CoVID-19 Pandemic

Urgent Need For Harmonized European Fire Statistics & The ‘FIRESTAT’ White Elephant !

Posted by CJ Walsh

2023-08-21:  In an earlier Post here, dated 2022-12-19, I presented a Road Map for Sustainable Fire Engineering (#SFE) … which finished on an Urgent Call to Action targeting three specific, fundamental aspects of a Creative Fire Engineering which is capable of answering the challenges of our Complex Built Environment in the 21st Century … under severe threats from Global Climate Disruption, Climate Synergies leading to near-term Climate Tipping Points … and a startling lack of Global Resilience, refer to the CoVID-19 Pandemic, and Supply Chain Chaos initiated by an old-fashioned Cold War I Warrior in Washington’s White House.

      1. Mainstreaming a Transformed Fire Engineering
      2. Ethical Practice of Fire Research and Science
      3. Reliability of Fire Statistics …
Colour Image showing the #SFE Road Map’s Conclusion, Page 31 in a series of 36, from the updated (June 2022) Presentation on Sustainable Fire Engineering ~ its essential and critical role in realizing a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment For ALL.  Click to enlarge.

.

From Any Point Of View … the Final Report of ‘EU FIRESTAT’, a project financed by the European Parliament and commissioned by European Commission Directorate-General DG GROW, is a white elephant … a plodding hippopotamus … a retrograde step … a bitter disappointment !!!  Completed in July 2022, it comes nowhere near outlining a viable system for the development of urgently needed Harmonized European Fire Statistics … which must be managed and co-ordinated by #Eurostat, in Luxembourg.

The #FIRESTAT Objectives were extremely limited …

‘ The review proceeds from the assumption that fire incident data can serve a number of important purposes – helping to reduce fires and losses, identifying opportunities for safety interventions and education programs, guiding the allocation of public resources to areas of greatest need and impact, and monitoring progress of safety initiatives.’

Nowhere, in this Report, is there any reference to Sustainable Human and Social Development.  Where there are references to ‘sustainability’, these are specifically concerning the long-term financial resourcing of statistical systems.

And nowhere is there even the faintest understanding that Fire Engineering has an essential and critical role in the realization of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment For ALL.  Fire Engineering Performance Indicators, Targets and Benchmarks must be developed to facilitate that realization ; and Reliable Fire Statistics are their starting point and basic ingredient.

[ The European Standards Organization (#CEN) has a Webpage dedicated to its part in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (#SDG’s) at … https://www.cencenelec.eu/european-standardization/sustainable-development-goals-sdgs/ ]

The Report’s Executive Summary (in English, French, and German) covers the limited range of the Project pretty well … and it is almost easy to read.  The ‘great and the good’ of Conventional Fire Engineering, both organizations and individuals, were involved in this Project …

.

Colour Image showing the cover of the EU Project ‘FIRESTAT’ Final Report, completed in July 2022, with the full title of the Project: ‘EU FIRESTAT – Closing Data Gaps & Paving The Way For Pan-European Fire Safety Efforts’ in the middle of the Page ; the European Commission Logo at the top of the Page ; and against a background of an EU Flag in the lower half of the Page, the list of 9 International Fire Safety Organizations in the Consortium which carried out the Project.  Click to enlarge.

EU ‘FIRESTAT’ – Closing Data Gaps & Paving The Way For Pan-European Fire Safety Efforts

(Download PDF File, 128 Pages, 2.56 MB)

.

The Final Report’s Boxed Recommendation 3, on Page 8, lists 8 Variables / Statistics to be collected as a Tier 1 / 1st Priority across Europe, from Ireland all the way down to Türkiye :

  •  Number of Fatalities ;
  •  Number of Injuries ;
  •  Age of Fatalities ;
  •  Primary Causal Factor ;
  •  Type of Building ;
  •  Incident Location ;
  •  Incident Date ;
  •  Incident Time.

So, for instance … the only Fire Statistic related to the Human Condition of Fatalities and Injured which would have been gathered after the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire in #London was … Age of Fatalities … which, in the context of what actually happened on that tragic night and knowing the very large numbers of People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF) and other Vulnerable Building Users who died, or were injured, in the fire … is a very serious error, and entirely ridiculous !!??!!   FUBAR !!

