If you are adding a habitable floor to your home, or removing certain walls or doors from your internal layout, you may need to appoint a Fire Engineer.
Fire safety-related building regs have become a lot more robust since Grenfell – this is very much a good thing, though it does mean an engineer needs to be taken into consideration during your design process. There are generally various options available to make sure a property is fire-safe and meets building regs, with enlisting a Fire Engineer being the first step in confirming what those options are.
When do you need a Fire Engineer’s report?
Building Control may ask for a Fire Engineer’s report if the design for your renovation does not meet Part B of the Building Regulations, which govern measures to prevent the spread of fire, and to ensure there are safe routes of escape. Building Control will sometimes accept designs which achieve an equivalent safety level but using different measures than those described in the regulations, but usually require a Fire Engineer to sign off the alternative design.
For example, the regulations require a safe escape route from the 2nd floor of a house (e.g. a loft room). This is usually achieved by having the main staircase and route to the front door enclosed – i.e. having walls around your stairwell and hallway. If you don’t have these walls (for example, if you have a front door that is open plan to your living room) you will need alternative measures in place.
How long does it take to get a Fire Engineer’s report?
Our experience so far is that most Fire Engineer businesses cater predominantly to large commercial projects, and that they are currently in very high demand – meaning that getting a design or sign-off on your residential loft conversion design can take a long time.
With that in mind, we aim to engage Building Control once a concept design has been prepared (and before all the other permissions are granted) to confirm whether any aspects of the design:
are non-compliant with the regulations and need adapting
require review & sign-off by a separate specialist like a Fire Engineer
What Fire safety solutions will a Fire Engineer recommend?
This will depend on the property, and what is feasible. Solutions can include a combination of:
Enhanced heat and smoke detection systems (e.g. smoke sensors in more rooms)
Sprinkler system; Sprinklers are designed to put out fires using water, usually released from a tank. If deployed, they can cause water damage and so are often not approved by Freeholder groups/ Management committees of flats.
Misting systems: These use a pressurised pump to emit a mist of water from the mains to temporarily suppress fire and smoke to create an escape route. These will also often need consent from a freeholder/ ManCo if used in flats but are less destructive than sprinkler systems if deployed.
Fire curtain: A fire curtain is a concealed barrier that closes in the event of a fire, effectively creating a wall and a fire-protected corridor behind it. They can be very expensive, and require a lot of space to conceal when not in use.
Smoke Vents: A window, rooflight or hatch in a specified position which opens automatically when smoke is detected, to purge smoke in an escape route.
Alternative escape routes (e.g. a suitable fire escape with protection from falling from height).
These measures are all more difficult and expensive to install as an afterthought, and are not all suitable for all properties, so ideally need to be included in the design from an early stage.
If you are planning a renovation and want help meeting your lifestyle and aesthetic goals while complying with the building regulations, get in touch.