canter's book is one of the recent publications which collects together some of the relevant work carried out in the 1970's. Much of the content of this volume had not been published
Education and training Education to give people an awareness of potential fire problems together with training to improve the probability of appropriate action being taken, is discussed in several contexts (Chapters 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, 17). These include educating children on the dangers of fire setting (Chapter 4), and teaching packages are being used at least in the USA and in schools in the UK. Chapter 7 discusses the problems of domestic fat fryer fires but considers that educational campaigns are n o t
Smoke Control Methods in Enclosed Shopping Complexes of One or More Storeys: A Design Summary, H. P. Morgan, published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1979. During the part ten years, the UK Fire Research Station has carried o u t much research and investigatory work on problems connected'with smoke m o v e m e n t in shopping malls {enclosed streets or arcades). This research has used small scale and full size experimental models. Emphasis has been placed on the use of constructional features of the building to contain or channel the smoke produced by a 5 MW fire in a shop unit. The principal virtue of this use of construction to form smoke reservoirs and channels is that an efficient use of smoke venting and smoke extract systems can be achieved. In this design summary, Howard Morgan discusses the quantitative principles of smoke control. This is followed by a substantial section on the design of smoke control systems for malls. Appropriate engineering expressions are presented and supplemented by useful tables and graphs of values for the various parameters. Some approaches to the selection of smoke control systems for various spatial geometries are included also. A further section gives a quantitative discussion on smoke reservoir depths, selecting the number of individual vents and the use of sprinklers. Some practical notes on operation techniques are given and a useful summary of design procedure concludes the design summary. Altogether, Mr Morgan has compiled a very useful design summary which includes references to previous UK research work on shopping mall smoke movement problems. All people concerned with the design or management of large public spaces should be aware of this publication which is available from HMSO branches or agencies. E. W. Marchant
Review o f Fire Policy. An Examination o f the Deployment o f Resources to Combat Fire, published b y the H o m e Office, London, 1980, £6.5O.
Future Fire Policy. A Consultative Document, published b y HMSO, London, 1980, £2.25. Since 1977 a study in depth has been in progress within a number of government establishments in the UK concerned with fire safety. This study has had the following objectives: (i) measuring the total cost of fire to the c o m m u n i t y in its impact on life, health and wealth; (ii) identifying the nature and extent of the measures being taken b y the public and private sectors of the e c o n o m y to reduce the effects of fire; (iii) evaluating the effectiveness of those measures; and, in the light of the review, (iv) submitting proposals as to the range and level of measures which would have the o p t i m u m effect in mitigating losses. The first of the above documents is a full report of this study and contains major sections dealing, inter alia, with the cost of fire, the protection of life, the protection of property and the public fire service. It is a far reaching statement on the number of fires and fire deaths, direct and consequential loss, the cost of implementing the various items of legislation that are addressed to fire safety and the impact these have had. The latter include the Fire Precautions Act, the Building Regulations, the Health and Safety at Work, Etc, Act, and various legislation dealing with consumer safety. U n d o u b t e d l y this b o o k presents the most determined effort to date to get to grips with the whole picture o f fire costs and fire safety costs and effectiveness. It has been obviously backed by m a n y studies; some of these are referenced and are presumably generally available, but some of them are not. In parts of the area covered, a very clear picture emerges, e.g., the value of education and publicity, the cost of Building Regulations and the Fire Precautions Act. In other parts the picture is less clear, e.g., the value of Building Regulations and both the cost and value of the various requirements that provide fire safety for articles that we use in every day life. It would have been valuable if there had been tabulated somewhere in the b o o k a summary of all costs of fire, and the costs and effectiveness of the various mitigating factors, together with the page numbers in which
84 they were dealt with in detail in the report. Nevertheless, the text will undoubtedly be a data source for many years to come on these important matters. The report deals in broad terms with life safety, but the safety of the public as a whole is not specifically considered. Thus, such issues as societal risk and public anxiety have hardly been mentioned. As a result, the report may well undervalue the impact of legislation and other fire safety services since these are, for the most part, geared to avoiding public disaster rather than promoting individual fire safety. The second of the above documents is basically a summary of the main paper. However, it is a Green Paper and is the consultative d o c u m e n t which is open for public discussion. It highlights certain recommendations which could be the basis of future fire policy. There are detailed suggestions on the way in which adequate fire service cover could be arranged more economically. Some specific areas of fire risk which are in need of greater attention are also mentioned. These include the problems of malicious ignition, cooking fat fires, and the need for better advice on fire risk management for middle-sized industrial enterprises. Perhaps the most revolutionary suggestion, and the one likely to bring about a major change in direction, is the recommendation of a need to develop a more selective attack on fire which differentiates between premises of substantial risk and low risk and which openly acknowledges the existence of other legitimate demands on limited financial resources. D. J. Rasbash
previously except, perhaps, in the form of research reports having limited circulation. The various chapters examine such aspects of human behaviour as fire-setting (arson); initial reaction(s) to a perceived threat; and the various factors which influence the movement of people during escape. Most of the authors are careful to point out the limitations of their contributions with respect to the total problem of human behaviour in fire, and a general message is that the results of particular investigations may be applicable only to similar particular situations. It is stated that as fire and people have changing characteristics with time in a fire emergency, few generalisations can be made to assist the fire engineer, administrator or building designer in their search for optimum solutions to potential fire problems.
Reducing fire incidence Arson is now recognised to be a major cause of fire loss and three chapters (3, 4 and 11) consider the psychology of firesetting and the particular contribution of children. Here, it is necessary to probe into the motives of the arsonist and four main types can be listed. The pyromaniac; those who make financial gains; the careless; and those who may benefit politically or " s c o r e " over a rival. Solutions to this problem centre on education. This may take various forms ranging from psychiatric treatment for the individual, through local c o m m u n i t y education, to a more direct punitive cure for the younger fire setter. Although arson is increasing, official statistics give a somewhat incomplete appraisal, and some authors hope that better reporting will enable better fire reduction strategies to be implemented (e.g., Chapters 2 and 6).
Fires and Human Behaviour Editor D. Canter, published by John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England, 1980, £15. In the mid-1960's a lack of knowledge about the behaviour of people in fire emergencies was recognised. Since that time some research has been sponsored and Canter's book is one of the recent publications which collects together some of the relevant work carried out in the 1970's. Much of the content of this volume had not been published
Education and training Education to give people an awareness of potential fire problems together with training to improve the probability of appropriate action being taken, is discussed in several contexts (Chapters 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, 17). These include educating children on the dangers of fire setting (Chapter 4), and teaching packages are being used at least in the USA and in schools in the UK. Chapter 7 discusses the problems of domestic fat fryer fires but considers that educational campaigns are n o t