Advances in digital technology by Robert Yates - Head of Building Products Fire Safety UK, Siemens
Fire detection in schools and other educational establishments is a fundamental requirement. There are more than 32,000 schools operating in the UK, with some 2,300 fires recorded between 2015 and 2020; 47 of those schools were destroyed.
The basic systems still seen in many older educational premises were often fitted at a time when there was less awareness of the potential consequences of a fire, in addition to there being a perceived lack of a real threat. Many were also installed by local councils suffering from budgetary constraints and while those budgetary pressures remain for local authorities, what has changed is the proliferation of schools that now look after their own budgets, increasingly with other educational establishments under the umbrella of a MAT (Multi Academy Trust) and directly funded by the DfE rather than the local authority.
Some of the older fire systems have often only been maintained to the basic minimum relevant legal requirements. However, many government authorities, both national and local, have placed a greater emphasis on the value of schooling and, as a result, education has seen significant investment in building stock, equipment and facilities.
There is an argument that the fire risk in schools has increased, particularly in view of the significant growth in the use of electronic equipment. Also, while illicit cigarette smoking by students may be on the decline, a recent survey highlighted that around 15% of children aged 11 to 15 and more than a third of those aged 16 to 17 have vaped. The fire risks posed by vapes and their lithium-ion batteries is a topic which has been widely recognised in the fire protection industry.
The regulations
‘Building Bulletin 100: Design for Fire Safety in Schools (BB100)’, along with Approved Document B (ADB), are the documents which underpin fire safety in education. All schools need to have the means to raise an alarm in the event of a fire and adopting a fire detection and alarm system installed to BS 5839-1 by a third-party certified company provides confidence that not only will a fire be detected, but it will also provide sufficient time for an orderly evacuation – a particularly important factor in a school environment. In larger schools, this could involve a voice alarm system to support the audible alarm signal with verbal instructions.
Undisturbed maintenance
To ensure that a fire detection system is operating correctly, a maintenance programme is required. One of the issues associated with conventional maintenance of fire safety systems is the potential impact on day-to-day operations. This is particularly true of educational facilities where the sound of alarms, flashing beacons and the disruption caused by the presence of maintenance technicians can be a problem.
This is one of the main reasons behind the development of systems which can perform certain checks automatically, without the need for any human intervention. Siemens not only offers ASA (Advanced Signal Analysis) detectors which detect fire sources early while distinguishing them from deceptive phenomena, but ones which are also equipped with DFT (Disturbance Free Testing) technology. This has been brought about through advances in smart technology, with IoT-enabled detectors conducting tests automatically. This means that site visits can be confined to annual service inspections, with more frequent automatic checks undertaken remotely (and silently) to provide greater confidence that the system is performing correctly. Cloud connectivity has been fundamental to this, offering the capability to effectively digitalise fire safety.
Secure connectivity
Portals are now available which connect with the cloud, while the Siemens Building X Fire Apps, consisting of the Fire Manager on PC and a cloud suite of mobile apps for iOS and Android mobile, are also available to ensure a smoother commissioning and configuration of systems, as well as providing the opportunity to access information on fire safety sites irrespective of a person’s location. Importantly, these connections to sites are secure through cloud gateways, providing a range of details regarding the status of the system and replicating the information available from the on-site safety panel. Data gathered from IoT-enabled detectors can include function tests, soiling, and danger levels, all of which can be sent to the cloud to offer invaluable, real-time insights into performance.
Proactive maintenance
Such devices are a major contributor to a proactive rather than a reactive approach to maintenance, continuously and automatically measuring and evaluating the performance of a system or device and thereby both anticipating failures and the need for maintenance checks. They are also useful in automatically testing devices located in areas which are difficult to access such as ceiling voids.
The advent of remote services made possible through digitalisation means issues can be detected remotely, including checking that any changes to a system have not adversely affected its performance. Should a problem be identified, if it cannot be resolved remotely, a maintenance engineer can visit the site armed with information, reducing the time required to investigate. With flexible remote access 24/7 and devices that can guarantee no false alarms, spaces are undisturbed. Fewer site visits also offers significant environmental benefits, with less travelling reducing the use of fuels and lowering CO2 emissions.
Digital advances
In addition to the threat to life, there are also the considerable disruptive and financial consequences posed by fire. The very real threat to every school if fire destroys all or part of the buildings is the loss of its ability to carry out the education of its pupils. Even if the school is out of action only temporarily, the inconvenience and problems caused to the parents and staff in their everyday lives is significant enough, but the unsettling and distracting changes to the children’s routines may well have a detrimental effect on their education. In terms of financial losses, data from insurers Zurich calculated some £27million of damage caused by fire from 2020-2023.
The development of IOT-enabled systems offers potential for further improving the protection of educational facilities from fire. The cloud connectivity now available offers significant advantages. In terms of programming of a fire safety system, this can be done off-site. Device, zone section and area information can all be programmed from a remote location, as can evacuation and control zones. Beyond the initial system set-up, it also enables a proactive rather than a reactive approach to maintenance, continuously and automatically measuring and evaluating performance and thereby anticipating failures and the need for maintenance checks.
Fire detection technology has moved on significantly from the days of systems based on the simple activation of manual call points. Minimising the number of fire related incidents and the way in which a response is managed in the event of an incident is an important priority in educational facilities and one to which automatic fire detection systems can make a significant contribution.