Essential Variable / Statistic Correction: Age, Gender and Vulnerability of Victims (whether Fatality or Injured).  This is critical information and, whatever the resource implications, must be collected.

And if that wasn’t bad enough … this cack-handed approach to the development of Harmonized European Fire Statistics opens up the probability of another Morán with a computer, after a similar fire incident, again showing that a similar High-Rise Residential Tower could be evacuated down a single, narrow, badly designed staircase in 7 minutes.  Say no more !!!

.

J’Accuse / I Accuse the International Fire Engineering Community of being intentionally and maliciously Deaf, Dumb and Blind to the desperate Fire Safety Needs of People with Activity Limitations, including People with Disabilities, and other Vulnerable Building Users !

.

Concerning Incident Date … the Consortium appears to be completely unaware that the European Standard Short Format Date is … Year-Month-Day (YYYY-MM-DD) !!   See 4.2.2. in the Final Report.  Sloppy, Sloppy, Sloppy.

Generally concerning Tier 1 Statistics … where is there any serious consideration of the deep and substantial Green / Environmental / Climate Disruption Mitigation and Adaptation Measures being imposed on the Design and Operation of New and Existing Buildings … which are already causing serious fire safety problems ???   See many previous Posts on this Technical Blog.

.

Colour Image showing #IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report Figure 5a: ‘Limiting warming to 1.5 C and 2 C involves rapid, deep and in most cases immediate greenhouse gas emission reductions’ … from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th Assessment Report.  Current emission reduction policies will result in global warming of approximately 3.2 C, which is far off target.  Click to enlarge.

.

The Final Report’s Boxed Recommendation 3, on Pages 8 & 9, goes on to list 6 Extra Variables / Statistics to be collected as a Tier 2 / 2nd Priority across Europe, from Portugal all the way up to Finland :

  •  Number of Floors ;
  •  Area of Origin ;
  •  Heat Source ;
  •  Item First Ignited ;
  •  Articles Contributing to Fire Development ;
  •  Fire Safety Measures Present.

Concerning Fire Safety Measures Present … my patience is at an end !  I am heartily sick and tired of pointing out that there is no such thing as a ‘Fire Door’ ; it does not exist !!   It is ALWAYS a Fire Resisting Doorset !!!   See 4.4.3.

.

This EU ‘FIRESTAT’ Report properly belongs to the Twilight Zone of the last Century … and in today’s Recycling Bin !

.

And Even More Worrying …

.

Concerted Resistance to answering the Fire Safety Needs of Vulnerable Building Users ;

The mistaken view that ‘Sustainability’ is merely a graft-on / optional extra to Conventional Fire Engineering ;

Constraining Building Fire Safety Performance within the boundaries of Current Fire Codes ;

.

Is the EU ‘FIRESTAT’ Final Report another disturbing sign of the growing Trend towards #GREENWASHING in International Fire Engineering ?

.

.

END

#Twitter … @sfe2016dublin …

#RoadMap #SustainableFireEngineering #Reality #Reliability #Redundancy #Resilience #SustainableDevelopment #SDG #SustainableBuildings #GrenfellTowerFire #ClimateDisruption #ClimateSynergies #ClimateTippingPoints #Cities #FireCodes #Architecture #FireEngineering #SpatialPlanning #DesignTools #BIM #BeyondCodes #Ethics #CodeOfEthics #EthicalDesign #DefenceInDepth #FireSafety4ALL #VulnerableBuildingUsers #Firefighters #FFsafety #Creativity #Sustainability #SIA #SustainabilityImpactAssessment #SocialTransformation #SocialWellbeing4ALL #FireStatistics #PerformanceIndicators #Benchmarking #PerformanceTargeting #FireResearch #Green #Environmental #GreenWashing #ClimateAdaptation #GHG

Sick Building Syndrome, ISO 21542:2021 & Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Posted by CJ Walsh

2012-05-31 (2021-08-02):  The Revised International Standard  ISO 21542: ‘Building Construction – Accessibility & Usability of the Built Environment’  was published on 1 June 2021.  Many years before, however, a decision was taken to link this Standard directly to the United Nations  Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities  (#CRPD) … specifically now referencing Preamble Paragraph (g) and Articles 9, 10, 11, 12 and 19 in its Introduction.  Reading the document, this linkage looks and feels very naturally like an unbreakable umbilical cord !

.

