Working with a building design team from an early stage, G. Sexton & Partners Ltd. develop a personalised Fire Safety Strategy that works with the aesthetics and functional vision of the building designer. This personalised Fire Safety Strategy is developed through a Compliance Report and Fire Safety Engineering drawings to ensure compliance with Part B (Fire) of the Building Regulations.
G. Sexton & Partners use national and international Fire Codes to develop a Fire Safety Strategy for a building. We also have the knowledge and experience to develop alternative Fire Engineering solutions to provide safe and functionally dynamic buildings where standard Fire Codes may restrict the building designer’s vision for the development.
Fire Safety Certificates
G. Sexton & Partners Ltd. prepare all documents required to lodge a Fire Safety Certificate Application to a Local Authority under the Building Control Act. Fire Safety design is available throughout the process from pre-planning to grant of the Fire Safety Certificate.
The Fire Safety Certificate Application is a personalised Compliance Report and detailed Fire Safety Engineering drawings.
Smoke & Evacuation Modelling
Fire Safety Engineering is the application of science and engineering to the protection of people, property and the environment from fire.
G. Sexton & Partners develop in house Fire Engineering Solutions based on Fire Engineering principles including the use of the latest Computer Modelling:
Smoke Modelling
Smoke modelling can be achieved by a variety of modelling tools, from simple empirical relationships to complex CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models. The results are required for the sizing of natural and mechanical smoke ventilation and for estimating the tenability of the atmosphere along escape routes.
The most advanced and sophisticated fire modelling technique is the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to predict fire growth and compartment temperatures. CFD is capable of modelling fires in complex geometries with smoke movement in multi-compartments to a high degree of accuracy.
Structural Response
Large-scale fire tests and observations of actual building fires have shown that the fire performance of real buildings is much better than expected compared to fire test data. Recent research has shown that standard fire resistance requirements are typically over specifying the fire protection needed in practice.
It is clear that there are large reserves of fire resistance in modern steel-framed buildings and that standard fire resistance tests do not provide a satisfactory indicator of the performance of such structures. It is possible to simulate the response of a structure fire in order to optimise the fire protection provided. This can result in significant cost savings.
Evacuation
The movement of people in the event of fire or another emergency can be modelled. These models provide useful input in a Fire Engineering Analysis which can be used to optimise the provision of stairs and exits provided in a building.
Fire Alarm and Emergency Lighting Design
G. Sexton & Partners Ltd. are 3rd party certified to carry out the design of Fire Detection and Alarm Systems and Emergency Lighting Systems.
Given the in-depth knowledge of the Fire Safety Strategy for a building, G. Sexton and Partners can ensure the correct level of system is designed for the building and also ensure that it is not over specified therefore ensuring both the required level of safety is provided whilst keeping running costs to a minimum.
