My inspection of the building undergoing refurbishment revealed several defects in the structural fire precautions: first, horizontal cavity fire barriers had not been installed in the service riser to prevent upwards fire spread, and this was regarded as a serious omission as the service riser was within the only staircase available for occupant escape from upper storeys. Fire which emanated in the riser (which contained electrical risks) or broke into it from the accommodation at a lower level could travel upwards very rapidly to break out into the staircase, filling it with smoke and hot gases. Secondly, there were several areas of double-layer plasterboard ceiling (which had been installed to provide fire resistance to the timber floors) which had unstopped holes where cable penetrations occurred. Third, there were several badly installed conical-shaped ceramic fibre fire hoods provided over the tops of the numerous downlighters installed in the ceilings. Many of these were not in contact with the upper face of the ceiling due to electrical cables nearby and had other defects – important defects as the floor boards were square-edged with gaps giving an easy route for upward smoke and fire spread. I recommended appropriate remedial work.
Client: Blandford Goldsmith and Co
My inspection of the building undergoing refurbishment revealed several defects in the structural fire precautions: first, horizontal cavity fire barriers had not been installed in the service riser to prevent upwards fire spread, and this was regarded as a serious omission as the service riser was within the only staircase available for occupant escape from upper storeys. Fire which emanated in the riser (which contained electrical risks) or broke into it from the accommodation at a lower level could travel upwards very rapidly to break out into the staircase, filling it with smoke and hot gases. Secondly, there were several areas of double-layer plasterboard ceiling (which had been installed to provide fire resistance to the timber floors) which had unstopped holes where cable penetrations occurred. Third, there were several badly installed conical-shaped ceramic fibre fire hoods provided over the tops of the numerous downlighters installed in the ceilings. Many of these were not in contact with the upper face of the ceiling due to electrical cables nearby and had other defects – important defects as the floor boards were square-edged with gaps giving an easy route for upward smoke and fire spread. I recommended appropriate remedial work.
Client: Blandford Goldsmith and Co
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