Black and White image showing the Title Page of International Standard ISO 21542: ‘Building Construction – Accessibility & Usability of the Built Environment’, which was published on 1 June 2021.  Click to enlarge.

.

ISO 21542 has significantly widened the meaning of the concept #Accessibility4ALL … a normal evolutionary process … in particular, the #FireSafety4ALL Texts.  I wonder, though, how many people would ever have considered  Good Indoor Air Quality  to be on the ‘Accessibility’ Menu ??

.

Colour image showing a young child wearing a face mask (#Pandemic #CoronaVirus #CoVID19) … with an accompanying text: ‘Poor Indoor Air Quality Is A Serious Threat’.  Click to enlarge.

.

Much lower rates of direct fresh air ventilation … and a dramatic reduction in accidental or unintended air seepage from, or into, buildings (depending on local climate conditions) … all driven by an urgent need to conserve energy and to impose greater energy efficiencies on the energy which is actually consumed … are, once again, one of the main causes of serious health problems for ALL #BuildingUsers …

Building Related Ill-Health:  Any adverse impact on the health of building users – while living, working, generally occupying or visiting a specific building – caused by the planning, design, construction, management, operation or maintenance of that building.

I say “once again” because, in Europe, we have been here before … after the two big oil crises of the 1970’s.

.

Anyway … I thought that it would be useful to present a relevant extract from ISO 21542 …

B.8 – INDOOR AIR QUALITY (#IAQ)

Poor indoor air quality, an important factor in relation to Building Related Ill-Health (also known as ‘sick building syndrome’), can cause serious health impairments and severely restrict a person’s participation in everyday activities, e.g. work.

Symptoms and signs may include:

  • irritation of eyes, nose and throat ;
  • respiratory infections and cough ;
  • voice hoarseness and wheezing ;
  • asthma ;
  • dry mucous membrane and skin ;
  • erythema (reddening or inflammation of the skin) ;
  • lethargy ;
  • mental fatigue and poor concentration ;
  • headache ;
  • stress ;
  • hypersensitivity reactions, i.e. allergies ;
  • nausea and dizziness ;
  • cancers.

These symptoms and signs are present in the population at large, but are distinguished by being more prevalent in some building users, as a group, when compared with others.  The symptoms and signs may disappear, or may be reduced in intensity, when an affected person leaves the building.  It is not necessary that everyone in a building should be affected before building related ill-health is suspected.

ISO 16814: ‘Building Environment Design – Indoor Air Quality – Methods of Expressing the Quality of Indoor Air for Human Occupancy’ covers methods of expressing indoor air quality (IAQ) and incorporating the goal of achieving good IAQ into the building design process.  It also covers ventilation effectiveness, harmful emissions from building materials, air cleaning devices, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.

The indoor pollutants considered in ISO 16814 include human bio-effluents, which have often been the principal consideration in air quality and ventilation design, but also the groups and sources of pollutants which can reasonably be anticipated to occur in the building during its long Life Cycle.

These pollutants, depending on the sources present, may include:

  • volatile organic compounds (#VOC’s) and other organics, such as formaldehyde ;
  • environmental tobacco smoke (#ETS) ;
  • natural radon, consisting of a number of different isotopes, is an invisible radioactive gas, and is found in the soils under buildings, water supplies to buildings and in the air ;
  • other inorganic gases, such as carbon monoxide (#CO), the oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and low-level ozone (smog) which is formed when NOx and VOC’s react in the presence of sunlight ;
  • viable particles, including viruses, bacteria and fungal spores ;
  • non-viable biological pollutants, such as particles of mites or fungi and their metabolic products ;
  • non-viable particles, such as dusts and fibres.

The following Two Performance Indicators of Good Indoor Air Quality, developed with the aim of protecting human health, are recommended:

  1. Radon Activity (including Rn-222, Rn-220, RnD)  in a building should, on average, fall within the range of 10-40 Bq/m3, but should at no time exceed 60 Bq/m3.
  2. Carbon Dioxide (CO2)  concentrations in a building should not significantly exceed average external levels – typically within the range of 300-500 parts per million (#PPM) – and should at no time exceed 800 ppm.

[ While the current CoVID-19 Pandemic lasts … these are Essential ‘Health’ Performance Indicators, as opposed to ‘Safety’ Indicators … and they should be stringently operated and constantly monitored in all building types. ]

.

.

END

Enhanced by Zemanta